Paytronix Annual Loyalty Report 2022: Members Defy Inflation by Visiting and Spending More; Loyalty Spending Highest on Record
Newton, MA – Paytronix Systems, Inc., the most advanced digital guest experience platform, recently published the Paytronix Annual Loyalty Report 2022, which finds loyalty programs are helping combat inflation as 55 per cent of restaurant loyalty customers increased their average check size more than the price of the average item increases. The report also finds that anywhere from five to 17 per cent of overall business revenue is driven by the most loyal two to three per cent of customers and that younger members are driving a generational shift in age and spend across loyalty programs.
This second annual Paytronix Loyalty Report examines continuing trends for restaurants and convenience stores across the loyalty landscape, including those involving visits, spend, member demographics, and program types. Key report takeaways include:
A New Spending Record: In 2021, loyalty spending hit the highest level on record, demonstrating that even with rising inflation, loyalty programs are a valuable source of revenue. Casual dining, fast-casual, ice cream/snack/coffee, and Mexican/sandwich concepts all saw the highest annual spend per guest of any year for which Paytronix has data.
Top-Tier Loyalty Members: Top loyalty guests overwhelmingly represent the highest spenders and the most frequent visitors, and they offer a lifeline during an economic downturn. At convenience stores, the top eight to 10 per cent of loyalty members visit an average of 32 times a month — more than once a day — and four times as often as the next highest tier.
Generational Shift in Age and Spend: Millennials (36-55 age range) have an outsized percentage of spend, while the baby boomers (56+ segment) have an outsized percentage of visits. The largest untapped potential lies with Gen Z, (16-35 age range), as this group has the most guests who neither visit nor spend. Both the growth in spend for millennials and the shrinkage in spend for baby boomers indicate that millennials are the future of loyalty programs.
Convenience Store Trends: The spend per check for convenience store loyalty members increased by about 25 per cent last year, and much of it can be attributed to price increases in both fuel and in-store items. While the spend per check increased approximately 25 per cent from 2020 to 2021, the annual spend for convenience store loyalty members increased nearly 40 per cent. Fuel purchasers were paying more per gallon and visiting more often.
Rise of Snacking: Across all concepts, 2021 saw the highest annual spend per guest of any year for which Paytronix has data. The difference was often minimal, but the ice cream/snack/coffee segment proved an exception, as guests eagerly increased their spend by 20 per cent between 2019 and 2021.
“The Paytronix Annual Loyalty Report shows that the potential of loyalty to build relationships between customers and their favorite brands has never been greater. Between the ongoing generational shift and the critical importance of the top tier of two to three per cent of guests, it has become increasingly clear that growing cadres of loyal customers are vital for the health of brands. And the loyalty members of convenience stores who visit daily show the potential of loyalty customers to visit more often.” — Lee Barnes, Chief Data Officer, Paytronix Systems, Inc.
