How do retailers manage to turn registered loyalty programme members into genuinely loyal customers? Andreas Schönecker, Head of the Omni-Channel Competence Centre at retailsolutions, explains why customer loyalty is evolving from traditional rewards schemes into a holistic approach to customer retention and growth.
The key factors here are not just attractive benefits, but above all relevance, real-time capability and a seamless shopping experience across the app, online shop, high-street store and other touchpoints. Find out in the full article what role an integrated system landscape and database play in this, and how modern loyalty mechanisms can be utilised.
Artificial intelligence also opens up new possibilities for using personalisation in a more targeted way and for making customer loyalty a measurable driver of growth.
How to Turn a Loyalty Programme into Genuine Customer Loyalty
Loyalty programmes have long been standard practice in retail. According to the Beyond Loyalty Apps study by IFH MEDIA ANALYTICS and MEDIA CENTRAL (March 2026, 1,000 respondents), 91 per cent of consumers in Germany use at least one loyalty app. However, many consumers switch between different programmes and make use of whichever benefits offer them the greatest value at the time. The challenge for retailers is therefore no longer simply to attract customers to a programme, but to retain them. “This fundamentally changes the way we need to think about customer loyalty. In the past, many programmes followed a simple logic: generate sales, collect points, receive a voucher. Today, the focus is increasingly on encouraging desired customer behaviour and using this to build a lasting relationship,” says Andreas Schönecker, Head of the Omni Channel Competence Centre at retailsolutions.
Relevance instead of blanket discounts
Consumers expect retailers to understand their needs, handle their data responsibly and make shopping easier for them. Personalisation should therefore not mean sending as many messages as possible. An offer that is not relevant to the customer, their previous behaviour or the current situation can even have a negative effect.
“If you do not know your customers well enough, you end up distributing discounts on a blanket basis, including to customers who would have bought anyway. Modern loyalty concepts should instead aim to provide an incentive precisely where it can actually influence behaviour,” says Schönecker.
A good loyalty strategy therefore does not end with the customer app. What matters is how well the systems behind it work together. A customer who receives a personalised offer in the app expects that offer to be recognised in the online shop and at the checkout in a store. If a different price is displayed or the benefit is not recognised, a single negative experience can damage trust.
Customer loyalty must therefore be considered end-to-end: from customer identity and consent through marketing, apps and online shops to point of sale, service, ERP and data platforms. Transactions, master data, segments and interactions must therefore be brought together across system boundaries.
Customers expect benefits in real time
In addition to relevance and integration, speed is becoming a key factor. Consumers increasingly expect benefits to be available immediately. When they earn points or another benefit during a purchase, they want to see and use it straight away, rather than having to wait several days.
During checkout, for example, available offers and individual benefits can be checked and the relevant rules applied. At the same time, new status benefits or follow-up offers can be triggered after the purchase.
The range of possible loyalty mechanics is also becoming more diverse. In addition to traditional points and coupons, retailers can implement cashback, subscriptions, status models, personalised challenges, donation and community programmes, as well as supplier-funded offers. Customer loyalty is therefore evolving from a bonus programme into a platform for different forms of customer interaction.
An integrated loyalty architecture as a measurable driver of growth
From a technology perspective, such a strategy can hardly be implemented using a single system. Instead, retailers need an ecosystem in which loyalty management, customer data, marketing, commerce, ERP and data management work together.
“The SAP portfolio provides one example of this approach. At its centre is SAP Customer Loyalty Management, which supports loyalty alliances, programme management and a cloud-based wallet as the loyalty profile. SAP Customer Data Platform brings data together for segmentation and activation, while SAP Engagement Cloud supports campaigns and customer journeys. SAP Commerce Cloud and point-of-sale systems connect loyalty mechanisms with the purchasing process, while SAP S/4HANA can provide transaction, master and pricing data. SAP Business Data Cloud serves as the data foundation,” explains Schönecker.
Each system performs a specialised role, while a shared data foundation and integrated processes ensure that customers receive a consistent shopping experience across different channels.
From a technological perspective, it is not the number of systems that matters, but the depth of their integration. Within the SAP portfolio, each component performs a specialised role on a shared data foundation. The integration is already part of the suite and does not have to be built individually for each project.
Artificial intelligence further expands these possibilities. Based on customer and transaction data, AI can help select the right offer, determine the right time and channel, and create personalised content more quickly. This makes it possible to deliver personalisation at a scale that would be difficult to achieve manually.
“This is where the real opportunity lies for retailers: customer loyalty can become a measurable driver of growth. Instead of simply counting registered members and points issued, companies can analyse whether purchase frequency, basket size, product breadth or customer value are actually changing, and what contribution the programme is making to business results,” concludes Schönecker.
Please note: This article is an English translation of the original German version. In case of any discrepancies, the German version shall prevail.
