STUDY: Highest Earners Engage Most with Restaurant Loyalty Programs

Sixty percent of QSR customers use loyalty through a mobile app, according to The Digital Divide: Minding The Loyalty Gap, the latest report in an ongoing series by PYMNTS and Paytronix.

Loyalty Matters Across Formats

The report finds that nearly half of restaurant patrons engage with a loyalty program in some way and as many as 34% say that tangible improvements to the way they pick up and order food will have the greatest impact on their loyalty. Mobile technologies are key to customer engagement as half of patrons interact with their favorite restaurants’ loyalty programs via the restaurants’ mobile apps.

Cashless tipping options influence 41% of diners' restaurant decisions, according to HT's 
2021 Customer Engagement Technology Study

According to the report, 48% of restaurant customers used loyalty programs in at least one type of restaurant during the past three PYMNTS and Paytronix surveys. The survey showed that similar shares of consumers use loyalty programs at QSRs (42%) and restaurants with table service (43%). Nearly 70% of QSR patrons use loyalty programs in several of the restaurants they purchase from frequently. Table-service restaurant patrons use loyalty programs too: 64% of these clients use loyalty programs in several of the restaurants they purchase from frequently.

“Today’s consumers are convenience-focused and digitally savvy — and those key characteristics influence how and where they choose to dine. Loyalty program usage is strong, but consumers' interest in participating in such initiatives may be mitigated by how easy participation is and whether find the overall ordering process frictionless.” – Digital Divide: Minding the Loyalty Gap.

Additional report findings include:

Mobile Apps -- For table-service restaurant, 50% of loyalty program members interact via the restaurant’s mobile app. For QSRs, 60% of QSR patrons who interact with a loyalty program do so via a mobile app.

Biggest loyalty Fans -- Younger adults, the college-educated and individuals who earn more than $100,000 annually exhibit the highest engagement rates with local restaurant loyalty programs. Consumers using loyalty programs are willing to spend more at local restaurants to earn customized discounts.

Download the full report, Digital Divide: Minding the Loyalty Gap