From a retail perspective, the purpose of loyalty programs is to retain users, gather data about them or understand their insights, increase sales, and gain a competitive advantage. 

For consumers, loyalty programs bring opportunities for savings, rewards or privileges, personalised offers, a sense of being valued, establishing a personal relationship with the retailer, and convenience of purchases. 

According to GfK Serbia,  a market research agency and their Shopper 360 market and consumer study, in 2022, the usage rate of loyalty programs in our market increased by 7% compared to the previous year. In retail stores with loyalty programs, more than 40% of purchases are made using a card or application, boosting the average purchase value by 17%. In 2022, the presence of loyalty cards and applications in households reached 90%. 

In other words, loyalty concepts are here to stay as an integral part of our shopping and daily lives. In the Serbian market, the leaders currently are Moj Maxi and Lidl Plus, but it's only a matter of time before other retail chains join them. 

How do retailers use loyalty programs to maintain and enhance their positions and sales results? One way is by offering special deals on items exclusively to members of loyalty clubs. This method relies on the customer feeling that membership in the loyalty club grants a kind of privilege that ensures exactly what the program's name implies - loyalty.