Engage People and The Wise Marketer Research Shows High Demand for ‘Pay with Points’ Capabilities Among Marketers, Consumers
More than 95% of Respondents said Ability to Pay with Points Would Increase Customer Retention in Credit Card Marketplace
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / November 18, 2021 /
Engage People, the only loyalty network that enables program members to pay with points directly at checkout, partnered with The Wise Marketer on two exclusive studies examining loyalty trends in the credit card space. The surveys sought to gain insights into industry and consumer perspectives on using points, miles, and other rewards currency “like cash” to pay for purchases using a credit card.
A first survey, conducted among 26 credit card issuers, payment processors, and networks in July 2021, found significant support for ‘paying with points’ as a marketing concept, with 95% of respondents saying offering the ability to pay with points would enable stronger retention of loyalty members and provide a positioning advantage for their organization. Additionally, 50% of survey respondents identified the redemption of points for online purchases as a key opportunity coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with digital wallets, contactless payments and offline redemption.
In a corresponding survey of 200 U.S. consumers conducted in August 2021, 71% of respondents said they would be either “likely” or “extremely likely” to use rewards as real currency with retailers or e-commerce sites if given the option. And 66% of those surveyed pointed to value, convenience or flexibility when asked about the primary advantage of paying with points.
“These results provide qualitative data showing tangible interest in paying with points capabilities among those in the credit card space and card users themselves,” said Len Covello, CTO of Engage People. “With representatives from many loyalty programs indicating they are either exploring the pay with points option or planning to implement it in the near future, there’s a significant opportunity for credit card companies to increase the liquidity of their rewards points and better serve their customers.”
Additional survey highlights included the following:
- An overwhelming 95% of B2B respondents agreed with statements that the pay with points technique would increase the ease of redemptions, improve the number of redemption options, and provide greater redemption convenience for customers.
- Nearly 80% of B2B respondents agreed that pay with points would enable customers to redeem rewards before they reached a traditional redemption milestone.
- 82% of consumers indicated that they would stay with their credit card/bank or that the institution’s reputation would improve in their mind if they were offered pay with points options.
- Only 38% of the consumers indicated they were very satisfied with their current credit card rewards program.
Mike Capizzi, Partner in The Wise Marketer Group, added, “Issuers and cardholders are generally in alignment on the positive aspects associated with pay with points. However, issuers are often reluctant to move forward despite widespread consumer support for the concept.”
For the purposes of the studies, ‘pay with points’ was defined as the technology that enables loyalty points/miles accrued in a cardholder’s account to be converted to a fiat currency and redeemed at the point of transaction with both offline and online merchants.
By creating and enabling a frictionless and convenient way to redeem points for rewards online, Engage People unlocks the true potential of loyalty program points to deliver untapped value for program members, banks, and other program sponsors, while driving incremental sales and customer exposure for eCommerce retail partners. Learn more at www.engagepeople.com.
About The Wise Marketer
The Wise Marketer Group (WMG) is a global customer engagement and loyalty media and publication company that is the principal source of news, insights, education, and research for this $200+ billion industry served through the Wise Marketer and Loyalty Academy brands. The Wise Marketer brings together high-level marketing executives, senior directors, and managers with day-to-day accountability for customer strategy and loyalty program delivery. WMG has nearly two decades of experience covering, commenting on, and educating loyalty practitioners, with more than 10K active, engaged email subscribers from 128 countries around the world. For more information visit: www.thewisemarketer.com.
About Engage People Inc.
Engage People is the only loyalty network that enables program members to pay with points directly at checkout. The global technology provider connects loyalty programs with global payment systems and online retailers, and covers 100% of the top purchase categories in North America. Leading banks and retailers around the world rely on Engage People for its first-of-its-kind loyalty network and pay-with-points capabilities. Engage People is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and has offices in the U.S., Canada and Italy. For more information visit: www.engagepeople.com
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