Nearly Half of Consumers With Kids Would Switch to Merchants With Card-Linked Offers

Sixty-five percent of credit or debit card users prefer to shop with brands or merchants where they are members of loyalty or rewards programs.

This is one of the findings in the PYMNTS Intelligence report "Leveraging Item-Level Receipt Data: How Card-Linked Offers Drive Customer Loyalty," a collaboration with Banyan. The study examined U.S. consumers' interest in loyalty and rewards programs, their preference for card-linked offers, and how merchants can increase awareness and use of these offers.

Key Findings

The report revealed that 41% of consumers prefer cards with personalized rewards, indicating the economic incentives tailored programs provide to increase customer loyalty.

Against this backdrop, card-linked offers have emerged as a popular strategy among merchants to attract new customers, enhance the consumer purchasing experience, and generate new sources of sales revenue.

The Switching Risk

Failure to adopt this strategy comes with risks. Per the study, one-third of consumers are likely to switch their shopping behaviors and choose merchants that provide card-linked offer programs.

Drilling down into the demographics:

• 50% of millennials are likely to switch to merchants offering product-specific CLO programs
• 49% of consumers with children are likely to switch
• 44% of new customers are likely to switch

For merchant-specific programs, the numbers are even higher:

• 50% of millennials likely to switch
• 50% of consumers with children likely to switch
• 48% of new customers likely to switch

Where Consumers Want CLOs

More than 60% of consumers surveyed expressed their intention to use card-linked offers when purchasing:

• Travel
• Professional services
• Groceries
• Digital streaming services
• Restaurant food
• Retail products

The Bottom Line

Card-linked offers have proven to be a powerful tool for attracting new customers and driving customer loyalty. By leveraging item-level receipt data and providing personalized and relevant offers, merchants can enhance the consumer purchasing experience and increase customer engagement.

Merchants and card issuers must also promote these programs and educate consumers about their benefits to maximize their effectiveness.