麦肯锡 -澳大利亚消费者忠诚度：快速变化亟需快速对策 Australian consumer loyalty Rapid change calls for rapid solutions

May2026

McKinsey

&Company

RetailPractice

Australianconsumer

loyalty:Rapidchangecallsforrapidsolutions

ConsumerexpectationsinAustraliaarechanging;organisationscanleveragetheirloyaltyprogrammestokeepupwithongoingshifts.

byAmandaWinchesterandJosephTesvic

withEllaNokesandReaganKlemt

Asconsumerexpectationsevolve,loyaltyhasbecomeoneofthemostpowerfulwaysforbrandstoremainpresentinconsumers'dailylives.Fororganisationsandconsumersalike,loyaltyisnolongeraboutpoints-it'saboutpresence.ThatpresenceisincreasinglyshapedbyAl-enableddiscoveryanddecisioningwhichare

beginningtoinfluencehowconsumersevaluateandselectbrands.Accordingly,brandsthattransformloyaltyprogrammesintoeveryday-valueecosystemsaresettooutpacecompetitorsinretentionandinrelevance.

OurlatestAustralianConsumerLoyaltySurvey,thesecondintheseries,surveyedmorethan1,700Australianconsumersacross11industries.Herewepresentitsfindingsandofferperspectivesonhowpersistenttrendsarereshapingtheloyaltylandscapeandwhatorganisationscandotostayahead.

Driversofchangeintheloyaltylandscape

McKinsey'sDecember2025Asia-PacificConsumerSentimentSurveyfoundAustralianconsumersentimenttobestable.Netintenttospendwaspositiveforessentialsbutnegativefordiscretionarygoods.Italsofoundthat73percentofAustralianconsumerswerelikelytotrynewshoppingbehaviours,a3percentincrease

sincethepreviousquarter.Whilemostweren'texperimentingwithradicalchanges,theywerelikelytotrydifferentbrands.

OurAustralianConsumerLoyaltySurveyshowsasimilarpatternofcost-of-livingpressureandcautious

optimism.Inthisenvironment,Australianconsumersareredefiningwhatvaluemeanstothemandwheretheycanfindit.Thisisunfoldingagainstabackdropofongoingglobaluncertaintywhichcontinuestoinfluence

howAustralianconsumersthinkaboutvalue.Somearetradingdownincertaincategoriestosplurgeinothers,andareseekingimmediacy,convenience,andrecognitionwhentheychoosetodoso.Splurgecategories,

suchasdiningandtravel,oftenofferanemotionalorexperientialreward.Asignificantshareofrespondentsintendtospendmoreintheseareas.

Atthesametime,morethanhalfofconsumersnowlookfordealsoneverypurchase,highlightinghowvalueexpectationshavechanged.Theideaofconsumertrusthasalsoshifted;Australiansnowrelymoreonpeerrecommendationsandcommunityfeedbackthanontraditionalbrandmarketing.

Theseevolvingexpectationsunderpinrapidtransformationintheloyaltylandscape.Wehaveidentifiedfourkeydriversshapingthischange-eachrevealinghowloyaltyisbecomingmoredynamic,data-driven,anddemand-responsive.

Loyaltyholdsgreaterweightthaneverbefore

Loyaltyprogrammescontinuetodrivetangiblechangesinconsumerbehaviour.Infact,sixintenAustralianssaymembershipinatleastoneprogrammehaschangedhowtheyshop,whetherbyincreasingpurchase

frequency,choosingabrandmoreoften,orrecommendingittoothers.

Thegrowingimpactisevidentacrosssectors:Groceryprogrammesnowinfluenceabout60percentof

members-upeightpercentagepointssince2022.Similarly,airlineprogrammesaffectthechoicesofroughly

70percentofmembers-asignificant24-percentage-pointincreaseoverthesameperiod.

Concurrently,thebenefitsofgettingloyaltyrightareintensifying.Top-quartileprogrammesnowfind

membersroughlytwiceaslikelytoincreasepurchasefrequency,and79percentmorelikelytorecommendabrand,comparedtothoseinbottom-quartileprogrammes-agapthathaswidenedsince2022(Exhibit1).

2Australianconsumerloyalty:Rapidchangecallsforrapidsolutions

Exhibit1

Superiorloyaltyprogrammesgeneratemorevalueforcompaniesbydrivingtangiblechangeinpurchasingbehaviours.

Behaviourschangedduetoloyaltyprogrammemembership,%ofrespondents

■Companieswithtop-quartileloyaltyprogrammes■Companieswithbottom-quartileprogrammes

Increasedlikelihoodofchoosingabrandovercompetitors¹

+8

percentagepoints(pp)

+10

23

Changevs2022,pp-4-2-11

Increasedfrequencyofpurchases²

Increasedwillingnesstorecommend³

1Question:Whathaveyoudoneasaresultofbeingamemberoftheboyaltyprogramme?Ihavechosenthecompanyoverotheroptionsbecauselamamemberofitsloyaltyprogramme.

Question:Vhathaveyoudoneasaresultofbeingamemberofthebyaltyprogramme?Ihaveincreasedmyfrequencyofpurchasesbecauselamamemberofitsloyaltyprogramme.

Question:Whathaveyoudoneasaresultofbeingamemberoftheloyaltyprogramme?Ihaverecommendedthebrandtoothersbecauselamamemberofitsloyaltyprogramme.

Source:McKinseyLoyaltySurvey,Oct2025,n=1,700,sampledandweightedtomatchtheAustraliangeneralpopulationover18yearsofage

McKinsey&Company

However,consumersarebecomingmoreselective.Whileawarenessaroundloyaltyprogrammeshasrisen,manyremainscepticalaboutactualvalue.Simplyput,membersexpecteachprogrammetodelivertangible,easy-to-accessbenefits:accumulatingpointsandredeemingthemquicklyarestillthehighestpriorities.Forbrands,thechallengehasshifted.Successnolongerdependsonenrolmentalone,butonsustainingloyaltythroughconsistentrelevance,recognition,anddailyengagement.

Valueisshiftingfromdelayedpayofftoinstantreinforcement

Increasingly,consumersareseekingmoreimmediaterewardsfortheirpurchases.Longearningcycles

andunclearredemptionrulesareweighingonconsumers'patience,highlightedbythe16percentof

nonparticipantswhocite“ittakestoolongtoearnrewards”asthereasontheyoptout,uptwopercentagepointssince2022.

Atthesametime,engagementpatternsrevealawideninggap.Groceryprogrammesstillsee65percentofmembersusingthemalmosteveryshop,butthatfigurehasslippedfivepercentagepointssince2022,onceagainreflectingrisingexpectationsforimmediacy.Programmesthatdelivernear-termgratification,visible

Australianconsumerloyalty:Rapidchangecallsforrapidsolutions

4Australianconsumerloyalty:Rapidchangecallsforrapidsolutions

progress,micro-rewards,orfrictionlessredemptionareoutperforminginmembersatisfaction.Evenso,

nearlyaquarterofcustomersarestillunawarethatloyaltyprogrammesexistforspecificbrands(Exhibit2).

Exhibit2

Amongconsumerswhoshopwithagivenbrand,nearlyaquarterwerenotawarethataloyaltyprogrammeexisted.

Reasonsfornotparticipatinginaloyaltyprogramme,1%ofrespondentsChangevs2022,

100percentagepoint

FrequencyIdon'tvisit/shopwiththisbrandenough

52

-6

Awareness

Ididn'tknowaloyalty

therewas

programme

23

-1

Programmedesign

Ifeelittakestoolongtoearnrewards

16

+2

Idon'tunderstandthevalueIwillgetfromtheloyaltyprogramme

10

-1

lamamemberoftoomanyloyaltyprogrammesalready

10

+2

Programmedoesn'thavethefeaturesorbenefitslamlookingfor

9

+1

signup

EaseofIdon'tlikesharingpersonalinformation

7

+3

Signupprocesswastoodifficult

4

0

OtherOther

5

+1

1Question:Youindicatedthatyouhaveshoppedatthecompanybuthavenotparticipatedinitsloyaltyprogramme.Whynot?

Source:McKinseyLoyaltySurvey,Oct2025,n=1,700,sampledandweightedtomatchtheAustraliangeneralpopulationover18yearsofage

McKinsey&Company

Therise—andtest—ofsubscriptions

Traditionalloyaltyprogrammesstilldominate,withroughlytwiceasmanymembersassubscriptionmodels.However,subscription-basedloyaltyisgainingmomentum.

Australiansareincreasinglydrawntopaidorhybridmodelswhichtendtosucceedwhencombining

everydayutilitywithcross-brandaccess.Asaresult,subscriptionprogrammesleadinmembersatisfaction,scoringbetween8and15percentagepointshigherincustomersatisfactionscoresthantheirloyalty

equivalentsacrossmajorbrands.

However,satisfactionlevelsvaryamongstprogrammes.Consumersarequicktochangewhenbenefits

seemtooslowtomaterialiseordifficulttosee.Oursurveyfindsthatcustomerscaremostaboutrelevance,easeofunderstanding,andclarityaroundrules(Exhibit3).

Exhibit3

Australianconsumerloyalty:Rapidchangecallsforrapidsolutions

Overallstated

satisfaction,2%

100General

-8

-12

-11

-6

-14

-9

-7

-10

-14

-8

retailMulti-retailer

-14

-12

-13

-8

-6

-10

-11

-14

-5

-2

Variancevsoverall,

percentagepointdifference

importance,

100

GroceryA

-1

Airline

2

0

10

2

Derived

%scaled

-1

-2

93

93

GroceryB

100

-2

40

95

96

-2

42

40

-2

44

44

41

41

44

97

97

49

11

4

4

2

0

94

4

9

3

6

5

8

AmajorgroceryprogrammeleadsinfeaturesatisfactionamongAustraliansubscriptionprogrammes.

Subscriptionprogrammesatisfaction

Relevanceofsubscriptionprogrammerewardsandbenefits

Easeofunderstandingstatus,benefits,andrewards

Clarityofearnratesandredemptionrules,fairnessofpointsexpirypolicy

Easeofunderstandingsubscriptionpoliciesandrules

Easeofuseinstorestoearnorredeembenefitsandrewards

Relevanceofrecommendationsandcommunicatonsreceived

Relevanceofemailvmailcommunications Websiteandappexperienceanddesign

Easeofuseonlinetoearnorredeembenefitsandrewards Supportfromemployeesandclientservice

Easeofregistration

DuestocHowoudyourteyorsisfationwithsourPROGRAMEintefblowinarea.oustiorTakingintoacounalfatosiodudingtepoductself,abetormoneyandaustomesenice,howwoukdyourateyouroveralsatisfactionwithloyaltyprogrammesfrom[COMPANY]2;Derihedimportanceindicatestherelatineimpactofeach(subscniption)satisfactionelementontheowerallsatisfaction(subscniption)rankedbesedonthelrcorrelationstrengthandscaledtothemaximumwalue.

OuestioneHowwouldyourateyoursatisfactionwithyour[PROGRAMME]inthefollowingarea

Source:MeKinseyLoyaltySunveyOct2025,n=1700,sampledandweightedtomatchtheAustralangeneralpopuationower3Byearsofage

McKinsey&Company

Themostsuccessfulprogrammesdeliverimmediateandclearlypricedbenefits,strongpartner

integration,andpersonalisedengagementthatsustainsmonthlyactivity.Continuedsuccesshingesonaligningprogrammedeliverywithconsumers'priorities-clarity,simplicity,andvisibleeverydayvalue.

Ecosystemsareexpandingthroughpartnerintegration

Australianconsumersareshowingastrongerpreferenceforprogrammesthatintegrateacrosspartnersandsectors.Andthereisagrowingappetiteforflexibilityandcross-categoryreach.Intermsoffeatureimportance,"spendpointstoredeempartner-companyproducts"sawafivepercentage-pointincreasesince2022-thehighestchangeinthecategory.

Majorgroceryprogrammesleadnationalawareness(morethan90percentofrespondents

claimtohaveheardoftheseprogrammes).Theyalsoshowcontinuedextensionsintopartner-

basedadjacentoffers,suchasfinancialservicesandtravel.Onegroceryloyaltyprogrammenowconnectswithmorethan20partnerbrandsacrossretail,travel,andfinancialservices.Meanwhile,anotherhasdeepeneditsecosystemthroughairlinepointsconversion,healthinsurance,andfuelpartnerships,allowingmemberstoearnandredeempointsacrossdailyspendcategories.

6Australianconsumerloyalty:Rapidchangecallsforrapidsolutions

Traditionalcoalitionmodels-whereonlyafewbrandscollaborateonsharedrewards-aregivingwaytofullyintegratedlinkedpartnershipswithmultiprogrammetie-ins.Themarketistrendingtowardfewerbuttbroadersuper-ecosystemsthatdelivereverydayrelevanceandconvenience.

Lookingahead:Howorganisationscankeepup

Thefundamentalsofloyaltydesignstillapplyintoday'sconsumerlandscape,buttheleversareevolving.Withthearrivalofagenticcommercepromisingtoradicallyremaketheentireshoppingexperience,

organisationsarefacedwithrewiringtheirloyaltyofferingsinaworldwheretheboundariesbetween

platforms,services,andexperiencesareblurred.Theyincreasinglyneedtounderstandandalignwiththedatafoundationsanddecision-makinglogicofAlagentswhilepreservingtheemotional,brand-driven

experiencesthatbuildtrust.

AsorganisationscontinuetotestandscaleAl-enabledcapabilities,alongsidebroaderchangesin

consumerexpectations,theycandrawinspirationfromgloballyrecognisedloyaltyinitiatives.Thefollowingfourcoursesofactionrepresenttransformativeshiftsthatwebelieveholdpotentialtomoveloyaltyfromprogrammestoecosystemsthatdeepencustomerengagement:

1.Fromdataanalyticstopredictiveintelligence

Organisationscanconsiderashiftfromstaticsegmentationtowarddynamic,Al-enabledinsight

enginesthatanticipateneedsandpersonaliseoffersinrealtime.Programmesthatareabletointegrate

behavioural,transactional,andcontextualdataacrosschannelsdeliverrelevanceateverytouchpoint,

connectingapp,web,andin-storeinteractions.Theseloyaltymodelsnotonlyreacttocustomerbehaviour,butshapeit-identifyingchurnrisks,forecastingintent,andtriggeringinterventionsbeforeengagementdrops.

Caseexample:DeltaAirLinesintroducedDeltaConcierge,anAl-poweredassistantbuiltintothe

company'sFlyDeltaapp,whichaimstoprovideselecttravellerswithreal-time,personalisedassistanceacrossjourneys-fromflightchangestobaggagehandlingandtailoredairportexperiences.Similarly,SephorausesAlandmachinelearningtoconductresearchandanalyticstoprovideamorepersonalisedexperience,forexample,bycuratingoffersandsurfacingproductsalignedwithindividualpreferences.2

2.Fromstatictrackingtopersonalisedexperiences

Membersatisfactiontendstobegreaterinprogrammesthatcreateindividualisedexperiences.These

experiencescanbeseenashonouringaconsumer'svaluetothebrand,ratherthanjusttheirspending.Organisationscan,therefore,looktomovebeyondstatictrackingtowardrewardssystemsthatrecogniseandreinforcevalueacrosstheentirecustomerloyaltylifecycle.Thiscanincludeenablingadaptive

interfacesthatrespondtopersonalmotivatorssuchassavings,status,orrecognition;providingcontext-awarereminderslikegeo-basedalertsortimelyprompts;andpairingsimplevisualprogresscueswithmeaningfulmomentsthatconnecttoemotionorpurpose.

Caseexample:Nikelinksloyaltytoparticipationinsportaswellastopurchasebehaviour.Programmeparticipantsgetaccesstomember-exclusiveproducts,events,experiences,andbirthdayrewards,

alongsideshoppingbenefitssuchasspecialoffersandfreeshippingoneligibleorders.ThroughitsfreeNikeRunClubandNikeTrainingClubapps,memberscantrackactivity,takeonchallenges,andbenefit

"Smarterjourneys

starthere:DeltaConciergenow

inbetarollout,"Delta

NewsHub,October29,2025.

²Sephoraprivacy

policy,Sephorawebsite,accessed

March2,2026.

fromtrainingcontent.Inthisway,loyaltyisreinforcedbymorethanproductspend.³Similarly,PelotonusesAl,machinelearning,andaninsights-generatorenginetointerpretriders'habitsandmotivationsandsendthemnudges,personalisedfitnessguidance,andactionableinsights.4

3.Fromindividualisedtocommunity-drivengamification

Gamificationisnolongeranindividualpursuit-it'sbecomingcommunity-driven.Sharedchallenges,

groupstreaks,andcollectiveachievementsturnengagementfromapersonaltaskintoasocial

experience.Adaptivemechanicsadjustrewardsandgoalsbasedongroupdynamics,while

leaderboards,collaborations,andpeerrecognitionbuildconnectionandfriendlycompetition.Donewell,communitygamificationtransformsloyaltyfromisolatedparticipationintocollectivemomentumthat

strengthenswitheveryinteraction.

Caseexample:LEGOextendsloyaltybeyondtransactionsthroughplatformssuchasLEGOIdeas,

wherefanscansubmitandvoteondesignsfromtheLEGOcommunitythatcanprogresstoward

commercialreview.ThispeerinteractioniscomplementedbyearlyaccesstoproductsandexperientialrewardsviatheLEGOInsidersprogramme⁵Inanotherexample,theMcDonald'sMONOPOLY

promotionintegratescollect-and-wingamemechanicswithitsdigitalapp,allowingcustomersto

gatherphysicalordigitalgamepiecesthroughpurchasesandtoredeeminstantprizes.Thetime-boundcampaigndrivesbroadparticipation,turningroutinetransactionsintoasharedpromotionalevent

acrossitscustomerbase.⁶

4.Frombrandcommunitiestoconnectedecosystems

Anemergingbestpracticefororganisationstotakenoteofistheshiftfromclosedbrandcommunitiestowardconnectedecosystemswhereloyaltyextendsacrosspartnersandcategories.Partnershipsthatallowmemberstoearnandredeemrewardsinmultiplecontextsmultiplyrelevanceandalsoboostdatarichness.Organisationsthatopentheirplatformsthroughapplicationprogramminginterfaces,sharedanalytics,orpartnermarketplacescanpositionthemselvestocaptureagreatershareofcustomer

spendandattention.

Caseexample:Tesco'sClubcardcustomerscanredeempointsatover