Each year, Kobie’s consumer research aims to answer the burning questions loyalty marketers face. What do my members want out of their loyalty program? Are we building purely transactional, or deeper emotional relationships? Is my brand maximizing loyalty investments and driving returns?
If these questions sound familiar, you’ve come to the right place. With consumer uncertainty at an all-time high, (as we uncovered in this report), understanding their preferences and corresponding behaviors is critical. While consumer research exists in many forms, here’s what makes Kobie’s different:
- An academic lens: we apply the principles of behavioral psychology and our proprietary frameworks, backed by more than 35 years of loyalty expertise, to uncover the deeper motivations behind consumer preferences and actions.
- Actionable insights: every section of our research ends with a TL; DR and prompt questions to ask your brand, ensuring you move from an informed to actionable state with ease.
- A strategy-led approach: Kobie is a Forrester Leader in both loyalty technology and strategy, meaning we leverage our consumer research, proprietary methodologies and member-specific (Panoramic Data™) as inputs to driving better technology outcomes and growing enterprise value.
In 2025, we expanded our study globally – surveying 5,000 consumers across the U.S., U.K and Canada. In doing so, we found an overarching trend of consumer uncertainty, specifically with up to 78% of consumers citing discomfort with today’s rates of technological, economic, political, and social change. Through this lens, along with our “pracademic” approach to research, we explored 5 key topics as they relate to consumer perceptions around loyalty.
1. Biodynamic Loyalty Systems: This term refers to the intentional, strategic integration of loyalty program elements, such as partnerships, co-brand cards, fees and currency. Many brands view loyalty as an ecosystem, which may lack the informed inputs needed to drive real results. Understanding consumer perceptions around each of these program elements helps to overcome uncertainty without sacrificing urgency. For example, when it comes to fee-based loyalty, consider that 72% of respondents said if they could experience a free version of a program first, they would be more apt to pay for it later. With intel like this, plus a layer of behavioral psychology (in this chapter, we dive into the 3 universal human motivations) brands can make swift decisions that help build an intentional, Biodynamic Loyalty System.
2. Game Science and Non-Transactional Engagement: With “gamification” as a buzzword flying around the loyalty space, this chapter dives into what game dynamics resonate most and least with consumers, and why. With 82% of consumers finding surprise earning opportunities most appealing, how do data points like these help brands identify if their current game mechanics are aligned with what consumers prefer? This chapter uses Kobie’s Emotional Loyalty Scoring® methodology to help distill member motivations and uncover what drives the non-transactional engagement brands seek from game science.
3. The Loyalty Data Share: While we know that today’s consumers are feeling uncertain, how does this trend impact their willingness to share data? Loyalty programs are built as data collection engines, serving as an integral source for transactional, emotional, behavioral and zero-party data (what Kobie refers to as Panoramic™ Data). But understanding the types of data consumers are most and least likely to share, and which incentives help motivate them to share more, is critical for brands. For example, 86% of consumers said the need for their data must be extremely obvious for them to share it. So, if the ask for data is not context-obvious enough for consumers, it’s likely not worth asking for to begin with. Insights such as this help ensure brands are maximizing loyalty as the data engine it is.
4. Loyalty in the Extreme: Also known as brand super-fans, loyalty extremists are funding programs today. This chapter highlights the data around what loyalty in the extremes means to consumers, from the 50% of extreme loyalists who are willing to go beyond advocacy and defend a brand in the face of criticism, to those who would get a tattoo of a logo or wear a branded t-shirt. In this chapter, this often-overlooked group of members provides highly relevant data that can be leveraged with Kobie’s segmentation strategies to ensure brands are getting the most value from their super-fans.
5. A Deep Dive on Appeal: In addition to understanding the consumer preferences discussed in earlier chapters around things like program elements, gamified experiences, and data sharing, this chapter dives deeper to reveal what consumers find appealing by industry and by demographics. The data reveals surprising insights around which consumers are more inclined to adopt new program innovations, and which industry holds the most appeal from an optionality perspective. With this intel, brands can tailor their programs to best suit their industry and geography-specific consumers.
Kobie’s 2025 Consumer Research Report launched at the Customer Relationship Management Conference (CRMC) this June, where Kobie is an annual sponsor. Applicable to every industry, attendees from retail to QSR, travel, entertainment and more received early access to the full report. To access a digital copy, visit: https://kobie.com/consumer-research-2025/
To help activate these insights, read the key takeaways and questions at the end of each chapter and apply them to your brand. Kobie experts are ready to help explain how these findings can drive your loyalty strategy, ensure that your technology is built for optimization, and ultimately drive value for the enterprise. Reach us today at www.kobie.com/contact
