The Open Loyalty Benchmark Report 2026 reveals that global loyalty programs are becoming more data-driven and financially accountable, with engagement, retention, and ROI emerging as the key success metrics.
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Open LoyaltyThe Open Loyalty Benchmark Report 2026 delivers one of the most comprehensive snapshots yet of how brands measure, manage, and modernize customer loyalty. Drawing insights from 230 loyalty professionals across 30+ countries, the report reveals how programs are redefining success, which KPIs matter most, and what challenges still hold teams back.
1. Defining Success: From Engagement to Value
For loyalty leaders, the definition of success is shifting from participation rates to measurable business impact.
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Engagement (21%), Retention (20%), and Revenue Impact (18%) are the most common success markers.
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Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) and ROI are emerging as board-level KPIs, reflecting growing sophistication in loyalty management.
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Programs that connect engagement metrics directly to financial outcomes are gaining greater executive trust and investment.
“A successful loyalty program is one that increases retention, CLV, and advocacy — not just participation,” notes Barbara Fitał, Head of CRM at Douglas.
2. Metrics That Matter
Nearly 70% of programs track engagement or financial performance, showing a clear focus on measurable impact.
Top-tracked KPIs include:
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Engagement and usage (20.6%)
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Revenue growth and sales contribution (16.8%)
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Retention and churn reduction (15.6%)
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Customer value (13.4%)
However, fewer than four in ten brands track advocacy, referrals, or NPS, suggesting that emotional loyalty still trails behind transactional performance.
3. Growth Expectations: Optimism with Caution
Brands are aiming high in 2026:
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Revenue growth is the top target for more than one in five organizations.
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Engagement, participation, and retention are also key priorities, with many teams targeting 10–20% improvements.
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Membership expansion and redemption activity are secondary goals but seen as critical to sustaining momentum.
Yet the report warns that optimism without structure can be risky — only mature programs with clear measurement frameworks will turn ambition into tangible business outcomes.
4. The Challenge Landscape: Tech, Teams, and Trust
Four major barriers define the loyalty landscape:
| Category | Core Challenge | Why it Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Technology | Fragmented systems, poor integration | Limits personalization and real-time engagement |
| Organization | Lack of alignment and executive sponsorship | Causes slow decision-making and program fatigue |
| Budget & ROI | Pressure to prove short-term impact | Puts loyalty investment at risk |
| Engagement | Low post-signup activity | Turns programs into cost centers rather than growth engines |
Technology limitations remain the single biggest hurdle, cited by one in four respondents, while budget constraintsand ROI pressure continue to challenge long-term commitment.
As Sergey Kukol of ALDI observes, “We can bring people in — but keeping them loyal and turning them into advocates is where it gets tough.”
5. Industry Differences and Maturity Gaps:
The report highlights how loyalty maturity varies by sector and scale:
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Retail leads on customer value metrics but struggles most with data integration.
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Financial services excel in retention but battle to prove ROI.
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Beauty and fashion brands prioritize personalization but face high costs and slow alignment.
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Large global programs wrestle with engagement fatigue, while medium-sized ones struggle with internal buy-in.
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Smaller businesses focus on ROI but are constrained by technology and resources.
These findings paint a clear maturity curve — from ad-hoc measurement to board-level accountability — showing where loyalty leaders are pulling ahead.
6. Open Loyalty Strategic Recommendations for 2026:
To stay competitive, the report recommends a practical, data-led approach:
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Define success with precision. Replace vague goals with quantifiable metrics tied to retention, CLV, and revenue.
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Integrate loyalty into business outcomes. Make loyalty a driver of growth, not a side project.
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Invest in technology. Build modular, API-first systems to enable personalization and real-time engagement.
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Personalize and gamify. Use AI, segmentation, and interactive design to drive deeper participation.
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Prove ROI early. Launch small, measurable pilots to secure executive trust and long-term funding.
As the report concludes: “Loyalty is infrastructure, not a campaign.”
Global Loyalty Organisation (GLO) Take
The Open Loyalty Benchmark Report 2026 reflects an industry at a crossroads between ambition and accountability. The data shows encouraging progress toward financial and strategic rigor, yet the global loyalty landscape remains fragmented.
From GLO’s perspective, the report validates a crucial evolution — loyalty is no longer about collecting points or tracking engagement, but about connecting measurable customer behavior to business growth. The findings underscore a broader truth: data maturity is now the true differentiator in loyalty performance.
GLO believes the next stage of industry progress depends on:
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Unified measurement frameworks that translate loyalty metrics into enterprise KPIs.
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Cross-functional leadership to align marketing, finance, and technology.
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Experience-led design — emotional, ethical, and personalized loyalty that earns long-term advocacy.
In short, Open Loyalty’s report confirms what GLO has long championed: the future of loyalty belongs to organizations that blend science and storytelling — where analytics drive strategy, and emotional connection sustains it.
Source: Open Loyalty / GLO
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