With the warning that the winners may not be the ones you expect
The only constant in loyalty programs right now is change says the editor of Newsweek when introducing the list of top programmes in North America, 2022, compiled with statista.
The 2022 ranking of “America’s Best Loyalty Programs” (Newsweek’s description not ours) was compiled based on the results of an independent survey of more than 4,000 U.S. customers who are members of loyalty programs of retailers or service providers in the US.
We provide the top three of the various categories below, but first some comments from Loyalty Magazine:
The category breakdowns made it difficult for the big brands to sweep the board. For example Nike did poorly because apparel was split from footwear, from outdoor and athletic apparel, from women’s apparel, and from premium apparel.
Supermarkets were split from superstores which hurt Walmart, and home furnishing was split from home goods and décor, and from home improvements stores, which hurt Ikea, among others.
There were other bizarre categorisations: Casual dining chains were split from bagel and sandwich chains, from coffee house chains, plus fast food chains, which led to some very small operators taking the top spot from Starbucks and other loyalty biggies. Andy’s Frozen Custard gained one of the top scores of the whole survey, with 9.73.
However, the survey is interesting not least because it shows just how many small and local loyalty programs there are in the US!
Methodology
Customers were given the opportunity to evaluate various loyalty programs: around 20,000 evaluations were collected. The survey period ran from October to November 2021.
Loyalty programs were defined as all reward programs that provided the customer with a benefit when purchasing or using the products or services of the associated brands.
The survey was conducted on retailers and service providers from 36 categories, providing results for a broad spectrum of loyalty programs in traditional retail, online retail, and service segments. The awarded loyalty programs each received an above average overall score.
The final assessment and rankings were based on six criteria:
1. Ease & enjoyment: Measures the value of the perks of being in the rewards program.(weighted 5 percent)
2. Benefit: Measures whether the rewards are – in the customer’s perception – worth being part of the program. (weighted 20 percent)
3. Overall satisfaction: Measures whether personal expectations were fulfilled, and whether the customer is satisfied with the experience of the loyalty program overall. (weighted 25 percent)
4. Customer support: Measures the level of assistance provided to customers when signing up for the program or having trouble redeeming benefits. (weighted 10 percent)
5. Trust: measures the trust in the loyalty program around how they use the personal data provided through the program. (weighted 10 percent)
6. Recommendation: Measures the likelihood of recommending the program to friends and family.(weighted 30 percent).
So who were the winners?
The survey broke down the programmes into various sectors and each was given a final score out of ten.
The top three in each sector are as follows:
Clothing – Urban Outfitters top for its UO Rewards, followed by Burlington and then Nordstrom Rack.
Baby and Children’s Products – Carters was top with MyPlaceRewards$, followed by The Children’s Place and Walmart.
Department stores – Bealls was top with MoreRewards, followed by Burlington and Belk
Footwear – Shoes.com was top with MyShoes Rewards, followed by Zappos and Champs Sports
Outdoor and Athletic apparel – LL Bean was top with LL Bean Mastercard, followed by Columbia and The North Face
Plus size fashion – Ashley VIP Credit card was top, followed by Lane Bryant and Torrid
Premium apparel – J Crew was top with J Crew Rewards, followed by Abercrombie & Fitch and Calvin Klein
Women’s apparel – LOFT was top with ALL Rewards, followed by Maurices and Victoria’s Secret
Convenience stores – Wawa was top with Wawa Rewards, followed by QuikTrip and 7 eleven
Perfume and cosmetics – Beauty Encounter was top with be. Points, followed by Sally Beauty and Tarte
Pharmacies and drugstores – Kroger was top with Kroger Rewards World Elite Mastercard, followed by ShopRite and Giant Eagle
Supermarkets – Smith’s was top with Smith’s Rewards World Elite Mastercard, followed by Sprouts and Mariano’s
Superstores – Costco was top with Costco Membership, followed by Sam’s Club and Walmart
General Reward Programes – My Points was top, followed by Swagbucks and Fetch Rewards
Book stores – Better World Books was top followed by BAM! Books-A-Million and Barnes & Noble
Consumer Electronics – Samsung was top with Samsung Rewards, followed by RadioShack and Newegg
Home Furnishing – Ashley Homestore was top with Orange, followed by Big Lots and AllModern
Home décor – Ikea was top followed by edBath & Beyond and HomeGoods
Home Improvements – True Value Rewards was top with True Value Rewards followed by Menards and The Home Depot
Bagel and Sandwich chains – Jersey Mike’s Subs was top with MyMike’s followed by Einstein Bros. Bagels and Subway
Casual Dining Restaurant chains – PJ Chang’s was top with P.F. Chang’s Rewards followed by Denny’s and Chili’s
Coffeehouse chains – Scooter’s coffee was top with Scooter’s Coffee App, followed by Peet’s Coffee and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
Fast-Casual Restaurant Chains – Qdoba was top with Qdoba Rewards, followed by Red Robin and Chipotle
Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt Stores – Andy’s Frozen Custard was top with Yum Squad, followed by Menchie’s and sweetFrog
Pizza Chains – Round Table Pizza was top with Round Table Pizza Royal Reward App, followed by Hungry Howie’s and Donatos
Banking – M&T Bank was top, followed by US Bank and Citi
Airlines – Alaska Airlines was top with Mileage Plan, followed by Frontier and jetBlue
Car Rental – National Car Rental was top with The Emerald Club followed by Ace Rent-A-Car and enterprise Rent-A-Car
Flights, Hotels and Holiday Deals Search Engines – Hotels.com was top with Hotels.com Rewards, followed by priceline.com and Expedia
Gas Stations – Wawa was top with Wawa Rewards, followed by Sunoco and Casey’s
Hotel and Hospitality Reward Programs – Radison Hotels Americas was top with Radisson Rewards Americas followed by Hyatt and IHG
Auto Parts Retailer – AutoZone was top with AutoZone Rewards, followed by Naa and O’Reilly Auto Parts.