In a year of disruption in New Zealand’s loyalty landscape, with two long-running coalition programmes closing their doors, supermarket competition has intensified and consumers continue to navigate a stubborn cost-of-living squeeze. With this in mind, you might expect Kiwi enthusiasm for loyalty programmes to be on the down; but it isn’t, it is only growing.
For the second year running, Quantum Jump partnered with research specialist Yabble to assess New Zealand’s loyalty market. In August 2025 we surveyed 1,000 New Zealanders aged 18+, nationally representative by age, gender and region, each a member of at least one loyalty or reward programme.
Appetite for loyalty is rising and Everyday Rewards is dominating coalition programmes. Digital expectations are climbing across every age group but email still rules for comms.
Up slightly on 2024, three in four Kiwis (75%) feel positive about loyalty programmes, while the share who consider them a waste of time is just 4%. Among under-25s, positivity reaches a remarkable 90%, and the 25-34 cohort isn’t far behind at 83%.
Positive sentiment is one thing, but influence on behaviour is another. This is where the data really matters for brands.
Loyalty is no longer just the preserve of retention teams, but has become an acquisition lever alongside this. 1 in 3 Kiwis say a loyalty programme influences a first-time purchase decision (48% of under-35s), and 44% say it influences whether they stay with a company.
Engagement with loyalty programmes barely dips across income groups: 62% of comfortable households shop more with brands whose programme they like, alongside 64% of those managing and 61% of those struggling. In tighter times, customers don’t abandon loyalty, but instead they double down on the programmes that deliver.
Loyalty is a default expectation in several categories. Nine in ten Kiwis (89%) expect supermarkets to have a loyalty programme as a standard part of the offer. Apparel, beauty and home (65%), travel (64%), DIY/hardware (60%) and power/energy (56%) all sit comfortably above the 50% threshold.
Younger Kiwis expect more, and across more categories. Under-35s push expectations higher in DIY, banking, insurance and subscription services in particular, categories where loyalty has historically been less expected, but where the lack of a programme is now becoming a competitive vulnerability.
When asked to name their top three programmes, Kiwis are remarkably consistent. Everyday Rewards leads the pack, named first by 37% and included in 69% of top-three lists. Air New Zealand Airpoints sits second (33% / 58%), with New World Clubcard third (11% / 37%).
Everyday Rewards is doing three things very well: it is ubiquitous; it is perceived as genuinely generous; and it is unapologetically app-forward. This combination is a reminder that scale, value and digital execution compound on each other.
It is also why coalition programmes continue to win the structural argument. Eight in ten Kiwis (80%) prefer programmes where multiple brands are involved, citing faster points accumulation (35%), more places to earn and burn (25%), and better overall value (22%) as the main reasons.
Core mechanics still matter most in loyalty, with 87% of New Zealanders ranking either earning points or getting instant discounts among their top benefits, and is followed at a distance by ‘surprise and delight’ freebies (48%), better experiences such as faster delivery (28%), competitions (27%) and exclusive products or events (22%).
Three deeper currents, however, are reshaping expectations.
59% of under-25s rate “being digital-based” as highly important, but the figure is now 41-49% across the 25-54 brackets, and still meaningful at 25% for the over-65s.
Email is the preferred channel, chosen by 83% of Kiwis as one of their top two preferred ways to hear from a loyalty programme, well ahead of app notifications (40%), text (15%) or direct mail (6%). Yet when asked how well loyalty programmes communicate today, at the point of joining and on an ongoing basis, only 25% rated their experience as excellent. 43% rated it below par, poor or just OK.
That is one of the largest opportunity gaps in the entire dataset. Most brands are overlooking how direct, relevant, well-timed communication is what turns a transactional rewards mechanic into a relationship.
Almost half of Kiwis (48%) place “occasional freebies” in their top benefits. This is a meaningful signal that purely transactional programmes are starting to feel commoditised. Tiers are powerful here too: 58% of 18-24s say tier mechanics motivate them to engage more, compared with just 17% of over-65s, suggesting younger Kiwis are increasingly comfortable with status as a reward in its own right. And under-35s are notably more open than older cohorts to paying a subscription fee for elevated loyalty benefits.
Younger Kiwis are increasingly comfortable sharing their data in exchange for relevant offers: 48% of 25–34s and 43% of 18-24s, versus just 28% of over-65s. Permission, when handled well, is becoming more plentiful and valuable.
Three strategic imperatives stand out for any New Zealand business thinking about how to compete on customer relationships over the next 18 months.
Mobile-first, app-led programmes that integrate into daily routines (grocery, payment wallets, travel) are now the benchmark. Personalisation and real-time offers need to layer on without overwhelming the user.
At the same time, digital-only thinking risks alienating the audience with the most money to spend. Roughly 55% of New Zealand’s economic value sits with the 45+ cohort, where digital importance scores drop sharply (down to 25% among over-65s). Hybrid models like apps plus email, plus physical cards, plus genuine human service will outperform pure-digital plays in this segment.
Given that email remains the channel of choice for 83% of Kiwis, the brands that win the next two years will be those that elevate loyalty communication to the same standard as their advertising. That means real personalisation, relevance, timing, and a genuine investment in the editorial skill of the customer message.
Generative and agentic AI agents are beginning to act as intermediaries in search and shopping, recommending “best value” products without any loyalty bias. AI-driven shopping assistants can quietly reduce brand visibility for those without strong pre-existing loyalty or subscription relationships.
Three defences will matter. First, deeper first-party data strategies, so brands can personalise in ways an AI agent cannot replicate. Second, genuinely emotional loyalty with surprise, delight, exclusivity and recognition. Third, membership ecosystems that span multiple categories, making it harder for an AI to swap a brand out without breaking value the customer already enjoys.
Quantum Jump is New Zealand’s specialist loyalty agency. Our team has helped design, launch and nurture some of the country’s most iconic programmes: New World Clubcard, Mitre 10 Club, Sky Rewards, Subcard, and Farmers Club. We bring strategic, creative and data-driven thinking to loyalty, CRM, CX and marketing automation.
Ben Goodale, CEO
METHODOLOGY
Quantitative survey of 1,000 New Zealanders aged 18+, conducted by Yabble for Quantum Jump in August 2025. Sample nationally representative by age, gender and region. Respondents were required to be a member of at least one loyalty or reward programme (self-defined). Year-on-year comparisons reference the equivalent 2024 study.
© Quantum Jump & Yabble 2026. Insights may be cited with attribution.
