What the 2026 Heart of Loyalty Research reveals about building brand communities that actually deepen engagement.
Community has become one of the most frequently cited concepts in loyalty strategy, and one of the most inconsistently executed. Brands talk about community. They build community portals, host events, create member-exclusive forums. Then they wonder why engagement is low.
The 2026 Heart of Loyalty Research takes a close look at what consumers really want from brand communities, what drives them to participate, and what keeps them away. The findings suggest the gap between what brands offer and what members want is narrower than it looks, but the most important piece is almost universally missing.
The Foundation: Values Before Tactics
Nearly one in three consumers surveyed (31%) said their chosen brand has an active community. Of those, nearly half participate in it. Using a community engagement scale and mapped against the study’s values congruency framework, a pattern emerged: nearly 70% of consumers in the highest engagement segment also showed high values alignment with their chosen brand. Engagement didn’t happen by accident, it followed alignment.
Among those with very high engagement scores, every single respondent said the appeal of a brand community was connecting with others who share similar interests and values. In the high engagement segment, 97% said the same.
You can’t engineer a thriving community out of features and incentives alone. It starts with being clear about what you stand for and attracting people who already believe in it.
Rewards Get Them In. Everything Else Keeps Them There.
Rewards ranked first across both groups (existing community members and non-members) with an identical 65% selecting it as a motivating factor. That’s where the common ground ends.
Consumers already active in brand communities were significantly more motivated by nearly every other factor: shared interests, exclusive content, access to events, peer support, direct brand connection, the ability to influence product development. In some cases, twice as likely to find these compelling.
Rewards are the entry point, not the destination. Once members clear that initial threshold, they tend to discover value that extends well beyond what brought them in. That expanded sense of belonging is what builds emotional connection and emotional connection is what drives long-term loyalty.
The Biggest Gap: Early Access
When active community members were asked what form of engagement they most want, early access to products or services ranked first, cited by 61%. Exclusive content came in second at 53%. Recognition for participation followed at 47%.
Yet only 34% of loyalty marketers say they currently provide early access as part of their community offering.
That’s the single most desired community benefit, and it’s the one most underdelivered. For brands looking for a high-impact, lower-complexity community upgrade, this is the most obvious place to start.
What Gets in the Way… and What Doesn’t
The top barrier to joining a brand community is simply time (32%). Privacy concerns follow (30%), and communities feeling too promotional rounds out the top three (28%).
For people who haven’t joined yet, friction is the enemy. Community touchpoints should be woven into existing program interactions rather than treated as a separate destination. For members already engaged, the risk shifts to authenticity. 62% of active community members said the ability to provide honest feedback (positive or negative) was key to perceiving a community as authentic.
Importantly, consumers don’t want brands to disappear from their communities entirely. Only 25% wanted events without brand sponsorship, and only 30% wanted minimal brand involvement. Authenticity doesn’t mean absence. Members want the brand present just not scripted.
A Global Strategy That Doesn’t Need to Be Rebuilt by Market
Community motivations, barriers, and engagement preferences were remarkably consistent across all six countries in the study. A well-designed community strategy doesn’t need to be reconstructed market by market. The motivations that shape community participation appear to be broadly human rather than culturally specific. Design with enough humanity at the core, and the strategy travels.
What Community-Led Loyalty Looks Like in 2026
The brands building durable community engagement know their values, communicate them clearly, and give like-minded customers a genuine reason to find each other.
A points program creates a transaction. A community creates a relationship. The research makes clear which one lasts longer.
Community is one of many forces shaping loyalty strategy in 2026. Download the full Heart of Loyalty Research report to explore all the findings.
