Antavo’s 2026 report finds marketers devote 51.5% of budgets to loyalty and CRM, with satisfaction and ROI reaching record highs.
Loyalty programs have moved from marketing add-ons to central growth engines, now commanding more than half of total marketing budgets, according to Antavo’s Global Customer Loyalty Report 2026.
The annual study—based on surveys of 3,000 marketers and 10,000 consumers worldwide—found that marketers allocate 51.5 percent of their budgets to loyalty and customer relationship management on average. Satisfaction with loyalty initiatives is high, with 83 percent of program owners reporting they are pleased with performance. Even more striking, 92.7 percent said their programs deliver a positive return on investment, generating an average ROI of 5.3 times.
The findings signal a decisive shift away from short-term promotions and toward long-term customer retention strategies built on data, personalization, and experience-driven rewards.
“Another year of rising satisfaction, ROI, and investment underscores how critical loyalty programs have become,” said Attila Kecsmar, chief executive and co-founder of Antavo. “Brands that harness data, meet consumers where they are, and use AI intelligently will be the ones that build truly meaningful and profitable customer relationships.”
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Loyalty Becomes a Core Business Strategy
The report shows that loyalty initiatives are no longer peripheral experiments but foundational elements of modern marketing. Nearly nine in 10 brands—89.4 percent—said their loyalty programs create value they would not otherwise capture. And 59.8 percent of marketers said they would shift even more money from traditional promotions into loyalty efforts if they could.
Technology choices also play a significant role. Marketers emphasized the importance of platforms that are flexible and easy to manage while keeping total cost of ownership in check.
Consumers Expect More Than Discounts
For consumers, loyalty programs are increasingly influential in purchasing decisions. Nearly one-third—31.3 percent—said they are more likely to stay with a brand that offers a strong loyalty program.
Savings remain a powerful motivator, cited by 70.8 percent of respondents, and promotions continue to shape shopping behavior for 68.6 percent of respondents. But expectations are expanding beyond simple discounts. Consumers increasingly value free products or services (46.3 percent) and personalized rewards (41.6 percent), suggesting a preference for richer, more experiential benefits.
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AI and Loyalty: A Two-Way Opportunity
As third-party data becomes less reliable, loyalty programs are emerging as a critical source of first-party insight. More than half of consumers—65.9 percent—said loyalty programs are part of their everyday lives, generating a steady flow of permission-based data for brands to analyze.
Only 3.4 percent of customers actively opt out of programs, indicating that most disengaged members can be reactivated with relevant offers and messaging.
This trove of structured, consented data is becoming a prime resource for artificial intelligence applications, allowing companies to personalize experiences, predict behavior, and refine offers with greater accuracy.
“With rising budgets and consistently strong ROI, loyalty data is proving to be one of the safest and most effective foundations for AI-driven marketing,” the report notes.
