Bridging the loyalty divide: Turning data into loyalty that lasts

Our recent Know me or lose me report highlighted an emerging loyalty divide that is steadily widening as customer expectations rise and traditional loyalty programmes falter. In fact, 64% of leaders interviewed believe traditional loyalty programmes will soon be obsolete.

While 63% of respondents said AI-driven loyalty gives brands a clear advantage, the growing divide isn’t just about who has the biggest budget. It’s about the businesses that can activate customer data to create meaningful, resonant experiences, versus those that can’t, or won’t.

But with 52% of leaders admitting that their own loyalty programme has already cost them customers, the time to act has never been more important. But what does it look like to bridge this gap in practice? Below are three real-world examples of how we’ve worked with brands to transform loyalty by rethinking how they deliver value to their customers. Let’s get started.

From points to purpose: loyalty reimagined with wagamama

As Know me or lose me shows, successful loyalty is increasingly about emotional connections, not just transactional incentives. For wagamama, an Asian inspired UK restaurant chain, they wanted a way to reward and connect with their customers outside of their restaurants, providing extra value even when not dining.

Nine months after the build began, and following extensive research and testing to ensure a seamless customer experience, soul club was born; a digital-first loyalty experience built around customers’ dining habits and preferences, including access to exclusive content and special events, among other perks.

We helped deliver a seamless integration across dine-in, takeaway and delivery, with real-time, personalised offers driven by behavioural data. Finally, a scalable CMS and platform architecture will help wagamama to continuously evolve their loyalty proposition.

It’s a loyalty experience grounded in relevance and delight, not just discounts and gimmicks.

Personalised loyalty at scale: thinkmoney’s digital transformation

The report highlights a critical finding: 66% of businesses are shifting away from acquisition and toward retention. But retention only works when the experience on offer is genuinely useful, timely and easy.

Our work with thinkmoney, a digital bank aiming to provide inclusive, accessible banking to all, involved migrating their platform away from a legacy system in order to flex to meet evolving customer needs. With their digital growth stunted, thinkmoney knew they needed a platform that delivered a better customer experience in order to retain them.

We built everything from the banking-essential features to thinkmoney’s USP features, like their benefits platform and automated budgeting tools. Users were engaged throughout to ensure that customers actually wanted and would use what was being built, and a migration to AWS meant the platform was built on scalable, flexible infrastructure.

Over the course of eight months, we successfully migrated 105,000 customers to their new platform and mobile apps, increasing the user base in the process. A 50% reduction in calls to contact centres has also seen significant operational cost savings, freeing up resources and improving satisfaction.

The outcome for thinkmoney is a more intelligent, data-driven app experience that aligns to customer needs, and being able to now rapidly launch new customer propositions when user needs require them, supports thinkmoney’s innovation and growth providing exceptional customer service to its users.

Reinforcing loyalty by reducing friction: Azzurri Group’s dining evolution

Sometimes, the biggest loyalty drivers are the little moments that reduce frustration and deliver seamless service.

That was the challenge facing Azzurri Group, the parent company of Zizzi and ASK Italian, as it looked to modernise the dining experience for a post-pandemic world.

Branded as Speedy at Zizzi and Pronto in ASK Italian, we developed a mobile web application that offered a fast, responsive platform without the need for an app store download. The app aims to eliminate common friction points like waiting to order, splitting the bill, and tipping.

The final app reduced the average visit time by 10 minutes, with customers no longer having to wait to catch the waiter’s eye. Azzurri Group has also seen 50% higher tips through the app compared to traditional card payments, and over 4.5 stars in customer satisfaction ratings.

By improving the core dining journey, Azzurri Group delivered a clear value exchange: convenience, control and an experience worth repeating. It’s a reminder that loyalty doesn’t always need a membership card - just thoughtful, data-driven design.

Closing the loyalty gap

Loyalty is no longer just about who offers the best and biggest discounts; it’s about who genuinely knows their customers best, and responds in ways that feel personal and relevant. Whether it’s through smart personalisation, intuitive UX or seamless journeys, the examples given show what’s possible when loyalty is seen as a strategic outcome, and not just a side project.

To build lasting loyalty today, brands need to unify customer data across every touchpoint, make their loyalty programmes purpose-led and not just promotional, use real time insights to serve relevant actions, and design platforms that evolve with their customer and the pace of change.

As Know me or lose me shows, the businesses that are closing the loyalty gap are doing so with intent: aligning culture, tech and data around their customer. 

Ready to bridge your own loyalty divide?

Let’s talk about how we can help you define and deliver modern loyalty, built on trust, powered by data, and designed to last.

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