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Retailers struggle to quantify loyalty programme returns, Bain study finds
Many retailers and consumer goods companies cannot determine whether loyalty programme costs are justified by sales gains, according to a Bain & Company report. The study shows that well-designed rewards can boost customer acquisition and repeat purchases significantly.
Bain & Company analysed loyalty programmes across multiple sectors and found that relying on sales uplift alone can be misleading. The June 2026 report emphasised the need to track whether campaigns attract first-time buyers and encourage repeat visits.
Well-structured rewards increased first-time customer acquisition by 22% compared with a control group, the study said. The strongest results were recorded in the beverages and snacks categories, where each new customer generated a return of 7.2 times the initial reward cost within three months.
Customers who received a reward on their first purchase were 18% more likely to make another purchase in the following two quarters. This behaviour led to a 28.4% increase in overall spending from these customers.
Despite these positive metrics, many retailers and consumer goods firms still lack the tools to measure net profitability of loyalty initiatives. The report suggests that without proper measurement, companies risk overspending on rewards that do not yield long-term value.