The Road to Rewards

The Road
to Rewards
Fuel Savings Rank #1
as Consumers’ Preferred
Incentive for Rewards
Programs
An Excentus consumer survey by Ipsos eNation,
July 2015
1
The Road to Rewards
Overview
U.S. retailers and merchants face numerous
options when deciding which incentives to offer
their customers. A serious lack of hard data around
which incentives and rewards programs consumers
prefer and which ones deliver the highest levels of
activity, greatest likelihood of increased sales and
deepest brand loyalty makes the decision even
more difficult. Should they offer cashback programs or retailer-specific points? Instant discounts
or coupons? A July 2015 nationwide survey of
1,016 U.S. consumers found that consumers prefer
rewards programs that enable them to save on the
cost of gasoline/fuel more than other incentives.
Why? Incentives to save on fuel enable them to
save money on a household necessity, freeing up
precious budget dollars to spend elsewhere. More
than two-thirds, in fact, indicated a willingness to
change brands, switch retailers or buy in-store
rather than online in order to save anywhere from
10 cents to $1 per gallon on gasoline.
This new data proves why retailers should
offer rewards programs with incentives that
consumers want: a way to ease everyday
expenses on an everyday commodity, fuel.
2
The Road to Rewards
Fuel savings rank #1...
As consumers’ preferred incentive for rewards
U.S. consumers have ranked fuel savings as their
preferred type of rewards program and list it as the
incentive with which they earn and redeem most
actively. These findings emerged in a recent survey
of more than 1,000 consumers about rewardsbased incentives, including insights into why
consumers join rewards programs, how frequently/
actively they use rewards incentives, and how they
incorporate rewards programs into their daily budgets, brand/retailer choices and shopping patterns.
More than half of Americans (54%) belong to a program that enables them to earn incentives they can
redeem on the cost of gasoline/fuel.
Fuel savings
rewards
Cash back
on credit card
Retailer/brand
coupons
Credit card
rewards
Cash-register
instant discounts
Retailer-specific
rewards
Airline
miles
Restaurant/grocer
rewards
Members-only
rewards
Hotel
points
0%
Fuel savings, in fact, emerged as #1 of all incentives
among today’s most common rewards program
benefits.
10%
20%
30%
37%
32%
25%
24%
24%
22%
17%
16%
16%
14%
40%
For membership and consumer activity
Activity levels are high with fuel-savings rewards
programs. When asked to rate programs in which
they are most actively earning rewards, fuel savings
rank #1 at 29% -- higher than credit card cash-back
programs and rewards, instant discounts, merchant-specific rewards, coupons, airline and hotel
miles/points.
And when they say “active,” they mean active: 46%
of consumers say they earn, buy, redeem or check
rewards daily or weekly.
Fuel savings
rewards
Cash back
on credit card
Credit card
rewards
Cash-register
instant discounts
Retailer-specific
rewards
Retailer/brand
coupons
Restaurant/grocer
rewards
Airline
miles
Hotel
points
0%
10%
20%
29%
24%
17%
16%
15%
13%
10%
10%
6%
30%
The survey of 1,016 U.S. consumers was conducted July 10-13, 2015 by Ipsos eNation on behalf of Excentus Corp. The survey has a margin
of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points.
3
The Road to Rewards
Rewards program popularity is driven by the ability
to save, earn and redeem on everyday purchases
The most common merchants
from whom consumers earn
fuel-savings rewards encompass
retailers that are part of daily
shopping routines:
68% 22%
16%
7%
Gasoline is a universal commodity
and an unavoidable line item in
most consumers’ budgets. What
drives consumers to join fuelsavings programs?
Say the fuel incentive is offered as part of an
existing loyalty program
Join to save money
Grocery
stores
Retail
stores
Credit
Cards
Restaurant
or dining
Join because they can earn rewards where they
already shop
Join to save on the costs of driving
Join because the incentive is linked to a credit card
46%
40%
37%
19%
15%
I like saving money any way I can
I can earn rewards/points on everyday purchases
Money saved eases the strain in my household budget
I was offered an incentive to join
It’s my way of supporting my favorite brand
Other
4
The Road to Rewards
Key Insights
Fuel savings influence millennials’ mobile behaviors and consumers’
brand and shopping preferences. The Midwest embraces fuel savings
slightly more than the West, South & Northeast regions.
Future updates from the Excentus-Ipsos survey will
explore additional insights into the popularity of
fuel-savings rewards programs, including regional
Millennials (ages 18-34) are
more than twice as likely as
other age groups to prefer
to track their rewards from a
mobile app (33% Millennials;
16% ages 34-54; 3% ages 55+)
and demographic differences, and their impact on
shoppers’ preferences and behaviors. A few highlights include:
Midwestern consumers (57%)
are more likely than those in
other U.S. regions to belong to
a fuel-savings rewards program,
compared with 56% West, 52%
South and 50% Northeast
Fuel savings can influence
shopping behaviors and brand
preferences, based on 19% of
consumers who would choose
a different brand to earn 25-50
cents-per-gallon on fuel, 17%20% who would switch retailers
to earn 25 cents to $1 per-gallon
on fuel, and 20% who would purchase in-store rather than online
to earn 25-50 cents-per-gallon
on fuel.
Conclusion
Based on consumers’ responses and behaviors, retailers now have clearer data
and insight into the incentives that shoppers enjoy most in rewards and loyalty
programs. Whether stand-alone or combined with other rewards programs, the
ability to save money on gasoline/fuel is a popular, frequently used and soughtafter incentive. Today’s consumers enjoy the value and budget-friendly impact
of fuel savings, and the regularity and frequency with which they can enjoy and
redeem the rewards they earn. Retailers and merchants can take advantage of
these new findings as they create and enhance rewards programs, especially if they
are interested in more customers, more sales, more program activity and deeper
customer satisfaction and loyalty.
5
The Road to Rewards
Media and Analyst Inquiries
Additional information and data from this survey
is available to analysts and media professionals
who cover customer loyalty, rewards programs,
consumer behaviors, the retail sector and other
related topics of interest. For upcoming reports,
research, articles or editorial calendars, please
contact Vanessa Horwell, vhorwell@thinkinkpr.com
or call +1-305-759-5342 ext. 232.
Upcoming reports from our business intelligence unit include:
•
Spotlight on Millennials: What drives behavior around retailer
incentives and rewards programs.
•
American Shopper Insights: A closer look, based on demographics
and region, at consumer preferences around retailer incentives
and rewards.
Excentus creates proprietary software that helps
numerous loyalty and marketing programs drive
down the cost of everyday commodities like gasoline. With direct-to-consumer programs like the
Fuel Rewards® program and fuelperks!, or through
companies utilizing its Centego products and services, Excentus has helped consumers save more
than $500 million at the pump since 2012.
http://www.excentus.com/
6
The Road to Rewards
Ipsos is the world’s third largest survey research
firm with offices in 56 countries. In North America,
Ipsos consists of 1,500 research professionals
across 30 locations in the U.S. and Canada. Both
the Ipsos survey invitation list and the returned
data are weighted to reflect the demographic composition of the U.S. adult population.
http://www.ipsos-na.com/