In a competitive market where customer acquisition costs continue to climb, loyalty has become a useful business asset. Yet building genuine loyalty requires more than intuition, it demands robust data to determine not only what consumers buy, but how to get them to continue buying, and continue buying more. The most successful brands don’t guess at loyalty drivers; they use comprehensive research to understand how different life stages, economic pressures, and lifestyle shifts shape purchasing decisions. When you have the right data, loyalty strategy transforms from guesswork into competitive advantage.

Gordon Dodge, Senior Consultant and Loyalty Lead at Eighty20, a consumer analytics, research and technology firm notes that South Africa, with its high loyalty participation rates and well-developed financial sector, is particularly well placed to drive this evolution. “Our market is sophisticated enough to collect world-class data but diverse enough that understanding who you are talking to truly matters,” he says. “That combination gives South African companies a real competitive edge if they learn how to use it.”

The MAPS survey covers a wide range of product categories, media channels, and consumer services, making it an indispensable resource for organisations in multiple sectors, from financial services and telecommunications to retail and entertainment.

Brand loyalty: Insights from the national surveys

As households continue to feel disposable income pressure, secondary sources such as MAPS offer valuable insights into consumer behaviour. The latest MAPS data shows that perceptions of loyalty across grocery, luxury, and sport/fitness categories reflect broader economic, social and lifestyle realities. By analysing how different household types, from young singles to mature families, engage with brands, we gain a clearer understanding of today’s retail loyalty landscape.

The numbers offer some interesting insights: Grocery loyalty is lowest overall, and the drivers behind loyalty for the various categories differ sharply by life stage. Brands that understand these dynamics stand to win big in a year marked by economic caution, increased health consciousness, and a growing appetite for lifestyle driven purchasing.

Key takeaways:

• Married Couples is a demographic that are more financially stable, however more value driven and shows the weakest loyalty.
• Single Parent Families are the most time-poor, yet show the highest loyalty to clothing stores, likely because a poor purchasing decision carries greater financial consequences for them, making them more careful about where they shop and more likely to return to trusted retailers.
• Luxury loyalty peaks with Young Couples, with Millennials and Gen Z who are driving sales through aspirational purchases.
• Young and Mature Families show consistent, strong loyalty across brands. One hypothesis is they value predictability, trusting brands that deliver quality and meaningful savings over time.

BrandMapp is another source of valuable secondary data for understanding consumer behaviour, including loyalty. For the past decade, BrandMapp and Truth have collaborated to produce an annual Loyalty Whitepaper which includes extensive research questions designed to assist loyalty programme providers. Released in March, this Whitepaper has become the definitive barometer of loyalty in South Africa. There is no other study in the local market that unpacks the landscape with this depth, scale and longitudinal consistency.

The BrandMapp research looks at loyalty programmes by generation, showing that Gen Z are nearly half as likely to use loyalty programmes as the generations that came before them. In addition, people across the board are using loyalty programmes the same, or more than last year – although the likelihood of increased use drops off with age.

❝ Since 2023, the share of South Africans not using loyalty programmes has fallen sharply from 25% to 15% while the proportion using them as much or more than before has risen from 67% to over three-quarters of the population.

Longitudinal data reveals a clear shift in loyalty programme engagement. Since 2023, the share of South Africans not using loyalty programmes has fallen sharply from 25% to 15% while the proportion using them as much or more than before has risen from 67% to over three-quarters of the population.

But higher usage doesn’t necessarily mean deeper loyalty. In a tough economy, signing up for every available grocery programme is a rational survival strategy, not an expression of brand devotion. The Truth & BrandMapp Loyalty Whitepaper found that wealthier consumers belong to more than nine programmes on average, and the MAPS data shows that three-quarters of Dis-Chem Benefits members also carry a Clicks Club Card.

“Customers generally are not as loyal to a particular retail brand as retailers would like to believe. In fact, customers are typically more loyal to a brand of tomato sauce, as an example, than the store they bought it from” says Steve Burnstone, CEO at Eighty20.

Primary Research

Beyond secondary data, primary research is also an effective means to understand customers and build propositions that resonate. Eighty20 conducts bespoke loyalty research by surveying a brand’s existing customers (both members and non-members) or a neutral panel. In addition to measuring programme perception, techniques like conjoint analysis allow brands to quantify how customers value different proposition elements relative to each other.

“Conjoint analysis is particularly useful for understanding the perceived value of a programme element versus its cost. For example, it is not unusual to find out from this type of research that a well-executed birthday offer may be valued almost as highly as 2% back on all spend, even though it costs significantly less to deliver.” notes Burnstone.

What’s emerges, then, is an understanding of consumers who are typically more engaged and more deliberate but also more calculating. They know the programmes, they work the benefits, and they feel little obligation to choose sides. For brands willing to invest in genuinely understanding who their customers are and what truly drives their behaviour, this landscape presents both opportunities and threats, but also provides the tools to build lasting, profitable relationships.

Want to explore this analysis for your category, brand or segment? Log into the Eighty20 Data Portal to drill down further.

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