The Loyalty Newswire December 15, 2025

The Loyalty Newswire from The Wise Marketer

From the Editor

We took time this week to study loyalty metrics published by a host of leading brands. We share a list of assorted metrics, each of which will be useful to you in staying abreast of the market.

But we also take a closer look at three QSR brands, Domino’s, Starbucks, and Wendy’s to draw conclusions about the differences in how and what brands report to the investor community about their customer loyalty investments. Take a look and see what we concluded.

As you tighten up your planning for the end of the year, make sure to update your calendar with our upcoming workshops, webinars, and research events. We have 2 webinars and a research event in January, plus two in person training events during February.

We are here to help you succeed.

Let us know how we can help.

Bill Hanifin, Managing Editor, The Wise Marketer

Short Takes

Chipotle Wins Litigation: Rewards Points Are Not ‘Gift Cards’ Under NY and CA Law

A federal court has ruled that Chipotle’s loyalty rewards points are not “gift certificates” or “gift cards” under either New York or California law. As a result, the plaintiffs’ claims challenging the company’s 180‑day expiration policy for rewards points were dismissed without leave to amend.

The decision provides welcome clarity for retailers and brands operating loyalty programs in the nation’s two most demanding consumer markets. Specifically, points-based rewards can lawfully expire if they are not sold or issued as prepaid stored value and otherwise lack the hallmarks of a gift card.

Reason 1 Why Customers Abandon Loyalty Programs: Complicated registration process

According to Como, a global payments company, lengthy registration forms and unfriendly mobile environments are a guaranteed way to drive customers away from your loyalty program before they even get started. Como says 70% of consumers fail to sign up for a loyalty program due to the inconvenience and the time required to complete a registration process.

Recommendations for loyalty program enrollment automation include that initial loyalty sign-up forms should request a minimum amount of information needed to create a profile and only a limited number of fields should be mandatory. Read research from The Wise Marketer and vPromos on Loyalty Program Automation.

Back by Popular Demand – CLMP™ Certification in Dubai – 10 – 12 February 2026!

The response has been overwhelming! Due to incredible demand from loyalty professionals across the region, QBF Consulting is hosting the next Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional™ (CLMP™) program in Dubai, so save the dates 10-12 February 2026.

Register now and secure your passport to Lifelong Learning! With Loyalty Academy Lifetime Membership, you are not just learning—you are staying ahead, always. This isn’t just a course—it’s an investment in YOU.

New India CLMP™ Workshop on Feb 12-13, 2026

Certified education partner Strategic Caravan will be hosting the India CLMP™ Loyalty Academy workshop in Delhi February 12-13. Early bird pricing is available through 13th January 2026.

Register here. This is a workshop designed and delivered by practitioners for practitioners, so expect a high level of interactive conversation, exercises, and group work. Give yourself a gift to start the new year and accelerate your career in customer loyalty and digital marketing.

A Primer on Loyalty Reporting and Investor-Friendly Communications

Wise Marketer reviewed publicly reported information from Domino’s, McDonald’s, and Starbucks. We wanted to see what numbers were actually disclosed and discovered that each company selected a distinct approach to what they disclose to the investor community. Here’s a summary of what we found.

Domino’s

Domino’s Rewards latest available membership (FY 2024) reached 35.7M users, up by 2.5M YoY.

Domino’s discloses high level membership figures and digital sales penetration (often 80%+ of U.S. sales) but doesn’t share hard numbers like active loyalty member counts, loyalty-attributed sales or Member vs. non-member behavior deltas.

It seems that Domino’s treats loyalty as infrastructure and just one of several levers driving comp sales. For QSR’s that consider themselves digitally native operators, they see loyalty as table stakes rather than a standalone asset that needs separate economic justification. In other words, Domino’s management might be thinking “If digital is working, loyalty is working—no need to break it out.”

McDonald’s

McDonald’s reported in its Q3 2025 results call that systemwide sales to loyalty members across 60 loyalty markets were approximately $34 billion for the trailing twelve-month period and over $9 billion for the quarter. With Global Systemwide sales over $36 billion for the quarter, loyalty sales equate to 25% of total systemwide sales.

The most recent member figure (Q2 2025) is 185M 90-day active MyMcDonald’s Rewards members.

McDonald’s focuses on systemwide sales attributable to loyalty members, indicating a desire to position loyalty as a measurable growth engine. The approach is investor friendly as it proactively answers the question “Is loyalty moving real revenue at scale?” McDonald’s uses loyalty to reinforce the message that Loyalty is not a marketing program—it is a material contributor to systemwide sales.

Starbucks

In the Starbucks (SBUX) Q4 FY2025 earnings call, Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol stated “We saw the biggest gains in service time, connection, and care perceptions, demonstrating the power of Green Apron Service. Non-Starbucks Rewards customer transactions grew year-over-year for the second consecutive quarter across all dayparts, validating our approach to marketing.

Cathy Smith, EVP and CFO commented “Our 90-day active Starbucks Rewards member base grew 1% both quarter over quarter and year-over-year to 34.2 million members. This was led by higher re-engagement and fueled by customers returning for their seasonal favorites and new offerings as part of our fall launch.”

Starbucks has chosen to treat “90-day active members” as the only meaningful KPI, avoiding directing attention to the level of dormant accounts which could dilute investor perception about the program. Starbucks is tying loyalty value to behavior, not database size, a wise strategy to communicate to the investor community. That said, it is emphasizing the importance of customer experience as a driver of sales performance.

Valuable Loyalty Metrics and Perspectives

Hilton

President & Chief Executive Officer Christopher J. Nassetta stated in the Hilton Q3 2025 earnings call “we’re approaching against a target a multiyear target of 75% Honors occupancy, we’re approaching 70% at a faster rate than we thought. We’re growing the program 15% to 20% a year. Active members are increasing or crazy healthy, people are really engaged with the program.”

Kroger

The Kroger Co. (KR) Q3 2025 earnings call transcript included this statement “By integrating our customer data and loyalty insights with third-party platforms, we can bring more targeted and innovative media campaigns to reach new customer segments and create additional monetization opportunities. Our media business had a strong quarter with double-digit growth and continues to be a meaningful contributor to profitability.”

Marriott

The Q3 2025 Marriott earnings call transcript shared that Marriott Bonvoy membership grew to nearly 260 million members, up 18% year-over-year, highlighting the program’s strength and value.

Walmart

In the Q3 FY26 report, management cited “increased Walmart+ membership income” as a driver of higher gross margin in Q3, alongside mix and other factors.

Wendys

2025 investor call referenced 45M rewards members enrolled, no indicators of activity levels or contributions to sales.

Wiser Retail Insights Forum™ 2026 Coming to Nashville, TN on January 27

Presented by Exchange Solutions, Ebbo and The Wise Marketer, Wiser Forums™ is a half-day event presenting findings from a 2025 consumer research study in convenience retail and home improvement retail, the inflection point in a longitudinal study exploring the connection between brand loyalty, customer experience and programmatic loyalty. Register Here.

This powerful event is a unique opportunity for business leaders, marketers and decision-makers who seek a better understanding of how consumers think about their loyalty to brands. This is an opportunity for retail business leaders that want to create impactful and insights-led engagement and experiences for their customers.

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