United Kingdom Loyalty Market Size & Forecast by Spend Value Across 100+ KPIs by Program Type, Channel Mix, Sector, Embedded Loyalty Penetration, and Platform Spend Segmentation - Databook Q1 2026 Update

The loyalty market in United Kingdom is expected to grow by 13.5% annually, reaching US$2.64 billion by 2026.

The loyalty market in the country has experienced robust growth during 2021-2025, achieving a CAGR of 15.5%. This upward trajectory is expected to continue, with the market forecast to grow at a CAGR of 11.3% from 2026 to 2030. By the end of 2030, the loyalty market is projected to expand from its 2025 value of US$2.33 billion to approximately US$4.06 billion.

Key trends and drivers shaping the UK loyalty program market

Across the UK, loyalty is evolving from a “card-and-points” construct into an app-led, personalised and partnership-driven capability that sits inside everyday shopping and service relationships. In the forecasting period, the programs that win share of attention are likely to be those that combine targeted value in core categories, frictionless digital membership, and partner breadth while meeting rising expectations for transparency and compliant customer journeys.

Shift loyalty from “points” to personalised value in essential categories

• Major UK grocers are pushing loyalty into more tailored, mission-led mechanics rather than relying only on generic points accrual. Tesco’s 2025 initiative tied Clubcard rewards to fruit and veg with personalised rewards mechanics, signalling a move toward targeted offers that are easier for households to notice in-day-to-day shopping.
• The UK consumer environment remains cost- and value-sensitive, and supermarkets are using loyalty as a primary lever to influence basket choices and trip frequency without relying solely on broad promotions. This also aligns with retailers’ need to defend share in a highly substitutable grocery market where switching costs are low.
• Expect retailers to deepen “value-plus-personalisation” models more targeted challenges, category missions, and tailored rewards because it lets them defend price perception while controlling margin impact more tightly than across-the-board discounting.

Make the loyalty app the primary operating system for membership

• UK loyalty is increasingly being rebuilt around app-led membership experiences. Central Co-op, working with Lobyco, launched a new membership app and positioned it as the core member experience, including cashback-style benefits, gamified features, and personalised promotions
• UK retailers want lower-friction identification at checkout, tighter linkage to first-party customer data, and more direct control over member communications especially as traditional third-party targeting faces constraints. App adoption also enables faster iteration of mechanics (missions, rewards, partner offers) than plastic-card-only programs.
• App-led programs will become the default design pattern in the UK beyond the largest grocers, with mid-sized retailers and member-owned groups modernising legacy propositions. This raises the bar for usability, digital identity, and real-time offer delivery.

Extend loyalty beyond retail into financial services “rewards-as-a-product”

• UK banks are increasingly packaging loyalty as a formal account feature to defend primary banking relationships often using travel or everyday rewards constructs. Barclays positions Avios earning as part of its Premier proposition, framing loyalty as a retention and engagement tool embedded in the banking relationship.
• UK consumers hold multiple financial products and can switch providers; banks use rewards to reduce churn and increase product stickiness. This also reflects the broader UK pattern of strong travel-rewards affinity and co-branded ecosystems.
• More “bundle economics” is likely loyalty benefits tied to account tiers, subscriptions, or packaged services while banks and partners refine unit economics and eligibility rules to keep reward costs predictable.

Use partnerships to turn loyalty into an ecosystem rather than a single-brand benefit

• UK loyalty programs are leaning further into partnerships that deliver non-transactional access and experiences, not just discounts. British Airways, for example, announced a partnership positioned around exclusive benefits for loyalty members with Olympia.
• UK consumers are already members of multiple schemes; partnerships let brands add perceived breadth without building everything in-house. For operators, partnerships can widen earning/burning options and create reasons to engage outside the core purchase cycle.
• Expect more cross-sector collaborations (travel-events, retail-services, payments-rewards) and more structured partner governance, because ecosystem value increasingly determines whether a program is used versus merely held.

Tighten compliance around loyalty-linked pricing, fees, and reviews to protect trust

• UK consumer protection enforcement is sharpening around price transparency and online practices areas that directly affect loyalty-linked offers, member-only pricing presentation, and digital conversion flows. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 is in force, and related guidance/consultation activity in 2025 has focused on clearer price presentation and transparency expectations.
• Regulators are targeting consumer harm from unclear pricing and misleading online practices, and loyalty programs often sit directly in the purchase journey (member prices, app-only offers, add-ons, and partner redemptions). Maintaining trust is operationally critical when loyalty becomes more digital and personalised.
• UK program owners will invest more in governance how member pricing is messaged, how benefit terms are disclosed, and how reviews/claims are managed across owned and partner channels to reduce regulatory and reputational exposure.

Competition is evolving in the UK loyalty program market

The UK loyalty program market is characterised by high penetration, strong incumbents, and competition driven by continuous refinement rather than disruption. Scale players anchor the market through everyday relevance, while technology providers compete to become critical infrastructure partners. Over the forecasting period, competitive dynamics are expected to be shaped by the ability to integrate loyalty deeply into commercial operations, extend value through controlled partnerships, and operate within a tightening regulatory environment.

Competition is centred on optimisation rather than program creation

The UK loyalty market is structurally mature, with high consumer participation across retail, travel, and financial services. Competitive intensity is therefore driven by continuous optimisation of existing programs rather than new scheme launches. Large brands are refining mechanics, benefit structures, and digital journeys to protect engagement and relevance, while avoiding disruption to established member bases. As a result, competitive differentiation increasingly sits in execution quality how loyalty is embedded into pricing, checkout, and customer communications rather than in headline rewards.

Scale players dominate member relationships, limiting displacement risk

The competitive landscape is anchored by large, high-frequency operators. In grocery and retail, players such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Marks & Spencer use loyalty as a core commercial lever tied closely to pricing and promotions. In travel, British Airways continues to set expectations for coalition-style loyalty through Avios. These programs benefit from scale, data depth, and habitual usage, making competitive displacement unlikely. However, their size also means innovation is typically incremental rather than radical.

Technology providers compete on flexibility, analytics, and integration depth

Behind consumer-facing brands, competition among loyalty technology providers is intensifying. Vendors such as Antavo and Eagle Eye are active in the UK market, positioning themselves as long-term infrastructure partners rather than feature vendors. Competitive differentiation is increasingly based on real-time personalisation, ability to integrate with retail media and payments, and support for complex partner ecosystems. Switching costs remain high, reinforcing incumbent advantage but also increasing expectations for ongoing platform evolution.

Partnerships are a strategic tool to extend relevance without diluting control

Recent partnership activity in the UK loyalty market has focused on extending program relevance rather than expanding discount breadth. Travel and retail programs are increasingly using partnerships to offer access, experiences, or complementary services while retaining ownership of the customer relationship and data. British Airways’ recent UK-focused partnership activity around events illustrates how loyalty ecosystems are being broadened without shifting the core economic model. This approach allows brands to respond to competitive pressure quickly while maintaining governance over member propositions.

Regulation is becoming a structural factor in competitive positioning

Regulatory developments over the past 12 months particularly the implementation and early enforcement focus of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 are shaping competitive behaviour. Loyalty-linked pricing, member-only offers, and digital journeys now face higher expectations around transparency and fairness. Larger operators with established compliance capabilities are better positioned to absorb these requirements, while smaller players face higher relative operational complexity. As loyalty becomes more embedded in transactions, regulatory readiness is emerging as an implicit barrier to entry.

This report provides a detailed data-centric analysis of the loyalty industry in United Kingdom, offering comprehensive coverage of both overall and alternative lending markets. It covers more than 100+ KPIs, including spend value on loyalty schemes, loyalty breakage rate, and penetration rate.

The report provides in-depth segmentation across the loyalty ecosystem, capturing loyalty spend value and breaking it down by core market dimensions. It classifies loyalty activity by program models (such as points, cashback, tiered, subscription, coalition, and gamified formats), membership structures, and execution channels (in-store, online, and mobile app), alongside embedded loyalty use cases integrated into payments, commerce, and platform ecosystems. The analysis further segments the market by industry verticals and assesses technology enablement, including AI-driven personalisation and emerging blockchain-led program mechanics. In addition, the dataset captures consumer demographics, enrolment pathways, and key program economics such as value accumulation, redemption, and breakage. Collectively, these datasets provide a comprehensive and quantifiable view of market size, structure, engagement behaviour, and value realisation dynamics within the loyalty market.

The research methodology is based on industry best practices. Its unbiased analysis leverages a proprietary analytics platform to offer a detailed view of emerging business and investment market opportunities.

Report Scope

This report provides a detailed data-centric analysis of the loyalty market in United Kingdom, with comprehensive coverage across retail-sector context, loyalty spend dynamics, and loyalty platform economics. Below is a summary of key market segments:

United Kingdom Retail Sector Market Context

• United Kingdom Retail Industry Market Size, 2021-2030
• United Kingdom Ecommerce Market Size, 2021-2030
• United Kingdom POS Market Size Trend Analysis, 2021-2030

United Kingdom Loyalty Spend Market Size and Growth Dynamics

• United Kingdom Loyalty Spend Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics, 2021-2030
• United Kingdom Loyalty Spend on Schemes by Value Accumulated and Value Redemption Rate, 2025
• United Kingdom Loyalty Spend Share by Functional Domains, 2021-2030
• United Kingdom Loyalty Spend by Loyalty Schemes, 2021-2030
• United Kingdom Loyalty Spend by Loyalty Platforms, 2021-2030

United Kingdom Loyalty Schemes Spend Segmentation by Loyalty Program Type

• Point-based Loyalty Program
• Tiered Loyalty Program
• Mission-driven Loyalty Program
• Spend-based Loyalty Program
• Gaming Loyalty Program
• Free Perks Loyalty Program
• Subscription Loyalty Program
• Community Loyalty Program
• Refer a Friend Loyalty Program
• Paid Loyalty Program
• Cashback Loyalty Program

United Kingdom Loyalty Schemes Spend Segmentation by Channel

• In-Store
• Online
• Mobile

United Kingdom Loyalty Schemes Spend Segmentation by Business Model

• Seller Driven
• Payment Instrument Driven
• Other Segment

United Kingdom Loyalty Schemes Spend Segmentation by Key Sectors

• Retail
• Financial Services
• Healthcare & Wellness
• Restaurants & Food Delivery
• Travel & Hospitality (Cabs, Hotels, Airlines)
• Telecoms
• Media & Entertainment
• Other

Sector × Channel Views: Loyalty Schemes Spend by Key Sectors and Channels

• Online Loyalty Spend by Sector, 2021-2030
• In-store Loyalty Spend by Sector, 2021-2030
• Mobile App Loyalty Spend by Sector, 2021-2030

United Kingdom Retail Sector Deep-Dive: Loyalty Schemes Spend by Retail Segment

• Diversified Retailers
• Department Stores
• Specialty Stores
• Supermarket and Convenience Store
• Other

United Kingdom Loyalty Schemes Spend Segmentation by Accessibility

• Card Based Access
• Digital Access

United Kingdom Loyalty Schemes Spend Segmentation by Consumer Type

• B2B Consumers
• B2C Consumers

United Kingdom Loyalty Schemes Spend Segmentation by Membership Type

• Free
• Free + Premium
• Premium

United Kingdom Loyalty Spend Split by Embedded vs. Non-Embedded Loyalty

• Embedded Loyalty Programs
• Non-Embedded Loyalty Programs

United Kingdom Loyalty Spend Split by Use of AI / Blockchain

• AI Driven Loyalty Program
• Blockchain Driven Loyalty Program

United Kingdom Loyalty Platform Spend Segmentation by Software Use Case

• Analytics and AI Driven
• Management Platform

United Kingdom Loyalty Platform Spend Segmentation by Vendor / Solution Partner

• In-house
• Third-Party Vendor

United Kingdom Loyalty Platform Spend Segmentation by Deployment

• Cloud
• On-Premise

United Kingdom Loyalty Platform Spend Segmentation by Offering

• Software
• Services
• Custom Built Platform vs. Off the Shelf Platform

United Kingdom Consumer Demographics & Behaviour (Loyalty Spend Share), 2025

• Age Group
• Income Level
• Gender

United Kingdom Loyalty Program KPIs, Behavioral Metrics & Embedded, 2025

• Primary Loyalty Motivation Split Analysis
• Loyalty Program Breakage Rate Analysis
• Loyalty Program Enrollment Channel Mix Analysis
• Embedded Loyalty Penetration by Channel

Reasons to Buy

• Comprehensive Market Intelligence: Gain a comprehensive view of the loyalty market by quantifying total loyalty spend value and its composition across loyalty schemes and loyalty platforms, supported by retail context indicators to benchmark market scale, structure, and growth dynamics.
• Granular Loyalty Spend Coverage: Analyze loyalty spend value across loyalty schemes and loyalty platforms, supported by structured segmentation across program types (e.g., point-based, tiered, cashback, subscription, community, gaming, mission-driven, paid, and referral-led formats).
• Channel and Sector-Level Execution Insights: Evaluate how loyalty spend is distributed across in-store, online, and mobile channels, and across key verticals including Retail, Financial Services, Healthcare & Wellness, Restaurants & Food Delivery, Travel & Hospitality, Telecoms, and Media & Entertainment, with dedicated sector × channel views.
• Program Structure and Participation Mix: Understand how loyalty schemes differ by business model (seller-driven vs. payment-instrument-driven), accessibility (card-based vs. digital), consumer type (B2B vs. B2C), and membership type (free, premium, and free+premium), enabling more precise program design and competitive benchmarking.
• Embedded Loyalty and Emerging Mechanisms Tracking: Assess the evolution of embedded vs. non-embedded loyalty and track spend splits linked to program enablement, including AI-driven and blockchain-driven loyalty program spend where captured in the dataset.
• Platform Spend and Vendor/Deployment Benchmarking: Benchmark loyalty platform economics by software use case (analytics/AI-driven vs. management platforms), solution partner model (in-house vs. third-party), deployment (cloud vs. on-premise), and offering mix (software vs. services; custom-built vs. off-the-shelf).
• Consumer Demographics and Program KPI Lens: Access loyalty spend share by age, income, and gender, alongside decision-critical program KPIs such as loyalty penetration (% of retail sales under loyalty), primary motivation split, breakage rate, enrollment channel mix, and embedded loyalty penetration by channel.
• Decision-Ready Databook Format with 100+ KPIs: Leverage a structured dataset with historical and forecast coverage through 2030, designed for direct integration into market models, strategic planning, and executive presentations by retailers, platforms, payment providers, technology vendors, and investors.