The Loyalty NewswireFebruary 11, 2025

This week’s Customer Loyalty and Digital Marketing News

From the Editor

Last week, Wise Marketer execs presented preliminary findings from a marketer survey created to understand consumer views of loyalty programs and assess the readiness assessment of corporate teams to meet new consumer demands. The results were presented as part of a keynote at Loyalty Summit CXM titled Gaining C-Suite Buy-in – Delivering on Consumer Expectations for Loyalty. More details will be shared in our conference report, to be published later this week.

We continue to find hard data from earnings reports that shows the impact of loyalty programs on the enterprise and the way the initiatives are perceived by the C-Suite. News from Chipotle and McDonald’s is shared in this week’s Newswire.

Enjoy this roundup of global loyalty news.

Stay. Loyal. Always.

Managing Editor, The Wise Marketer

Global News Roundup

The 2025 International Loyalty Awards Finalists Have Been Revealed

Finalists for the 2025 International Loyalty Awards have been announced and, according to the organizers, this year has truly been remarkable, with an outstanding volume of entries from some of the most innovative brands in the loyalty and customer engagement space. Hugo Boss, Woolworths, Tesco, Avios, Emirates and Westpac are among the brands nominated for the Oscars of the loyalty industry.

“Our core values of independence and impartiality in the judging process remain as vital now as they were when the awards program launched 15 years ago,” said Marian Kelly & Eileen McGuinness, CEOs of the International Loyalty Awards. “We believe it’s crucial for everyone in the industry to recognize this. If you’ve been shortlisted, it’s a testament to your merit and truly deserves to be celebrated, especially in such a competitive year.” The level of creativity and excellence demonstrated is a testament to how much the industry continues to evolve. Full press release here.

McDonald’s Quarterly Results Are Mixed, But Loyalty Makes a Positive Contribution

McDonald’s Chairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski started off the McDonald’s Q4 2024 Earnings Call this week saying “Obviously, our performance in 2024 did not meet our expectations … In 2024, global comp sales decreased 0.1% for the full year with comps up 0.4% in the fourth quarter, including positive comps across our IDL and IOM segments.”

Loyal customers made a contribution to the positive side of results, as the team shared “we know loyalty customers spend more than their non-digital counterparts. We’ve made strong progress and we’re on track toward our long-term targets of 250 million 90-day active users and $45 billion in annual system-wide sales by the end of 2027. To date, our 90-day active users totals has reached over 170 million across 60 markets with system-wide sales to loyalty members totaling approximately $30 billion in 2024”.

One other significant quote “we’ve talked a lot about the fact that loyalty drives more visits, and those customers spend more over time.”

Chipotle CFO Touts Performance of Loyalty Program in Earnings Call

At the recently concluded Loyalty Summit CXM in Los Angeles, many people talked about the challenges for marketers to communicate the value of their loyalty programs to the C-Suite, especially the CFO. Comments in the Q4 2024 Earnings Call from Chipotle were encouraging because it was the CFO that communicated positive aspects of the company’s loyalty program.

Chief Financial Officer Adam Rymer commented “Sales in the fourth quarter grew over 13% year-over-year to reach $2.8 billion, as comp sales grew 5.4%, driven by 4% transaction growth. Our comp included a negative 20 basis point true-up related to our loyalty program. As a reminder, in Q4 of each year, we reevaluate the estimated breakage for loyalty points that will expire, and this year we decreased our estimate due to higher member engagement.”

Margaritaville Cites Hard Findings from its Customer Survey at Loyalty Summit CXM

Margaritaville started as a song and became a lifestyle that appeals to everyone looking for fun and escapism. The emotional loyalty that drives consumers to all things Margaritaville goes beyond RFM and metrics. Claudia Infante, Chief Digital Officer shared some compelling research results on how customers view loyalty programs at the recently completed Loyalty Summit CXM.

90% of social media sentiment of loyalty programs is negative.
78% prefer immediate benefits over accumulating points.
61% want to choose their own rewards.

The company landed on a non-points program model as the best match to its brand promise. Margaritaville Perks now boasts 360K members who account for over 21% of company revenue.

Modern America Campgrounds Launches FREE Loyalty Rewards Program

Modern America Campgrounds, the largest RV park owner in the Northeast, announced its release of a new loyalty program for their camper-guests named “Loyalty Rewards.” The program is free to join and will have four levels. Members progress through tiers based annual spending and are awarded “Freedom Points” based on their level.

Members will be able to redeem their points at the checkout process. For every 10,000 points redeemed they will receive $10 in credit. The Loyalty Rewards program will also enable members to “top off” and purchase points. Points will be rewarded after the guest checks out and can be applied toward future reservations. Visit their website to learn more here.

Snitch (India) unveils SnitchX

Snitch, a leading men’s fashion brand, has unveiled SnitchX, aimed at rewarding its most loyal and high- spending customers. SnitchX is tailored for customers who seek more than just transactions and launch aligns with Snitch’s ambitious goal to boost customer retention and increase its Average Customer Value (ACV) by 40-50% over the next year. Members can enjoy cashback on every prepaid purchase, additional discounts, and 30-day hassle-free returns or exchanges.

Siddharth Dungarwal, Founder of Snitch, emphasized the brand’s commitment to its customers, stating, “SnitchX is our way of saying thank you to our most loyal customers. It’s not just about rewards; it’s about creating a seamless and gratifying shopping experience that adds value to every interaction with the brand.”

Convenience Store News 2024 State of Small Operator Study

According to the Convenience Store News’ 2024 State of the Small Operator Study, small independent convenience store retailers are at a disadvantage when it comes to engaging customers and building loyalty when trying to compete with the large regional and national c-store chains.

“Challenges for an independent operator include cost, time, and technical and marketing expertise,” noted Saurabh Swarup, general manager, North America for Liquid Barcodes, a loyalty and digital marketing technology company that specializes in the convenience and foodservice industries.

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