Personalization in loyalty programs isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s fast becoming a necessity.
Tailoring experiences through your loyalty program has been proven to drive repeat purchases, increase customer lifetime value (CLV), and turn one-time shoppers into lifelong advocates – vital in today’s competitive, costly ecommerce landscape.
The great news? You likely already have the data to start. Here’s how.
This guide breaks down both one-to-one and one-to-many personalization strategies you can apply within your loyalty program today to boost engagement and grow your revenue.
Plus, we’ve added real brand examples and practical steps to help you get started. Let’s go!
What is loyalty program personalization — and why does it matter?
There are two types of personalization worth understanding:
- One-to-one personalization means tailoring experiences based on an individual customer’s behavior or data — like their birthday, purchase history, loyalty points balance, rewards now available to them to redeem, or quiz answers.
- One-to-many personalization means tailoring experiences for specific segments — like members of your loyalty program, those in each VIP tier, or high-CLV customers — so everyone gets something relevant, even if not totally unique to them.
Both approaches make customers feel seen, and ultimately lead to higher loyalty program engagement. The result is an increase in average order value (AOV), CLV, and revenue growth.
The stats prove that personalization matters to customers:
- 66% of consumers say they’d be loyal to a brand that recognizes them as an individual (LoyaltyLion).
- 80% say they are more likely to do business with a company if it offers personalized experiences (Epsilon).
- 44% want rewards based on their purchase history (Deloitte).
- 74% get frustrated when website content isn’t tailored to them (Janrain).
How personalization strengthens your loyalty program
Personalizing your loyalty program doesn’t just make customers happier. It supercharges your program’s ability to power customer retention and revenue growth. Here’s how:
- Increase program engagement and reduce customer churn
Personalized, integrated loyalty pages show each individual program member their progress toward rewards or tiers. This gives them a seamless loyalty journey every time they log in. - Drive more frequent purchases
Segmented emails and SMS based on tier, lifecycle stage, or behavior capture attention better than generalized messages, increasing click-through rate (CTR) and reducing time between purchases.
- Gather zero-party data to improve marketing
Tools like quizzes, profile completions, or reviews can all be incentivized through loyalty points offers, helping you collect valuable insight directly from your customers which can be used to further personalize their experiences. - Create standout VIP experiences
Offering bigger and better rewards and perks for members of your VIP tiers helps them feel uniquely privileged. Better still, design those perks with a one-on-one feel: for instance, brands like Never Fully Dressed offer styling sessions for top-tier members, creating emotional engagement that no discount could replicate. - Enable seamless multichannel loyalty
Whether online, in-store, or in a customer service interaction, personalized recognition (like ensuring agents can see an individual customer’s points balance or tier status) keeps experiences consistent, rewarding, and reduces customer churn in tricky situations.
Data and segmentation are vital for personalization
To personalize effectively, you’ll need to gather data. You’ll probably already have some – and a loyalty program can help incentivize the easy collection of even more.
Start personalizing your loyalty program using these simple data types:
- Birthday data: Offer loyalty points in exchange for this info, then deliver compelling birthday perks (like points or a free gift) that encourage a celebratory purchase.
- Tier segmentation: Use VIP tiers to segment the loyalty members that are most engaged with your program or have the highest customer lifetime value, and then offer them perks and treats that encourage them to climb the tiers.
- Direct feedback: Look at helpdesk queries, complaints, and even run in-person workshops for top-tier members, to understand what loyal customers want more (or less) of.
- Zero-party data: Encourage customers to willingly share info through quizzes or UGC prompts, like more points for reviews featuring images.
Other examples include how recently a customer purchased, their product preferences, demographics, and behavioral personas. The list goes on!
It’s simple. Identify the data, and you can personalize your loyalty program to incentivize that segment or individual customer better. This maximizes your revenue-driving potential, whilst keeping customers feeling happy, rewarded, and sticky to your brand.
How to personalize your loyalty program in practice
Here are practical, implementable ideas for personalization — many of which can be done using LoyaltyLion’s seamless integrations with tools like Klaviyo, Attentive, and Tapcart:
1. Personalized member communications
- Trigger SMS or email reminders when someone is close to a reward or tier.
- Send member-only sale invites or product drop alerts to make each customer feel part of an exclusive club.
- Use quiz data to send product tips or offers specific to the customer’s stated needs.
2. Integrated loyalty pages
- Show each customer their individual points balance, progress toward rewards, or what’s needed to reach the next tier.
- Reduce time between purchases by showing how close they are to a benefit.
3. Tier-based experiences
- Offer escalating perks, like early access to sales, exclusive gifts, or events.
- Make it feel personal by connecting perks to their past behavior (e.g. “you loved this last month — here’s something similar, just for you”).
4. Encourage reviews and UGC
- Offer loyalty points for reviews, with bonus points for photo submissions.
- Customers feel rewarded for sharing, and your brand gains social proof which helps customers trust your brand.
5. Offline integration
- Offer personalized service or perks in-store or via your help desk — from bonus points to complimentary products — when a customer’s loyalty profile indicates they’re valuable or at risk of churning.
6. Custom rewards and activities
- Let customers unlock personalized rewards — like engraving their initials on a product — using their points.
- Reward them for completing specific activities based on their purchase or loyalty history.
Real-world examples of personalized loyalty in action
Leveraging zero-party data to boost individual experiences
- Edgard & Cooper incentivize pet owners to complete profiles that include breed, dietary needs, and flavor preferences — enabling super-relevant product suggestions.
- The INKEY List uses quizzes to collect skincare needs, then sends personalized Klaviyo flows. Members get 50 bonus points, free products, and relevant suggestions — all triggered by their own inputs.
Personalization based on a customer’s points and tier status
- Ogee uses SMS and email via Klaviyo to remind customers of their points and tier status, nudging them toward reward redemption or tier progression.
- Bombshell uses Attentive to send personalized alerts about sales, new products, and loyalty milestones — driven by member data and tier status.
Members-only perks and benefits
- REPRESENT offers new product drops in their mobile app to Prestige Program members only — boosting repeat purchase frequency by 46% vs their mobile site.
- Rat & Boa’s loyal members enjoy exclusive first access to new launches and limited-edition pieces, creating a sense of exclusivity and urgency.
Exclusive experiences for top-tier members
- Never Fully Dressed invited members of its top ‘Black’ tier to attend a hugely popular Sugababes concert in London, arriving in NFD-branded taxis and wearing gifted outfits by the brand. The brand also offers one-on-one styling sessions to members of its two top-tiers with in-house stylist, Leila. Customers can’t get enough of them!
Looking ahead: AI and the future of personalization
AI is making it easier than ever to personalize loyalty experiences at scale.
Tools like LimeSpot, which integrates seamlessly with LoyaltyLion, uses AI to analyze an individual’s browsing and purchase behavior, leading to personalized product recommendations. When integrated with a loyalty program, brands can:
- Offer bonus points to encourage the individual to buy their recommended products
- Set up member-only pricing for those tailor-made product bundles
- Send dynamic email or SMS loyalty messages prompting the customer to return to that particular product page
That’s just one example of AI and loyalty. As shoppers become more willing to share their data in exchange for genuinely helpful recommendations, and AI tools become more powerful, AI-based loyalty personalization will only become more of a vital differentiator for brands.
Personalized loyalty programs squeeze the very best from your data
You don’t need big bucks to deliver powerful personalization within your loyalty. Start with what you know:
- Ask your customers for input – and then respond with loyalty offers that match.
- Use the data you already have – to deliver messages that encourage repeat purchases.
- Make small tweaks, like tailored emails or segmented rewards, that build connection over time.
Use your loyalty dashboard to easily review your program stats and total revenue contribution. From here, you can plan new personalizations as you go.
The beauty of personalized loyalty is that it compounds. The more your customers feel seen, the more they’ll engage — giving you even better data and retaining customers for longer.
Want to know more about how to personalize your loyalty program? Chat to our experts today.
