Great Strategies to Increase Customer Loyalty and Engagement

A Bold Prediction: Loyalty Lost in Plain Sight

A recent strategic shift for Albertsons for U™ program promises more automatic discounts and simplified customer-friendly savings. This update may sound alluring at first glance. But by turning loyalty into something passive, invisible and ultimately forgettable, I fear Albertsons’ strategy could disastrously collapse into customer indifference and become just another silent discount program customers neither notice nor appreciate.

Loyalty or Labor? The Hidden Costs of “for U”

Albertsons for U™ loyalty program claims to promise big savings. But in practice the experience feels less like a satisfying, reciprocal brand-customer relationship and more like an unpaid part-time job. Each week, members must manually clip dozens — sometimes hundreds — of digital coupons if they want to access all the advertised discounts. It’s less “shop smart” and more “play whack-a-mole with your grocery list.” Miss a click? Miss a discount. It’s a rather tedious ritual that risks leaving customers feeling more anxious than appreciated.

“Albertsons for U™ promises big savings, but in practice, it’s more like an unpaid part-time job”

Granted, there are occasionally a few truly door-busting discounts to be had if you find a lucrative “digital deal” on something you really want (Sub-$5 per pound ribeye steaks anyone? Count me in!). But if you forget to do the digital clip or get befuddled scanning the printed code on the shelf it will cost you a trip to customer service to restore the savings you rightly deserve. Adding to the frustration, points expire quickly, vanishing by the end of the month following their accumulation. Instead of fostering long-term loyalty, Albertsons nudges customers into a short-term scramble, sprinting to redeem rewards before they disappear.

While other brands are mastering slick and enjoyable engagement, Albertsons seems stuck offering customers an administrative chore combined with a race against timers and fine print — hardly a recipe for enduring connection. After all, loyalty isn’t something you just hand out like paper coupons. The best programs in the world downplay discounts, putting the emphasis instead on excitement, emotion, and meaningful engagement.

The Future: Automation Without Emotion

Enter new CEO Susan Morris and her plans for the future of Albertsons for U. In a recent earnings call, Morris promised even more deals, even more points, and continuation of a controversial feature launched back in 2024: automatic cash-off savings at checkout.

If you’re unfamiliar with this scheme, it goes like this: customers opt-in, earning their points as usual, but their loyalty points are automatically converted into instant discounts at checkout. No more redeeming. No more missing points. Just seamless discounts, quietly deducted without lifting a finger.

While this option offers a more hands-off experience, it also comes with a value tradeoff: points redeemed automatically are often valued less than if customers manually selected specific reward items, meaning shoppers may get fewer savings for the same amount of loyalty effort. Worse still, instead of feeling proud of hitting milestones or excited about earning rewards, customers will barely notice that anything happened at all. A few cents shaved off a grocery bill won’t create pride or excitement, but instead just fade into the background.

“Customers value what they engage with. By turning loyalty into something passive, invisible, and ultimately forgettable, it could collapse into customer indifference.”

Customers value what they engage with. They remember achievements, choices they make, surprises, and milestones they reach. Silent discounts, no matter how generous, are quickly forgotten – along with the brand behind them.

When loyalty becomes automatic, it also becomes invisible.

How Albertsons’ Loyalty Plan Misses What Matters

Let me break down the specific concerns I have about Albertsons’ current loyalty implementation and go-forward strategy:

1. Over-Automation Turns Loyalty Invisible

When savings happen automatically, customers stop noticing them — what you don’t notice, you don’t value. Albertsons risks turning loyalty into background noise, something customers expect but never truly notice or appreciate. Meanwhile, other brands that build loyalty continuously find creative and interesting new ways to make every milestone in a customer’s relationship with the brand feel earned, personal, and memorable.

2. Discounts Are Easy to Copy, Relationships Aren’t

Price promotions come and go. What sticks is emotional connection, shared experiences, and brand identity. Albertsons risks building a loyalty strategy based purely on transactions and discounts, practically daring customers to chase the next better offer without a second though, even if it’s at Kroger or Meijer.

3. Missing Moments That Matter

Modern loyalty programs increasingly use quests and challenges to turn shopping into a satisfying, ongoing, rewarding adventure. They also offer playful moments, surprise and delight. They unlock rewards and challenge customers to reach new prestige tiers to earn exclusive experiences. Albertsons boils away those meaty emotional touchpoints leaving nothing but an unsatisfying plate of transactional bones. Without progressive engagement, loyalty becomes just another line on a receipt, quickly forgotten once the shopping bags are packed.

4. Lacking Emotional Satisfaction

By removing all friction (and all fun), Albertsons’ automatic discount system eliminates the opportunity for customers to feel the thrill of achievement. There’s no tension or payoff, just a silent transaction. And that silence is deadly for loyalty. In the best-designed systems, a little skillfully designed “FUNstration” — that delicate balance of challenge, anticipation, and reward — keeps customers engaged, eager, and emotionally invested.

5. No Collaboration, Contests, or Social Play

Engagement skyrockets when community members can participate in team challenges, friendly contests, or community-driven games. Granted, there are only a small number of notable examples in the market today, Nike’s Run Club among them. But Albertsons offers none of these opportunities. No way to team up with other customers. No way to compete. No chance to feel part of something larger than yourself. In a world where customers crave interaction and recognition, this is a missed opportunity of massive proportions.

How Albertsons Could Turn Shopping Into an Adventure

Imagine if Albertsons didn’t just hand out points, but handed customers a purpose.

Instead of clipping coupons, members could embark on weekly quests: “Cook three healthy meals with fresh produce this week,” or “Try something new from the international aisle.” Completing these tasks could earn points, unlock badges, exclusive recipes, limited-time rewards, or even secret in-store deals. Grocery shopping would feel less like a routine errand and more like a personal adventure.

But how would Albertsons track something like meals cooked at home? A challenge like a “chef’s streak” could be loosely inferred and then verified using purchase data, optional photo submissions, or even through sheer self-reporting — similar to how fitness apps track goals. Remember, the aim isn’t surveillance; it’s stimulation. What matters is creating reasons for customers to care, participate, and return. And as long as the stakes, rewards, or payoffs aren’t exorbitant, customers will generally behave.

“What matters is creating reasons for customers to care, participate, and return. As long as the stakes aren’t exorbitant, customers will generally behave.”

Now also imagine collaborative community challenges where neighborhoods or store regions work together toward goals like reducing plastic bag use or increasing purchases of local produce. When the community hits its target, everyone receives a reward. That’s social play in action, turning shopping into a shared achievement.

A touch of well-placed FUNstration can heighten engagement further. Streaks, scavenger hunts, or themed quests with just enough difficulty can feel extremely rewarding. The emotional satisfaction of completion often outweighs the incentive itself. Albertsons could also introduce virtual collectibles tied to seasonal foods, rare ingredients, or store history. These items become personal trophies — displayable, sharable, and even tradable. When customers make consequential choices to curate their own digital pantry, they engage with the brand in more expressive and lasting ways.

Personalization adds even more power. One shopper might be the “Weeknight Warrior,” another the “Curious Cook.” The app could reflect those identities, offering customized titles, progress paths, and rewards. Recognition breeds connection, and connection drives repeat behavior. Time-limited events, polls, recipe challenges, and contests could all provide fresh entry points. The loyalty program would evolve from a discount engine into a dynamic, rewarding ecosystem.

None of this is speculative. It’s proven. These are the same mechanisms that drive top-tier video games, fan communities, and engagement platforms. What they all understand is simple: loyalty doesn’t grow from automation. It grows from interaction, identity, and joy.

Treat your customers like players, not just payers. That’s how you build loyalty that lasts.

“You can’t automate excitement. You can’t shortcut pride”

Conclusion: Loyalty Can’t Be Set to Autopilot

You can’t automate excitement. You can’t shortcut pride. You can’t set emotional engagement to autopilot. If CEO Susan Morris wants to build a program that truly transforms customer loyalty, it will take more than seamless discounts. It will take strategy, emotion, and play. Loyalty isn’t something customers owe you. It’s something you earn — moment by moment, milestone by milestone. And if you build the right journey, they’ll stick around. Not because it saves them money, but because it makes them feel something worth coming back for.