Cash Back is the Most Popular Type of Loyalty Scheme for Consumers

November 15, 2018

Consumers value cash for their loyalty over other loyalty schemes, according to a study [report download] from Dosh. Of the 3,000 US consumers surveyed, 83% feel rewarded when receiving cash back (31% of the whole sample feeling very rewarded and 52% a little rewarded).

By contrast, around half (49%) of respondents from the same study feel rewarded by tiered programs such as those commonly offered by the travel industry (9% very rewarded; 40% a little rewarded).

The study highlights other areas where at least 3 in 10 consumers report being very rewarded, including birthday gifts (38%), free samples (32%), and instant coupons (30%). These findings back up previous research from Maritz, which showed that consumers prefer cash back and want rewards that are easy to obtain.

Is the Cash Back Enough?

While consumers prefer cash back rewards over other reward schemes, they don’t have universal opinions over whether their cash back credit card gives enough of a reward. Just under a third (31%) of respondents strongly agreed that “my credit card doesn’t give enough cash back.” The exact same proportion disagrees and indicated that they are satisfied with the amount of cash back. The remaining 39% of respondents somewhat agreed with the statement.

However, another study reveals a significantly different result, with 59% of customers being very satisfied with their bank-branded cash-back/rebate programs. Either way, these numbers are significant to credit card companies as reward value has a direct link to customer satisfaction.

Coupons Go to Waste But Still Remain Popular

Coupons are another way retailers try to reward their customers. However, only 3 in 10 feel very rewarded when offered instant coupons, and when coupons are earned they are not necessarily used. A full 42% of consumers did not agree with the statement, “I never let a coupon go to waste.”

It should be noted that those who do use their coupons use them frequently, with 43% reporting that they had used coupons within the past week. This indicates that while coupons can be effective, they are not perceived as a scarce resource.

The full report by Dosh is available for download here.

About the data: The survey of 3,350 US consumers, aged 18 and older, was conducted by YouGov on behalf of Dosh.

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