10 AI Predictions That Will Redefine Customer Loyalty & Engagement in 2026

Posted on December 24, 2025 by Summaya

Marketing and Engagement Personalisation Trends & Insights

December 2025

Discover 10 AI predictions set to redefine customer loyalty and engagement in 2026, from NBX decision engines and behavioral loyalty to AI agents, churn prevention, and privacy-forward personalization.

Loyalty is having a moment. Customers today join loyalty programs at record levels—over 90% of US online adults and nearly 9 in 10 European shoppers participate in at least one. These programs genuinely influence what they buy and where they shop.

Yet loyalty has never been shakier. A recent analysis found that 75% of customers would switch brands for a single compelling discount.

Brands know the ground is shifting. In Deloitte’s retail outlook, leaders named loyalty their number-one growth priority, outranking supply chain, expansion, even margin improvement.

And into this fragile moment enters AI—an accelerant, a disruptor, and a forcing function. What we’re watching is not incremental evolution. AI is quietly rebuilding the architecture of loyalty: how it’s earned, measured, predicted, and defended.

Here are the 10 major AI-led shifts that will redefine customer loyalty and engagement in 2026. Not predictions for the sake of futurism, but a synthesis of what the data already shows, and where the trajectories unmistakably point.

1. Loyalty Evolves From a Program Into an Intelligent Operating System

For years, loyalty lived in its own silo—a points platform, an email cadence, a redemption catalog.

AI is collapsing that separation.

The emerging model—what McKinsey calls the Next Best Experience (NBX) engine—treats every interaction, not just purchases, as a moment to move the relationship forward. When brands adopt NBX logic across digital and physical touch points, they see:

15–20% increases in customer satisfaction
5–8% revenue growth
20–30% lower cost-to-serve

These aren’t loyalty metrics. They are business metrics born from loyalty architecture.

Example narrative: A hotel chain sees a storm inbound. NBX triggers automated room extensions for stranded travelers, offers free Wi-Fi vouchers to loyalty members, and adjusts housekeeping schedules—all before guests even approach the front desk.

In 2026, this is foundational:
Loyalty isn’t a set of rewards. It becomes the logic the business uses to interact with the customer at every touchpoint.

Executive takeaway:
Loyalty is the decision logic of the entire customer journey. Stop thinking “program.” Start thinking “platform that predicts and orchestrates.”

2. Behavioral Loyalty Replaces Transaction Loyalty

Traditional loyalty programs reward dollars spent. AI-driven loyalty rewards future value potential—a very different thing.

Customers demonstrate loyalty long before they buy:

What they browse
How they review
Whether they refer
Which content do they return to
How they engage in brand communities

AI can measure these micro-signals at scale and with predictive accuracy. It can identify that a customer who watches sustainability videos, writes detailed reviews, and interacts with brand content is far more valuable over time than someone who buys twice a year during sales.

Brands already tapping this approach:

Starbucks: Personalized, AI-driven offer sequencing increases frequency and ticket size.
Nike: Uses behavior data to determine which customers should receive early access drops.
Netflix: Predictive engagement signals guide retention interventions.

Deep insight:
AI shows that loyalty is not something you earn at checkout—it’s something customers express through thousands of micro-behaviors long before they transact.

Framework: The New Loyalty Ladder

Attention → browsing, saving, watching
Engagement → reviews, user-generated content
Participation → events, challenges, community
Advocacy → referrals, social reinforcement
Transaction → the lagging indicator

In 2026, behavior becomes a currency—and loyalty becomes a story customers build with the brand, not points they extract from it.

3. Personalization Gets So Good It Stops Feeling Like Marketing

Personalization used to mean putting someone’s name in a subject line.

AI personalizes at the level of timing, motif, narrative, persuasion style, and economic sensitivity.

Customers will no longer receive “offers”—they will receive interpretations of their behavior.

AI tailors not only what a person sees, but why and when they see it. It predicts whether a customer prefers discounts over freebies, early access over savings, bundles over standalone items.

AI-powered personalization is already delivering strong commercial outcomes across industries. Academic reviews and business case studies show it improves engagement, conversion, and loyalty when executed responsibly.

But because AI can personalize with surgical precision, regulators will inevitably step in.

2026 will be the year brands must articulate why different customers receive different prices, perks, or incentives.

Example narrative: A customer browsing hiking boots at 11 p.m. receives no immediate promo—which would feel intrusive. Instead, the next day the app highlights a “Complete Your Trail Kit” bundle, featuring socks and a hydration pack, dynamically priced based on the customer’s lifetime sensitivity and replenishment cycles.

The 2026 challenge:
Customers will reward brands that personalize intelligently—and punish those that personalize clumsily.

Executive takeaway:
Personalization moves from “nice to have” to a trust contract with customers. The brands that win will treat personalization like craftsmanship, not automation—transparent, respectful, and designed around customer agency.

4. AI Agents Become the Front Door to Loyalty—Not Just to Support

We often talk about AI in support as if it’s simply replacing call centers.

What’s actually happening is more profound: AI is becoming the guardian of loyalty moments.

Consider the scale already achieved:

100% of service leaders plan to use generative AI; 67% already are.
Salesforce’s AI manages 1.5 million+ customer interactions, delivering human-level satisfaction while enabling a 45% workforce reduction.
Lyft’s AI assistant reduced driver issue-resolution times by 87%.

When AI becomes the first responder, loyalty becomes real-time.

Not “Please wait 3–5 days for a response.” But: “We fixed this for you. Here’s what we did. Here’s what you gained.”

What changes for loyalty:
AI concierges will not just answer questions. They will:

Recommend optimal point redemptions
Identify account anomalies
Proactively resolve friction
Offer personalized recovery gestures
Elevate VIP-quality treatment to everyday customers

The new loyalty battleground is the micro-moments customers expect brands to get right without being asked.

5. Churn Prediction Becomes a Live Feed, Not a Monthly Report

Every loyalty leader knows the stat: reducing churn by 5% can expand profits between 25–95%.

But churn prediction historically lived in dashboards no one checked frequently enough.

AI moves churn prediction into the bloodstream.

Example narrative: A telecom customer begins comparing competitor plans online. AI detects this behavior, flags churn risk, and orchestrates a personalized offer: a right-sized plan, waiver of a minor fee, and a follow-up call from a specialist.

Modern models process:

Drop-offs in engagement
Delays in replenishment cycles
Service friction
Negative sentiment in conversations or reviews
Changes in purchase frequency
Shifts in browsing patterns

And the best part: real-time churn scores trigger real-time interventions.

Platforms from CDPs to AI orchestration engines are already making this operational—an automatic retention playbook connected to behavioral signals.

By 2026, churn prediction will be so woven into loyalty systems that a customer rarely “seems at risk”—the system acts before the customer reaches the point of drift.

6. AI Learns Emotional Intelligence—and Loyalty Starts Depending on It

One of the most surprising findings of the last two years:

AI can express empathy with consistency humans struggle to deliver. Empathy used to be the one human quality AI couldn’t touch. But when Allstate tested AI-written customer emails, they found they were more empathetic and clearer than those written by human reps.

Yet the human instinct remains mixed:

42% of customers admit they’re ruder to chatbots
54% insist only humans resolve issues effectively
40% would pay more to avoid bots entirely

This tension defines the next era of loyalty:

AI must be emotionally literate enough to:

Detect frustration
Modulate tone
Know when not to push
Hand off at the right moment
Record context so humans rejoin the conversation seamlessly

Empathy becomes a design challenge, not just a training data challenge.

And in 2026, the loyalty differentiator will not be how fast AI responds—but how human the experience feels when it does.

The opportunity:
AI becomes emotionally intelligent and self-aware—knowing when to escalate to a human.

2026 loyalty standard:
A brand’s tone, responsiveness, and emotional intelligence are consistent across all touchpoints—because AI writes, senses, and adapts the experience at scale.

7. AI Turns Loyalty Content Into an Ecosystem, Not a Stream

Content is emerging as the new currency of loyalty.

AI enables brands to create, adapt, and personalize content faster than marketing teams ever could.

Generative models can now produce:

Personalized loyalty digests summarizing your progress
Dynamic stories about your habits (“You’ve earned more green credits this month than 87% of customers in your city”)
Community-driven micro-hubs (e.g., runners, new parents, eco-focused shoppers) curated by AI
Localized offers and narratives tailored to specific cities or even neighborhoods

Already, brands are using AI to:

Draft FAQs
Generate personalized offers
Produce targeted recommendations

In 2026, loyalty becomes less about promotions and more about meaningful participation and will expand into:

Personalized monthly loyalty scorecards
Micro-community spaces (e.g., “sneakerheads in Chicago” or “eco-conscious parents”)
Location-specific offers driven by local behavior signals
Content that evolves with each customer’s journey, not static campaigns

Brands using AI-driven personalization today—from QSR to retail to streaming—have already reported higher retention and faster campaign execution cycles.

Executive insight:
Loyalty becomes a media ecosystem, not a coupon database.

8. Privacy Becomes the Heart of Loyalty Value, Not the Fine Print

Consumers are not naïve.

70% expect AI to transform their experience, but only 40% feel AI improves it today.

The disconnect is not ability—it’s trust.

Multiple studies confirm that privacy concerns directly shape whether customers embrace or reject AI-powered personalization.

By 2026, loyalty programs will increasingly differentiate based on:

Control (“Tune my personalization level”)
Transparency (“Why am I seeing this?”)
Consent (“Here’s what I share, here’s what I get”)
On-device AI processing to prevent over-collection
Zero-party data exchanges that feel mutually beneficial

The brands customers trust with their data will own the loyalty conversation.

9. AI Rewrites the Loyalty Scorecard

For years, NPS and CSAT dominated loyalty reporting.

But customer expectations are changing faster than those metrics can capture.

Service professionals already report:

82% feel customer expectations have increased
81% say customers now demand a more personal touch

At the same time, AI’s rise is shifting what matters:

Resolution time, containment rate, and conversation quality are becoming more predictive of loyalty than blanket satisfaction scores.

By 2026, the loyalty dashboard will track:

Predicted LTV (updated continuously)
Propensity to advocate (a blend of sentiment + engagement)
AI influence on retention and frequency
Experience consistency across channels
Fairness and transparency metrics

Loyalty moves from measuring what happened to predicting what will happen—and influencing it.

10. Autonomous Experimentation Becomes the New Loyalty Growth Engine

Historically, loyalty experiments looked like:

A/B test: two subject lines, two offers, one winner and see what sticks.

Agentic AI transforms thousands of micro-experiments into a continuous loop. Early enterprise deployments show hundreds of thousands of hours saved and productivity increases near 20%, thanks to AI agents capable of running tasks, analyzing results, and refining strategies.

Applied to loyalty, this means:

Dozens of micro-variants of onboarding flows generated automatically
Offer mixes tested in real time on micro-cohorts
Personalization models are fine-tuned hourly, not quarterly
Engagement journeys that rewrite themselves based on live performance

By 2026, the best loyalty programs won’t be the ones with the best ideas.
They’ll be the ones with systems capable of discovering better ideas every day.

What This All Means for Loyalty Leaders in 2026

Loyalty is no longer a marketing accessory. It is becoming the central nervous system of customer experience.

To prepare, brands must:

Unify data across engagement, service, and transaction layers
Invest in predictive models tied to real actions, not dashboards
Map NBX journeys that blend personalization with empathy
Reward behaviors, not just transactions
Build privacy-forward experiences to strengthen trust
Adopt metrics that look forward, not backward
Experiment continuously, not seasonally

2026 will not reward brands with the loudest loyalty programs.

It will reward brands with the smartest, most responsive, and most emotionally aware systems.

Loyalty won’t be won by points. It will be won by prediction, personalization, fairness, and how a brand shows up in the moments that matter.

Summaya

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Captivate: The Global Loyalty Conference Shaping the Future of Customer Loyalty

Posted on December 23, 2025 by Anjali Pillai

Blogs Loyalty

December 2025

Discover Captivate, the premier global loyalty conference for CX leaders. Join 150+ brands discussing AI-powered loyalty strategies.

Every year, Captivate stands out amongst global loyalty conferences as the loyalty event that CX leaders, marketers, and product teams actively look forward to — not just to attend, but to explore what’s next for customer loyalty. Captivate is where loyalty meets AI.

At Captivate, loyalty stops being a side topic. It becomes the main agenda, where AI isn’t a breakout session but the operating system, and where the people who actually shape loyalty strategy choose to show up year after year.

So what exactly is Captivate? What happens there? When is Captivate 2026 happening? And why are loyalty leaders choosing to attend every year? Here are all the details you need to know.

What Is Captivate and Why It’s One of the Top Loyalty Conferences Globally?

Captivate is Capillary Technologies’ flagship annual global loyalty conference — a high-velocity gathering where the world’s most ambitious brands, category disruptors, and CX leaders come together to reimagine how customer loyalty is built, measured, and scaled.

Each edition is built around forward-looking themes in AI-powered loyalty, exploring how intelligence, automation, and data can reshape everything from program design and rewards to real-time decisioning and ROI. Hosted across some of the most iconic locations in the world, Captivate is where loyalty moves from being a legacy program to a powerful business system.

Putting Loyalty Back at the Strategy Table Through Captivate

Captivate was born out of the intention to create a single annual forum where loyalty is examined as a strategic growth lever — and where brands can have honest, practitioner-led discussions about what it takes to evolve.

It exists to bring together the people who actually build and run loyalty programs — to step back from their quarterly cycles, reassess fundamentals, and shape a shared understanding of what the next generation of loyalty must look like.

Captivate wasn’t designed to just showcase ideas. It was designed to align the industry around what truly moves value — and what must change for loyalty to remain relevant, profitable, and customer-centric in the decade ahead.

What Happens at Captivate: Inside the Premier Customer Loyalty Conference

Captivate is intentionally designed to bridge big ideas with practical application. Every element of the experience is curated to help leaders think differently — and act decisively — when they return to their teams.

A typical Captivate loyalty event includes:

Keynotes that frame the future of loyalty, AI, customer behavior, and business impact

Customer showcases where leading brands share their strategies, learnings, and measurable outcomes

CXO-led panels and fireside conversations that go beyond theory into real organizational experience

Live product and AI innovation previews, offering an inside look at next-generation loyalty technology
And yes — unforgettable social evenings, because relationships and trust are still built best in person

What Makes Captivate Different From Other Loyalty Events

Plenty of events talk about loyalty. Captivate is where it actually feels different in the room.

1. Loyalty, Seen Through an AI Lens

Sessions at Captivate dig into how brands are using AI to decide who to invest in, what to offer, when to intervene, and how that shows up in hard numbers like repeat rate, margin, and lifetime value.

2. One Room, Many Markets

You will hear how a fuel retailer in the Middle East, a QSR in Southeast Asia, and a fashion brand in Europe are solving very different loyalty problems. That mix of markets means you do not just see where loyalty has been, you get a live view of where it is going.

3. Case Studies That Show The Before and After

Every story is expected to answer a few simple questions. What did you change. What broke. What worked. What moved. You leave with real reference points for redesigning programs, rethinking KPIs, and making a case for investment back home.

Captivate So Far

2024 – Dubai

Captivate made its debut in April 2024 in Dubai, a city that feels built for big ideas and bigger ambition. The first edition of our loyalty conference brought together 100+ loyalty leaders around a single defining theme: “Humanizing Experiences Through AI.” Brands like Tata, Domino’s, and Starbucks leaned into what it really means to use AI to make customers feel seen rather than processed — turning data and decisioning into experiences that feel intuitive, relevant, and genuinely human.

2025 – Mumbai

In April, Captivate 2025, our premier loyalty conference, moved to the iconic, sea-facing Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai, and the energy shifted from possibility to proof. With “AI in Loyalty: Hype vs Impact” as the anchor theme, the conversations became sharper, more candid, and more commercial. 60+ brands and over 150 senior leaders spent two intense days discussing the future of loyalty. One of the most talked-about moments was a packed fireside chat with Pieter Elbers, CEO of IndiGo, where airline loyalty was reframed through the lens of everyday travel behavior. The edition closed on a 9.1 experience rating — and a clear sense that the bar for what “good” looks like in a top loyalty event had just moved.

Captivate 2026 – Coming Soon to Abu Dhabi!

Next, Captivate heads to Abu Dhabi in April 2026 with an even sharper AI-first lens and a broader global mix of brands. As an ever-evolving loyalty event, the upcoming edition is set to push the conversation further: from “how do we modernize loyalty?” to “what should loyalty feel like for the next decade?”

How to Attend Captivate

Captivate is an invitation-led loyalty event for leaders and practitioners who are actively shaping the future of customer loyalty.

If you’d like to be considered, share your details in the form, and we’ll reach out if a seat opens up for your profile. And in the meantime, follow Capillary Technologies on LinkedIn to stay close to speaker announcements, agenda drops, and Captivate updates.

Loyalty Conferences FAQs

1. What is Captivate, and why is it one of the top global loyalty conferences?

Captivate is Capillary Technologies’ flagship annual global loyalty conference, where CX leaders and practitioners come together to reimagine how customer loyalty is built, measured, and scaled using AI-powered strategies. Unlike generic loyalty marketing conferences, Captivate exclusively focuses on turning loyalty into a strategic growth lever through curated keynotes, real brand case studies, and hands-on AI innovation previews.

2. Why should I attend a loyalty conference in 2026?

In 2026, attending a loyalty conference like Captivate is essential for staying ahead of AI’s accelerating impact on loyalty strategy. Captivate loyalty conference in 2026 in Abu Dhabi will bring together 150+ CX leaders sharing real-world case studies, AI decisioning frameworks, and cross-market insights. You’ll gain practical guidance and connections for building or modernizing loyalty programs that drive measurable business impact.

3. Who should attend customer loyalty conferences like Captivate?

Captivate is specifically designed for CX leaders, loyalty program managers, marketing executives, and practitioners actively building loyalty strategies. While it’s invitation-led, any leader shaping customer loyalty programs is encouraged to apply. This customer loyalty event brings together senior leaders committed to evolving loyalty from a legacy program into a business system.

4. When and where is the next Captivate loyalty conference happening?

The 2026 edition of the Captivate loyalty conference takes place in April 2026 in Abu Dhabi. Previous editions were held in Dubai (2024) and Mumbai (2025), making it a truly global customer loyalty event with different iconic locations each year.

5. What topics and sessions are covered at Captivate loyalty conferences?

Captivate covers AI-powered loyalty decisioning, real-time customer personalization, program design innovation, loyalty ROI measurement, and cross-market case studies. Sessions include keynotes framing the future of loyalty, customer showcases where brands share before/after strategies with measurable outcomes, CXO-led panels, fireside chats, AI innovation previews, and exclusive networking events designed for relationship building.

6. How many brands and leaders typically attend Captivate loyalty events?

Captivate attracts 100+ loyalty leaders and 150+ senior executives from ambitious brands globally. The 2025 Mumbai edition featured industry leaders from Tata, Domino’s, Starbucks, and IndiGo, closing with a 9.1/10 experience rating. This exclusive mix of brands and seniority levels ensures high-quality networking and peer learning at every customer loyalty event.

Anjali Pillai

With a knack for creating engaging content and crafting effective social media campaigns, Anjali wants to make it her mission to leverage the power of content as a strategic marketing tool for businesses. When she is not working, she is either binging movies or writing about them on her blog.

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11 Best Loyalty Management Software in the US for 2026

Posted on December 22, 2025 by Chandan Reddy

The US loyalty management market is projected to reach $44.73B by 2029, with over 90% of companies now deploying loyalty solutions to drive customer retention and lifetime value. Whether you’re a Fortune 500 enterprise seeking AI-driven personalization or a growing restaurant chain needing industry-specific workflows, choosing the right loyalty platform is absolutely critical.

This comprehensive guide evaluates the top 11 loyalty management vendors serving US businesses that you should consider for 2026. Our selection criteria prioritize proven enterprise capabilities, industry specialization, technical innovation, and measurable ROI across retail, hospitality, B2B, and e-commerce sectors.

[Click Here to Jump to our Loyalty Vendors’ Evaluations]

What is Loyalty Management Software?

Loyalty management software is a platform that enables businesses to design, manage, and optimize customer loyalty programs by tracking customer behavior, personalizing rewards, and measuring incremental revenue across online and offline channels.

The Great Shift in the Loyalty Game: How Loyalty Management Software Evolved

The loyalty management software industry has undergone a seismic transformation over the past four decades. From simple punch cards to AI-powered predictive engines, today’s best loyalty solutions bear virtually no resemblance to the programs of the 1980s.

Loyalty Software Timeline

The 1980s-2000s: From Punch Cards to Digital Loyalty Platforms

The modern loyalty program era began in 1981 when American Airlines launched AAdvantage—the world’s first frequent flyer program. This revolutionary loyalty platform introduced data-driven customer tracking at scale, proving that sophisticated loyalty software had become essential to competitive advantage.

The 1990s-2000s brought point-of-sale (POS) integration to loyalty solutions, replacing paper cards with digital loyalty management software. Email personalization, centralized customer data, and multi-location management transformed loyalty programs from simple reward systems into strategic business tools.

2010s: Mobile Apps and Gamification

The smartphone revolution fundamentally disrupted loyalty software. Mobile-based loyalty platforms replaced physical cards, enabling real-time notifications and mobile-exclusive offers. Starbucks Rewards exemplified this shift, showing how top loyalty management software could drive unprecedented engagement through app-based experiences. Gamification, advanced segmentation, and social sharing rewards emerged during this era.

2020-2025: The AI-Powered Loyalty Era

Modern best loyalty management software is fundamentally AI-native. Today’s top loyalty solutions feature predictive personalization (anticipating customer needs weeks in advance), omnichannel orchestration (seamless experiences across stores, web, mobile, and partnerships), and flexible reward architectures—far beyond the transactional loyalty programs of the past.

What Matters Now: 5 Non-Negotiable Features of Modern Loyalty Management Software

When evaluating loyalty management platforms in 2025, these capabilities separate leading loyalty solutions from outdated systems:

AI-Powered Personalization – Machine learning for churn prediction and reward optimization, not rule-based segmentation
Omnichannel Orchestration – Unified data across online, in-store, mobile, and partnerships
Flexible Reward Architectures – Support for points, tiers, experiences, and hybrid models
Real-Time Analytics – Live dashboards, not monthly reports
Modern API-First Infrastructure – Cloud-native platforms that integrate seamlessly with existing systems

The bottom line: When you evaluate the 11 loyalty management software vendors in this guide, prioritize platforms built for this AI-driven era—not legacy systems anchored to yesterday’s technology.

Why Capillary Technologies Is the Leading Enterprise Loyalty Platform in the US

Capillary Technologies is the leading enterprise loyalty management platform for large, multi-vertical organizations in the US. The following features are just few of the reasons why Capillary Technologies stands out:

Built for Fortune 500 scale
Proven across retail, F&B, travel, automotive
AI-native personalization, not bolt-on
Modular architecture vs monolithic platforms
Backed by Brierley’s 30+ years of loyalty strategy

Quick Comparison: 11 Best Loyalty Management Software

Top 11 US Loyalty Vendors

Vendor	Primary Focus	Pricing Tier	Best Use Case	Key Differentiator
Capillary Technologies	Enterprise Multi-Vertical	Enterprise	Fortune 500 brands	AI-led personalization + modular design
SessionM (Mastercard)	Enterprise Data-Driven	Enterprise	Banking & Retail	Mastercard insights, real-time analytics
PassKit	Mobile Wallet	SMB/Mid-Market	Retail & Events	No app required, wallet integration
Talon One	E-commerce Promotions	Mid-Market/Enterprise	Tech Retailers	Unified loyalty + promotions
Punchh	Restaurant Industry	Mid-Market/Enterprise	Restaurant Chains	40% of top 100 US restaurants
Antavo	Emotional Loyalty	Enterprise	Retail & Fashion	Lifestyle/experiential rewards
LoyaltyXpert	B2B Channel Partners	Mid-Market	Manufacturers	Territory reward schemes
CardFree	Restaurant/QSR	Mid-Market	Multi-unit restos	Order/pay/loyalty in one
Fishbowl GRM	Restaurant CRM	Mid-Market	Restaurant groups	Guest data, AI segmentation
Extole	Referral Marketing	Mid-Market/Enterprise	Consumer Brands	Enterprise referral platform
Kangaroo Rewards	SMB Loyalty	SMB	Small Businesses	Affordable, easy setup

Top Loyalty Software Picks by Business Type:

Here are the best loyalty management software for every industry!

For Enterprise Retailers & Multi-Brand Organizations:

Our top pick is Capillary Technologies for AI-powered personalization at Fortune 500 scale.

For Restaurant Chains & Hospitality:

Our top pick is Punchh which powers 40% of top 100 US restaurant brands.

For E-Commerce & Digital-Native Brands:

Our top pick is Talon One for API-first loyalty with a strong promotion engine.

For B2B Manufacturers & Distributors:

Our top pick is LoyaltyXpert, a channel partner engagement specialist.

For Small to Medium-Sized Businesses:

Our top pick is Kangaroo Rewards, packed with affordable enterprise features for SMBs.

Our Methodology: How We Evaluated These Top Loyalty Management Platforms

This comparison analyzes customer loyalty solutions based on:

Enterprise Readiness: Scalability, API architecture, and Fortune 500 adoption
Feature Depth: AI personalization, omnichannel support, and gamification
Industry Specialization: Vertical-specific workflows for restaurants, retail, and B2B
Integration Ecosystem: Compatibility with POS, CRM, and marketing automation systems
Proven ROI: Case studies demonstrating measurable improvements in retention and engagement

Each loyalty vendor was evaluated through product documentation, customer case studies, analyst reports (Forrester, Gartner), and hands-on loyalty platform assessments where available.

Best Loyalty Management Software: In-Depth Reviews of Top 11 Solutions

1. Capillary Technologies

AI-Powered Enterprise Loyalty for Fortune 500 Brands

Capillary Technologies stands as the leading enterprise loyalty platform for customer loyalty management in the US, serving large enterprises across retail, food & beverage, travel, and automotive sectors. With its AI-driven Loyalty Program Software, Capillary Technologies delivers end-to-end loyalty solutions built to scale across diverse verticals and geographic markets.

Key Capabilities:

AI-Led Personalization: Behavioral segmentation with predictive models that optimize offer timing and relevance to boost customer lifetime value (CLTV)
Configurable Modular Architecture: Activate specific capabilities like Nudge Framework (actionable insights for loyalty managers) or Loyalty Delivered Sales (LDS) based on program maturity stage
Omnichannel Engagement: Unified experiences across in-store, online, social media, and mobile with real-time reward fulfillment
Gamified Tiering: Smart nudges, challenge-based rewards, and milestone achievements that drive repeat engagement
Rapid Migrations: Quick deployment with minimal disruption, backed by dedicated support teams

Capillary Technologies’ predictive AI ensures offers are both timely and contextually relevant, transforming passive loyalty programs into dynamic engagement engines. The platform’s flexibility allows brands to start with core loyalty mechanics and progressively add advanced features as programs mature.

Notable Clients: NASCAR, Royal Caribbean, Indigo, Optum

Best For: Large enterprises requiring deep integrations, scalable performance, and full-stack loyalty engines built for long-term growth across multiple markets.

Headquarters: Bangalore, India with significant US operations

2. SessionM (Mastercard)

Mastercard’s Data-Driven Customer Engagement Platform

SessionM brings financial-grade data intelligence to loyalty management, unifying transaction data, behavioral insights, and preferences into a comprehensive intelligence layer. The platform excels at managing over 1.3 trillion loyalty points and real-time profile updates for millions of members.

Key Capabilities:

Unified Intelligence Layer: Comprehensive member profiles
Real-Time Decision Engine: Context-aware loyalty campaigns
Modular Rules-Based System: Concurrent programs, tier management
Scheduled and Triggered Marketing: Omnichannel coordination
Financial-Grade Compliance: Data governance for banking/retail

Notable Clients: Restaurant chains, QSR brands, airlines, telecom

Best For: Enterprises in banking, retail, travel—intersecting data and engagement.

Headquarters: USA (Mastercard subsidiary)

3. Antavo

Pure-Play Loyalty Technology for Emotional Engagement

Antavo is recognized by Gartner and Forrester for building emotional connections through lifestyle rewards—rewarding not just purchases but activities like social sharing, recycling, and workouts.

Key Capabilities:

API-Centric Architecture: Headless platform, omnichannel deployment
No-Code Workflows: Drag-and-drop campaign creation
Experiential Rewards: Rewards for lifestyle activities
White-Label Solutions: Fully branded integrations
Continuous Innovation: 60% of revenue to R&D, quarterly releases

Notable Clients: Retail, fashion, beauty, hospitality leaders

Best For: Brands seeking emotional loyalty via experiential programs.

Headquarters: Europe (US client base)

4. Talon One

API-First Loyalty and Promotion Engine

Talon One combines loyalty programs and promotion management in an API-driven, developer-friendly platform—giving full control over campaign logic and rules.

Key Capabilities:

- Unified Loyalty + Promotions: One platform for all reward and discount mechanics
- Flexible Rule Engine: Complex logic for pricing, multi-brand, SKUs
- Card/Profile-Based Programs: Versatile loyalty archetypes
- Gamification Engine: Challenge-based rewards, tier progress
- Plug-and-Play Integration: Extensive API documentation

Notable Clients: Carlsberg, Eddie Bauer, River Island

Best For: Tech-savvy retailers/e-commerce needing customization and rapid iterations.

Headquarters: Berlin, Germany (US market presence)

5. Punchh (PAR Engagement)

Restaurant-Focused Loyalty Platform by PAR Technology

Punchh powers loyalty for 40% of the top 100 US restaurant brands. It specializes in hospitality workflows, AI-powered personalization, and deep POS integration.

Key Capabilities:

AI-Powered Segmentation: Clustering by daypart, visit frequency, menu preferences
Modern Tiered Rewards: Personalized progression paths
Campaign Builder: SMS, email, app messaging
Restaurant Analytics: Visit frequency, average check, menu mix, location
Dedicated CSM: Quarterly strategy reviews

Notable Clients: Casey’s, IHOP, Zaxby’s (Newsweek-recognized)

Best For: Chains needing targeted retention, operational analytics, hospitality focus.

Headquarters: United States

6. LoyaltyXpert

B2B Channel Loyalty for Manufacturers & Distributors

LoyaltyXpert manages channel partner engagement for manufacturers and distributors. It supports volume incentives, certifications, and multi-tier programs.

Key Capabilities:

Channel Partner Loyalty: Territory- and volume-based rules
Flexible Schemes: Points, cashback, instant rewards
Rewards Catalog: Merchandise, travel, gift cards, experiential
Security Architecture: Role-based controls, audit, compliance
Mobile-First Portals: Real-time partner experiences

Notable Clients: FMCG, financial services, healthcare

Best For: Manufacturers/distributors with complex multi-tier channel needs.

Headquarters: India (US client base)

7. CardFree

Integrated Loyalty Platform for Multi-Unit Restaurants

CardFree’s Loyalty 2.0 integrates multi-tier programs and gamification with order-ahead and payments, delivering unified experiences across all guest-facing channels.

Key Capabilities:

Integrated Order + Pay + Loyalty
Multi-Tier Program Support
Geolocation-Enabled Offers
Built-In Marketing Automation
Performance Lift: Proven engagement boosts

Notable Clients: QSR chains, fast-casual restaurants

Best For: Restaurants needing seamless order, pay, loyalty integration

Headquarters: United States

8. Fishbowl GRM

Guest Relationship Management Platform for Restaurants

Fishbowl unifies guest profiles from multiple sources, enabling sophisticated, AI-powered marketing automation for restaurants.

Key Capabilities:

Unified Profiles: POS, ordering, reservations, WiFi check-in
AI Segmentation: Lifecycle, LTV, churn prediction
Loyalty Tiers + Gamification
Segmentation Builder: Visual audience creation
Member Profiler: Deep analytics

Notable Clients: Multilocation chains, independent restaurants

Best For: Restaurant groups wanting analytics + marketing automation.

Headquarters: United States

9. Extole

Enterprise Referral & Customer-Led Growth Platform

Extole transforms happy customers into brand advocates, with enterprise-grade advocate profiling, fraud protection, and attribution.

Key Capabilities:

Advocate Profiling
Real-Time Reward Engine
Advanced Fraud Protection
A/B Testing Platform
Multilanguage/Multi-currency Support

Notable Clients: Fortune 500 consumer brands

Best For: Brands running referral programs at scale.

Headquarters: United States

10. PassKit

Mobile Wallet Loyalty Without App Downloads

PassKit leverages Apple Wallet and Google Wallet for digital loyalty cards, removing app download barriers.

Key Capabilities:

Graphical Pass Designer
Points/Tiers with Automatic Updates
Geofenced Location-Based Notifications
API + SDK Integrations
Zero App Install: Wallet-based loyalty

Notable Clients: Retail, fitness, beauty, events

Best For: Businesses seeking frictionless digital loyalty, easy customer adoption.

Headquarters: UK (US operations)

11. Kangaroo Rewards

All-in-One Loyalty Platform for SMBs

Kangaroo offers affordable enterprise features for SMBs with points-based programs, automation, and analytics.

Key Capabilities:

Points + Tier Programs
POS Integrations: Lightspeed, Square, Clover support
Branded Mobile App for customers
Automated Marketing: Email, SMS, push notifications
Analytics Dashboard: Track engagement & ROI

Notable Clients: Independent retailers, small restaurant chains

Best For: SMBs needing affordable, easy loyalty implementation.

Headquarters: Canada (US presence)

Loyalty Management Software Implementation: Best Practices for Success

Define clear business KPIs
Plan for data integration
Roll out in phases (core > tiers > gamification)
Communicate clearly to members
Commit to quarterly program optimizations

Choosing Your Loyalty Solutions Partner: When to Consult Loyalty Experts

Selecting the right loyalty platform is just half the battle! Designing a program that actually drives ROI is where most brands struggle. According to industry research, 63% of loyalty programs fail to deliver expected returns, often due to poor strategy, not poor technology.

The Loyalty Platform vs. Strategy Gap

Technology solves the “how” but strategy answers the “what” and “why.”

Even the most sophisticated loyalty platform (Capillary Technologies, SessionM, Kognitiv) requires:

Clear member value proposition aligned with brand positioning
Reward economics that balance customer generosity with profitability
Engagement cadence that maintains interest without causing fatigue
Measurement frameworks proving incremental revenue, not just participation

This is where loyalty consulting experts, such as Brierley, become invaluable.

When You Need a Loyalty Consultant

Consider expert guidance if you:

Launching your first loyalty program
Migrating from legacy systems
Experiencing declining engagement
Expanding globally
Building coalition programs

Meet Brierley: Pioneers of Modern Loyalty Strategy

Brierley, now part of the Capillary Technologies family, brings over 30 years of loyalty expertise to brands worldwide. As the consulting firm that helped define the modern loyalty industry, Brierley has:

Designed award-winning programs for 7-Eleven, Hertz, and leading global brands
Pioneered research methodologies like the Brierley Loyalty Quotient (BLQ) measuring rational and emotional loyalty drivers
Delivered measurable results through data-driven program optimization and member lifecycle management

Getting Started with Loyalty Consulting

Questions to ask potential consultants:

Have you designed programs in our industry vertical?
What’s your approach to measuring loyalty program ROI?
How do you balance customer generosity with profitability?
Can you provide case studies with measurable results?
Do you offer ongoing support post-launch?

Contact Brierley’s loyalty experts for a consultation

Conclusion

The loyalty management landscape offers solutions for every business size and requirement. Success is driven by strategic alignment of business objectives, customer preferences, and the right technology partner.

For enterprises seeking AI-powered personalization and omnichannel engagement, Capillary Technologies stands out for global scale and modular flexibility. Restaurant-focused brands should consider Punchh, CardFree, or Fishbowl, while SMBs and B2B organizations have suited choices like Kangaroo and LoyaltyXpert.

Begin with clear goals, evaluate these top vendors, and choose a partner committed to innovation and your long-term success.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the best loyalty platform for enterprise businesses?

A: Capillary Technologies is the best enterprise loyalty platform for US businesses due to its AI-driven personalization, modular architecture, and proven scalability across Fortune 500 brands.

Q: Which loyalty platform is best for restaurants?

A: Punchh is great for restaurant loyalty; Capillary Technologies and Fishbowl are also top choices.

Q: Do I need a separate app for digital loyalty programs?

A: No, PassKit enables loyalty with Apple/Google Wallet, and most enterprise platforms support both app and web-based experiences.

Q: Difference between loyalty and referral platforms?

A: Loyalty rewards engagement; referral rewards customer advocacy/new acquisition. Extole specializes in referrals.

Q: Cost for enterprise loyalty platforms?

A: Ranges from $50,000 (mid-market) to $500,000+ (Fortune 500, custom/dedicated support).

Last Updated: December 2025 (Published on December 2025)

This guide is reviewed quarterly to reflect new product capabilities and market changes.

75 Key Customer Loyalty Stats and Trends to Watch as You Enter 2026

Posted on December 20, 2025 by Anjali Pillai

With the year wrapping up and planning cycles in full swing, loyalty leaders are stepping into one of the most decisive moments we’ve seen in years. Customer expectations are shifting fast, AI is rewriting the rules of engagement, and program fatigue is becoming very real. The question now is not whether your loyalty strategy needs to evolve—but how quickly and how boldly you can move.

The insights below capture the key signals from 2025’s loyalty landscape—from changing consumer behaviour to the rise of personalisation, gamification, and loyalty economics. Use them as you shape your 2026 roadmap and reimagine what meaningful, high-impact loyalty can look like for your brand.

Loyalty 2026 – Broader Stats and Trends

1. Top loyalty drivers: Customers prioritize financial rewards, simplicity, and ease of use, with 86% rating these attributes as “important” or “very important.” (Deloitte)
2. Loyalty formation threshold: Consumers typically need repeat buying to feel loyal, with 88% requiring three or more purchases to build loyalty. (Exploding Topics)
3. Budget momentum: Loyalty budgets are rising, with 63% of US executives reporting increased spend on loyalty programs. (PwC)
4. Planned investment growth: CMOs are accelerating loyalty investment, planning to increase spending by 41% by 2025. (Gartner)
5. Trust-based loyalty strength: Shoppers continue to consolidate around trusted brands, with 60% staying loyal and 20% increasing purchases from those brands. (The Australian)
6. Market size outlook: Loyalty is becoming a larger strategic category, with the customer loyalty management market projected to reach $44B by 2032. (Allied Market Research)
7. Program fatigue: Loyalty participation is intensifying, with ~50% of consumers now in more than five programs; participation in 1–5 programs fell from 62% (2024) to 51% (2025), while participation in 11–15 programs rose from 7% to 11%. (EY)
8. Retention driver ranking: Loyalty programs are a primary retention lever, with 41% of consumers saying rewards are the main reason they stay loyal, ahead of product/service quality at 33%. (EY)
9. CX pressure on loyalty: Customer experience quality continues to weaken, with Forrester’s 2025 CX Index reaching a new low after four consecutive years of decline. (Forrester)
10. CX stagnation signal: CX rankings are deteriorating across markets; in the US, 25% of brands declined for a second straight year vs 7% improving, while globally 21% declined, 6% improved, and 73% stayed flat. (Forrester)

Check out Capillary’s Loyalty+

What Customers Really Want From Their Loyalty Programs

Emotional connection is weakening: Only 50% of customers say loyalty programs make them feel more positive about a brand, signaling a widening gap between participation and genuine affinity. (EY)
Switching intent is rising: Consumers are 5–10% more likely to switch to another program within the same category, with 35%+ planning cancellations, rising to 50%+ among 18–34-year-olds. (BCG)
Mobile is the primary engagement layer: Over 80% of customers are willing to download a loyalty app, and 41% use these apps once or twice a week, making the app experience a core loyalty touchpoint. (EY)
Top app features are benefit access and progress visibility: The most valued app features are exclusive deals and offers (61%) and real-time loyalty points tracking (52%), reinforcing that value and progress visibility drive repeat engagement. (EY)
Engagement is shallow despite high enrollment: More than 50% of loyalty points go unredeemed, and customers actively engage with only 18% of the programs they join, highlighting a need for more relevant and meaningful loyalty experiences. (NetGuru)
Experiences Over Discounts: 55% of consumers rank experiential offers as the most critical feature. (Gartner)

The Power of Personalisation, Data & AI

Personalization is table stakes: 71% of consumers expect personalized interactions, and 76% feel annoyed when it doesn’t happen, making personalization a baseline expectation rather than a “nice to have.” (McKinsey)
AI strengthens loyalty: 73% of consumers say AI enhances their loyalty experience. (Capgemini)
AI improves campaign performance: AI-driven campaigns deliver 21–22% hit rates versus 7–10% for traditional methods. (Capillary case study)
Personalized rewards matter most: 73% of consumers prioritize personalized rewards within loyalty programs. (Deloitte, 2024)
Execution gap remains: Only 60% of consumers say they are satisfied with the personalization they receive today. (Deloitte, 2024)
Liability impact is measurable: Personalized offerings reduced unidentified points liabilities by 75%. (Capillary case study)
Engagement lifts are real: Weekly AI-driven emails doubled annual engagement for an energy client. (Capillary case study)
Gen Z and Millennials raise the bar: 88% of Gen Z and Millennials speak positively about AI-powered shopping experiences, signaling higher expectations from the next generation of spenders. (MarTech Edge)
Commercial lift is already visible: A CPG conglomerate working with Capillary doubled customer transactions using AI-powered segmentation and targeting, demonstrating direct revenue impact from intelligent personalization. (Capillary case study)
Value exchange is clearest for 25–44: 52% of consumers aged 25–44 cite increased product personalization as the main benefit of sharing their data, indicating higher willingness to exchange data for tailored experiences when used responsibly. (EY Loyalty Report, 2025)
Hyper-personalization remains rare: Only 16% of corporations have achieved hyper-personalization, highlighting a significant execution gap despite data availability and tooling. (EY Loyalty Report, 2025)
Primary blocker is operational, not intent: Most brands lack the integrated platforms, governance, and real-time decisioning required to turn personalization ambition into consistent customer outcomes. (EY Loyalty Report, 2025)
Consumer Willingness: 58% of Americans are willing to allow third parties to collect sensitive personal data in exchange for services or benefits (Data Innovation)
Fraud Risks: Loyalty fraud costs $3.1 billion in redeemed fraudulent points annually. (Loyalty Security Association)
Inactive Accounts: 45% of loyalty accounts are inactive, increasing fraud risk. (Merchant Risk Council)

Generational Loyalty Trends: Engaging Younger Consumers

Emerging Market Youth: By 2030, 75% of consumers in emerging markets will be aged 15 to 34. (McKinsey)
Generational Impact: Millennials remain the most active loyalty users (71%)
Digital Priorities: 75% of Gen Z and millennials demand high-quality digital interactions. (Deloitte 2024 Report)
Community Appeal: More than half of younger consumers value community participation in loyalty programs. (Deloitte 2024 Report)
Sustainability Focus: 73% of millennials factor sustainability into purchasing decisions. (Deloitte 2024 Report)

Regional Trends in Loyalty

US Market Expansion: The loyalty market in the US is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.6% from 2024 to 2028. (Statista)
UK’s Personalization Shortfall: Only 50% of UK consumers feel their loyalty programs offer adequate personalization—10% below the global average. (Deloitte)
India’s Premium Trend: 61% of Indian consumers are willing to pay for enhanced loyalty services. (Deloitte)
Philippines Growth: The loyalty market in the Philippines will grow at a CAGR of 9.1% between 2024 and 2028. (Statista)
Singapore’s Preferences: 53% of Singaporean consumers want rewards redeemable across multiple retailers. (WARC)
Saudi Arabia’s Market Boom: Expected to reach USD 1.59 billion by 2028. (Statista)

Emotional Loyalty: The Key to Long-Term Connections

Value Driver: Emotional attachment accounts for 43% of business value, making it the most significant loyalty driver. (Forbes)
Customer Appreciation Impact: When brands make customers feel appreciated, 76% of them continue their business, 80% spend more, and 87% recommend the brand to others. (Forrester’s CX Index)
Cross-Brand Emotional Loyalty: Delivering relevant rewards across multiple brands created a strong emotional bond with customers, resulting in 2x growth in reactivated customer numbers. (Capillary Case Study – Lifestyle Brand)
Behavioral Psychology in Loyalty: A behavior psychology-based reward campaign boosted retail sales by 75% for Capillary’s clients who struggled to establish emotional connections with their customers. (Capillary Case Study)
Emotional Value: Customers with an emotional bond are 52% more valuable than those who are just satisfied. (Harvard Business Review)
Simplicity and transparency: As customer expectations evolve, simplicity and transparency will become indispensable in building emotional loyalty, fostering trust, and creating seamless, meaningful connections. (Capillary Opinion)

Gamification and the New Era of Customer Engagement

Repeat purchase lift: A gamified tier structure increased repeat purchases by 68% for a leading Capillary client, showing how progression mechanics can shift buying behavior. (Capillary case study)
Active user growth: A seasonal gamification strategy for a super app delivered a 55% increase in active users, demonstrating how time-bound mechanics can re-energize dormant and low-engagement segments. (Capillary case study)
Membership and retention impact: For a global sports brand, a gamified loyalty platform drove 68% membership growth and a 91% retention rate, underscoring the long-term stickiness of well-designed game loops. (Capillary case study)
Revenue upside: A gamification-powered loyalty program achieved a 1450% uplift in sales, highlighting the commercial upside when engagement, incentives, and experience design align. (Capillary case study)
Category adoption is accelerating: In food and beverage, brands are increasingly using surprise daily deals and “2x points” days in apps to nudge customers toward the next reward and build habitual engagement. (EY Loyalty Report, 2025)
Game-led revenue contribution: A footwear client generated $82M in sales through interactive games such as Spin the Wheel, showing that gamification can convert engagement into measurable revenue. (Capillary case study)
Frequency lift at scale: A seasonal gamification campaign increased transaction frequency by 1.5x and engaged 500M+ users, proving gamification can drive both depth and breadth of engagement. (Capillary case study)
MAU lift: Gamification strategies increased monthly active users (MAUs) by 15% for conglomerate clients, demonstrating sustained in-app engagement gains. (Capillary case study)
Incremental retail sales: Gamification delivered 75% incremental retail sales for a retail client, validating its impact on commercial performance in-store and online. (Capillary case study)
Store visit growth: Brands using gamified mechanics such as digital treasure hunts reported a 35% increase in in-store visits, indicating gamification’s ability to drive footfall. (Paytronix)
Loyalty uplift: Brands leveraging gamification reported a 22% increase in customer loyalty, reinforcing gamification as a repeatable engagement lever. (Snipp Interactive)
Behavioral impact: Gamification improves behavioral loyalty by creating more engagement touchpoints that influence frequency, participation, and habit formation over time. (Capillary insights)

Loyalty Across Industries

Luxury Travelers’ Preferences: 68% of luxury travelers consider loyalty programs critical when choosing accommodations, compared to 41% of mass travelers. (McKinsey)
Fuel Loyalty Transformation: Capillary’s fuel client achieved a 4.4x increase in sales by transforming routine fuel stops into high-end loyalty experiences. (Capillary Case Study)
Conglomerate: Capillary’s conglomerate client saw a 60% rise in cross-brand promotions by integrating experiences across multiple brands. (Capillary Case Study)
Footwear Retail: Personalizing experiences on special occasions led to a 24% increase in repeat purchases for Capillary’s footwear client. (Capillary Case Study)
CPG: Capillary’s CPG client achieved double the hit rate using AI-driven segmentation compared to traditional approaches. (Capillary Case Study)

Omnichannel Strategies: Winning Customers Everywhere

Active Membership Growth: Omnichannel integration drove a 110% increase in active members for Capillary’s retail clients. (Capillary Case Study)
Higher Purchase Rates: Customers using omnichannel platforms show a 250% higher purchase rate and a 13% higher average order value compared to single-channel users. (Better Commerce)
Customer Retention: Companies with strong omnichannel strategies retain an average of 89% of their customers, compared to just 33% for those with weak strategies. (Aberdeen Group)
Consumer Demand: 42% of consumers prefer consistent and unified brand experiences across digital and traditional channels. (Oracle)
Repeat Transactions: Using an integrated omnichannel approach resulted in a 24% increase in repeat customers and a 27% increase in repeat transactions for Capillary’s retail clients. (Capillary Case Study)

The Profit Power Behind Loyalty

Third-purchase tipping point: After a customer’s third purchase, the probability of buying again rises to 62%, highlighting the value of nudging first-time buyers into repeat behavior early. (Smile.io)
CX-to-financial impact: Customer-obsessed organizations see 41% faster revenue growth, 49% faster profit growth, and 51% better customer retention than those that are not, reinforcing that CX discipline is a direct driver of loyalty and performance. (Forrester)
ATV uplift through gamification: A Spin-the-Wheel gamification campaign increased average transaction value (ATV) by 33% for a leading Capillary client, showing how playful mechanics can encourage customers to trade up. (Capillary case study)
Loyalty share of revenue growth: For a major Capillary client, loyalty-driven sales grew to 85% after shifting from a purely transactional program to a more emotional, relationship-led strategy. (Capillary case study)
Member spend premium: A wellness brand that moved toward emotional loyalty saw members spend 80% more than non-members, demonstrating the revenue upside of trust-led engagement. (EY Loyalty Report, 2025)

If there’s one clear takeaway from these trends, it’s this: loyalty is moving faster than most brands are. Customers are switching more, expecting more, and rewarding the few programs that genuinely get it right. The brands that act decisively now—on data, AI, personalisation, and smarter engagement design—won’t just keep up, they’ll set the benchmark for everyone else.

The signals are on the table, the upside is proven, and the next 12–18 months will separate incremental optimisers from true loyalty leaders. 2025 isn’t just another planning cycle; it’s your opportunity to rebuild loyalty into a real competitive advantage—and to design programs customers would genuinely miss if they disappeared.

If you’re ready to reimagine loyalty for the new year, Capillary is helping global enterprises do exactly that. Let’s build what’s next.

Contact a Loyalty Expert

Capillary Technologies Appoints Dena Escobedo as Head of Customer Success, North America

Posted on December 16, 2025 by Megan Fiorendino

Blogs Capillary

December 2025

Appointment underscores Capillary’s U.S. growth and commitment to value delivery for enterprise customers

Capillary Technologies today announced the appointment of Dena Escobedo as Head of Customer Success, North America. Escobedo brings more than 23 years of leadership experience across Customer Success and Account Management with a track record of building trusted partnerships and driving measurable outcomes for customers. She will report to Siddhant Jain, Chief Customer Officer.

Escobedo’s expertise spans SaaS and enterprise technology across travel, hospitality, retail, NGOs, fintech, and automation. She has led global teams and guided clients through complex initiatives, integrations, and transformations, with a relationship-focused approach that prioritizes continuity, value realization, and long-term success.

“Capillary’s momentum in North America is exciting, and the opportunity to help customers unlock consistent, compounding value is what drew me here,” said Dena Escobedo, Head of Customer Success, North America. “My focus will be simple. Build deep partnerships, align on outcomes, and deliver with clarity so every customer can see and feel the impact of Capillary’s platform in their business.”

“Dena is a proven customer leader who knows how to turn strategy into results,” said Siddhant Jain. “Her experience across complex enterprise environments and her passion for customer advocacy will strengthen our operating rhythm in the U.S. and raise the bar on value delivery.”

The appointment follows Capillary Technologies’ expansion in the United States over the last two years.

Megan Fiorendino

Megan Fiorendino is the Marketing Lead for the US and Europe at Capillary Technologies, where she has spent over five years driving the company's market presence. She oversees public relations, events, customer marketing, and partnership marketing across the Americas and European markets, creating integrated strategies that strengthen Capillary's position as a leader in customer loyalty and engagement solutions.

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Capillary Technologies Named a Leader in Loyalty Platforms, Q4 2025 Evaluation

Posted on December 15, 2025 by Megan Fiorendino

Blogs Capillary Loyalty

December 2025

Company achieves the highest scores in both the current offering and strategy categories, receiving 5/5 ratings across 22 of 27 evaluation criteria.

Capillary Technologies, a global leader in loyalty and customer engagement solutions, today announced its recognition as a Leader in The Forrester Wave™: Loyalty Platforms, Q4 2025 report. Among the 11 vendors evaluated by Forrester, Capillary Technologies received the highest scores in both the current offering and strategy categories, which Capillary Technologies believes demonstrates the strength of its AI-powered loyalty platform and vision for the future of customer engagement.

The Forrester Wave™: Loyalty Platforms, Q4 2025, authored by John Pedini, evaluates the most significant loyalty platform providers across 27 criteria spanning current offering, strategy, and market presence. The report provides a comprehensive assessment to help enterprises make informed decisions when selecting loyalty technology partners.

5/5 scores Across Key Criteria

Capillary Technologies achieved a score of 5 out of 5—the highest possible rating—in 22 of the 27 criteria assessed, with no below-par scores. This represents the highest number of 5/5 scores achieved by any vendor in the evaluation. According to Forrester’s methodology, a score of 5 indicates superior capabilities relative to others evaluated, with the strength of capabilities in these areas validated by reference customers.

“We believe this recognition from Forrester validates our commitment to delivering innovative, AI-driven loyalty solutions that empower brands to build deeper, more meaningful relationships with their customers,” said Aneesh Reddy, Founder & CEO of Capillary Technologies. “Achieving the highest scores in both current offering and strategy categories reflects our team’s dedication to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in loyalty technology.”

Highest Scores Possible Across Critical Criteria

Capillary Technologies received 5/5 ratings across essential current offering criteria, including:

Marketer user experience
Program definition
Loyalty marketing operations
Data management
Customer and member profiles
Member engagement capabilities
Member experience optimization
Emotional loyalty measurement
Fraud management
Promotions and offer management

The company also received the highest scores possible in the strategy criteria of—vision, innovation, and roadmap—which Capillary Technologies believes highlights its forward-thinking approach to loyalty platform development.

AI-Powered Innovation

The platform features aiRA, an AI assistant that enables marketers to configure and optimize loyalty programs conversationally, and the Nudge Framework, which helps drive personalized customer engagement at scale.

“Capillary Technologies has a clear vision for adaptive, AI-powered loyalty ecosystems,” the report notes. “Its standout roadmap emphasizes investments in generative and agentic AI to enable marketers to configure and optimize promotions conversationally.”

Customer Feedback

Reference customers praise Capillary Technologies’ platform usability, AI enablement, and promotion flexibility. We believe the company’s focus on delivering exceptional user experiences for marketers while providing sophisticated technical capabilities has resonated strongly with enterprise clients globally.

To access the full report, visit here.

Forrester does not endorse any company, product, brand, or service included in its research publications and does not advise any person to select the products or services of any company or brand based on the ratings included in such publications. Information is based on the best available resources. Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change. For more information, read about Forrester’s objectivity here .

Megan Fiorendino

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Capillary Technologies Becomes an Integrated Loyalty Platform Partner with Real-Time Data Flow Solution

Posted on December 11, 2025 by amandeep

Capillary Technologies Becomes an Integrated Loyalty Platform Partner with Real-Time Data Flow Solution

Posted on December 11, 2025 by Megan Fiorendino

Blogs

December 2025

Seamless, Real-Time Data Flow From Capillary’s Loyalty Platform to Adobe Experience Platform Unlocks Personalization & Engagement at Scale

Capillary Technologies, a global leader in AI-powered loyalty and customer engagement, today announced it has integrated with Adobe Experience Platform as a loyalty platform partner, setting a new benchmark for innovation in customer experience technology.

This integration delivers out-of-the-box, real-time data flow from Capillary’s award-winning loyalty platform to Adobe Experience Platform – including Adobe Real-Time Customer Data Platform and Adobe Journey Optimizer.

The result: brands can now combine advanced loyalty insights with Adobe’s best-in-class personalization and orchestration tools to deliver hyper-relevant, cross-channel engagement that drives measurable business impact.

“This isn’t just an integration — it’s the future of loyalty. This partnership marks a major milestone in loyalty marketing,” said Jim Sturm, President of North America at Capillary Technologies. “By integrating our loyalty platform with Adobe Experience Platform, we’re enabling brands to act on loyalty data instantly to create more meaningful, revenue-driving customer experiences.”

One-Time Setup. Immediate Impact.

Capillary’s connector is built for global, plug-and-play deployment — requiring only a one-time configuration and zero ongoing integration maintenance. Brands can activate in days, not months, unlocking rapid time-to-value and accelerating ROI from both platforms.

Turning Loyalty Data into Revenue

With this integration, brands can:

Take advantage of the advanced AI features of the Capillary platform.
Deliver precision personalization – Enrich Adobe workflows with loyalty data to target with accuracy.
Orchestrate frictionless journeys – Combine loyalty insights with Journey Optimizer for seamless, multi-channel experiences.
Trigger real-time engagement – Act on loyalty metrics the moment they happen, across any customer touchpoint.
Grow faster – Boost conversion, retention, and lifetime value with data-driven loyalty marketing.

Two Industry Leaders. One Powerful Solution.

Capillary’s loyalty platform – recognized for advanced segmentation, rewards management, and predictive analytics – now works in lockstep with Adobe’s industry-leading customer data management and engagement tools. This unified approach gives brands the ability to build customer loyalty and deliver personalized experiences at scale.

Capillary’s loyalty platform — trusted by 390+ brands, 1.2B+ members, and operating in 45+ countries — delivers advanced segmentation, AI-powered rewards, and predictive analytics. Together with Adobe Experience Platform, the result is a future-ready customer engagement stack.

“Our customers today use Adobe Experience Platform to harmonize enterprise data with event and intent data to create personalized moments at scale,” said Jason Hickey, Director of Product Marketing, Adobe Journey Optimizer. “Unlocking sophisticated loyalty data is a natural and exciting step forward to deliver more relevant and rewarding experiences everywhere.”

The Capillary–Adobe integration is available now to new and existing clients worldwide, building on a proven track record of collaboration between the two companies and reinforcing their shared commitment to innovation in customer loyalty and experience.

About Capillary Technologies

Capillary Technologies is a global leader in AI-powered loyalty and customer engagement solutions. Founded in 2012, the company combines its best-in-class loyalty technology with expert services to design, manage, and optimize loyalty programs that help brands across industries transform and improve consumer experience and engagement. Trusted by 390+ brands across 45+ countries, Capillary manages 100+ loyalty programs and powers experiences for more than 1.2 billion loyalty members worldwide, making it one of the largest loyalty ecosystems globally. With a workforce of over 650 employees worldwide, Capillary is dedicated to delivering value to clients and accelerating innovation in loyalty.

Megan Fiorendino

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How Capillary’s CDP Enables Conglomerate-Scale Loyalty

Posted on December 10, 2025 by Shalu Bhardwaj

Blogs Capillary Technologies - Expertise Blog Conglomerate Products

December 2025

Discover how Capillary’s CDP turns a group of separate brands into one powerful loyalty ecosystem, giving customers more value and companies clearer insights.

For conglomerates, loyalty isn’t just about rewarding repeat purchases—it’s about understanding customers across a multi-brand universe while preserving brand individuality and compliance.

As consumer ecosystems evolve, large conglomerates face a persistent challenge: how to create a unified customer experience across multiple brands without forcing them into a single mold.

Some brands share audiences, others compete for them. Some operate in markets with strict data localization laws, others thrive on cross-brand insights. Yet, the parent group needs to see the full picture—customer engagement, lifetime value, and ecosystem performance—without compromising privacy, autonomy, or speed.

At Capillary, we solve this with flexible, conglomerate-centric data models — a platform approach that unifies loyalty, data, and governance through our Customer Data Platform (CDP). Our data models allow conglomerates to model business entities, customers, and events in ways that reflect real-world structures—powering unified customer intelligence across the enterprise.

This blog explores how our CDP—along with data models like Organizational Units and Connected Organizations—enables conglomerates to connect customers, data, and insights at scale.

The Foundation: Modeling Real-World Conglomerates in the Platform

Capillary’s CDP provides the flexibility to mirror different conglomerate structures accurately. Whether a customer is shared across brands, shared partially with local attributes, or kept fully isolated, our CDP adapts to your governance model. It ensures that central organizations can maintain visibility where needed, while individual brands continue to operate with autonomy.

Capillary’s platform separates these three layers:

Data: Customer profiles, transactions, rewards, and behavioral events.
Metadata & Controls: Program rules, tiers, campaigns, catalogs, user management, and governance settings — all managed centrally through Capillary’s InTouch platform, which provides fine-grained access control, approval workflows, and visibility across brand entities.
Workflows: Business processes such as accrual, redemption, approvals, and communication flows.’

How these layers are shared or isolated defines the type of loyalty model suitable for each conglomerate.

Many conglomerates today operate brand-specific, fully independent loyalty programs, where each brand manages its own customers, rules, and workflows. This remains the default scenario when data separation, compliance, or brand autonomy is the highest priority.

However, conglomerates increasingly look to Capillary’s CDP to move beyond isolated programs and unlock more connected, scalable loyalty structures. This is where our Organizational Units (OUs) and Connected Organizations models become powerful enablers—balancing customer connectivity, data governance, and brand autonomy at scale.

1. Organizational Units (OUs): Unified Strategy, Local Adaptation

The Organizational Unit (OU) model is a step toward synergy. It allows the parent company to define a central loyalty framework, while individual brands (or business units) operate as OUs under it.

This model is ideal for conglomerates running a central loyalty program as the primary asset, where customers can earn anywhere and burn anywhere across brands. The customer entity is shared across OUs, and if needed, individual brands can still run their own localized programs within the same framework.

In this structure:

Data: Customer data & attributes can be shared across OUs, enabling unified identity and cross-brand engagement.
Metadata & Controls: The parent defines and manages global rules—such as tiers, currency logic, and benefits—forming the backbone of a centralized loyalty program, while child brands primarily operate within this framework to execute localized campaigns and engagements.
Workflows: Execution is primarily managed by the central entity, ensuring unified operations, while reporting and governance remain fully centralized.

For example, a conglomerate with a portfolio of fashion or lifestyle brands may run a single points system across all entities but let each brand create its own campaigns and redemption experiences.

The OU model is simpler because workflows aren’t isolated—brands operate under shared orchestration managed by the parent. Yet, autonomy is maintained through metadata-level customization.

Best suited for: Non-competing brands where unified loyalty currency and shared customer identity enhance group-level engagement.

2. Connected Organizations: Independent Operations, Shared Intelligence

When conglomerates have semi-independent or competing brands, centralizing loyalty operations can create both compliance risks and competitive tension.

The Connected Organizations model addresses this by establishing data silos where each brand maintains full control of its own operations and data, while remaining connected to the parent organization at the CDP layer. This ensures local brand empowerment with centralized visibility and governance.

Here’s how it works:

Data: Each brand’s data resides in its own workspace, ensuring full isolation. However, the customer profile is available with the parent entity for unified analytics and governance.
Metadata & Controls: Each brand controls its own configurations—tiers, campaigns, catalogs—without visibility into others. The parent manages only shared schemas or enterprise-wide parameters.
Workflows: Workflows are completely isolated across brands—each child organization runs its own loyalty program independently. Loyalty events (such as enrollments, accruals, or redemptions) do not get replayed to the parent organization. What does get replayed are behavioral events and transaction events, allowing the parent to run its own central loyalty program if desired. Because the parent has controlled CDP-level access to customer and event data, it can issue rewards, evaluate engagement, and build group-level intelligence, while each brand continues to operate its own program without interference.

This model balances data privacy and enterprise visibility. A customer might engage with multiple brands under the same group, but each interaction remains private to the respective brand—while the parent group gains a 360° understanding of customer behavior and lifetime value.

Best suited for: Conglomerates with competing or highly independent brands requiring isolation with selective visibility at the group level.

A Quick Comparison: How the Models Differ

Real-World Challenges and How Connected Orgs Solve Them

The Connected Orgs model is designed to address some of the toughest challenges conglomerates face — from maintaining data privacy across brands to balancing autonomy with centralized oversight. In this setup, brands operate individually with isolated data and workflows, but customer entities can be securely shared across the group for unified visibility and insights.

Challenge 1: Balancing Data Privacy Across Brands

In diversified groups, especially where brands compete, there’s a risk that shared systems could inadvertently expose business insights.
Capillary’s Solution: With Connected Organizations, each brand’s data resides in its own walled garden. Data is isolated, workflows are independent, and only aggregate or anonymized information flows to the parent entity—ensuring privacy without losing enterprise visibility.

Challenge 2: Defining Customer Ownership

When the same customer interacts with multiple brands under one group, the ownership question becomes complex.
Is the customer relationship brand-specific or group-level?
Capillary’s Solution: The relationship is dual-layered. Each brand owns its direct engagement and transactional relationship, while the conglomerate retains an overarching identity through the CDP. Attribution and loyalty crediting rules are clearly defined at both levels—so brands retain control, and the group maintains a holistic understanding.

Challenge 3: Operational Efficiency vs. Brand Autonomy

Parent organizations often want centralized governance, but brands resist losing operational freedom.

Capillary’s Solution: With Connected Orgs, each brand manages its own operations and data, while the parent organization gains shared visibility into customer insights and program performance through secure CDP connections.
Shared infrastructure and reporting bring efficiency, while brand-specific configurations and workflows preserve

The Customer Advantage: Seamless Value Across Brands

Ultimately, the purpose of connected loyalty is not just organizational efficiency—it’s a better customer experience.

For consumers, conglomerate loyalty translates to:

More value: Rewards that work across an entire ecosystem, not just one brand.
More convenience: One membership ID for multiple brand experiences.
More trust: Transparent consent and data security, even across group entities.

This is where Capillary’s CDP foundation makes the difference—by ensuring that every cross-brand interaction is intentional, compliant, and meaningful.

Connected Orgs, powered by CDP, align brand independence, group intelligence, and customer delight into one experience.

The Future of Conglomerate Loyalty

As conglomerates evolve into digital ecosystems—embracing marketplaces, lifestyle platforms, and super apps—the need for connected loyalty architectures will only deepen.

What lies ahead:

AI-powered personalization across brands, anchored in shared yet privacy-safe profiles.
Cross-industry collaboration—retail, fuel, travel, and beyond—for ecosystem-scale engagement.
Localized compliance engines that adapt instantly to new data regulations.
Sustainability-linked loyalty, where eco-conscious behaviors earn rewards across the group.

Capillary is already enabling this future through its entity-driven platform, empowering conglomerates to scale securely, intelligently, and globally.

Conclusion: CDP at the Core of Conglomerate Loyalty

Capillary’s CDP-powered architecture is the backbone of how large enterprises design, govern, and scale loyalty across multiple brands.

Whether brands need full isolation, partial synergy, or connected intelligence, the CDP enables them to:

Govern data responsibly across entities.
Connect intelligence for group-level visibility and insights.
Deliver seamless customer value across every brand and touchpoint.

Because true loyalty at a conglomerate scale isn’t just about earning and redemption. It’s about connecting data, decisions, and experiences across an entire business universe—securely, transparently, and intelligently.

Shield+ imagines an AI-powered command center for data protection—where brands can ask questions like “Which systems accessed health data last week?” and get clear answers instantly. Shield+ Agent can discover and tag sensitive data, apply policies dynamically, and provide real-time compliance guidance. A unified dashboard brings this intelligence together, offering visibility into risks, policies, and solutions in one place.

Shalu Bhardwaj

Shalu Bhardwaj is a Product Growth Specialist at Capillary Technologies, where she transforms product roadmaps into real-world adoption. With four years of experience in product growth, she leads go-to-market strategy, empowers sales and customer teams with the right resources to win, and drives Capillary’s academy initiatives. Shalu is passionate about building clear, scalable enablement programs that help teams and clients unlock the full value of Capillary’s products.

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Top Loyalty Conferences & Loyalty Events in 2026

Posted on December 8, 2025 by Gitanjali Mittal

The loyalty industry continues to improve rapidly, with 2026 promising breakthrough innovations in customer engagement, AI-powered personalization, and omnichannel loyalty strategies.

Whether you’re a loyalty manager, marketing strategist, or technology vendor, attending the right conference can provide invaluable insights, competitive benchmarking, and essential industry connections to drive your organization forward.

Here is our curated list of the top global loyalty conferences and other relevant events happening in 2026, featuring our top pick for the must-attend loyalty event of 2026.

The Premier Loyalty Conference of 2026

Captivate stands out as the premier global summit for loyalty leaders seeking to master the intersection of digital innovation and customer engagement. Hosted by Capillary Technologies, this two-day conference in UAE from 8th to 9th of April, 2026 brings together C-level executives, loyalty strategists, and industry pioneers to explore how AI, advanced personalization, and omnichannel strategies are revolutionizing loyalty management.

With visionary keynotes from global thought leaders, immersive case studies from Fortune 500 brands, hands-on workshops on emerging technologies, and unmatched networking opportunities with the world’s most influential loyalty professionals, Captivate provides the strategic insights and connections needed to transform your loyalty program and drive competitive advantage in 2026.

Event	Location	Dates
Loyalty & Retail Media Summit	Berlin	10-11 February 2026
eTail West	Palm Springs	23-26 February 2026
TBH Loyalty™ London 2026	London	24 February 2026
Asia Pacific Loyalty Awards	Melbourne	19 March 2026
DACH Loyalty Days	Frankfurt	24-25 March 2026
Shoptalk Vegas	Las Vegas	24-26 March 2026
Aviation Festival Asia	Singapore	25-26 March 2026
Captivate	Abu Dhabi	8-9 April 2026
TBH Loyalty™ Toronto 2026	Toronto	21 April 2026
Advanced Customer Loyalty & Retention 2026	London	23 April 2026
Loyalty & Engagement Awards	Hong Kong	April 2026
Loyalty Expo	Orlando	12-14 May 2026
CMRC 2026	Frisco	1-3 June 2026
Aviation Festival Americas	Miami	3-4 June 2026
Loyalty Summit	London	3-4 June 2026
Shoptalk Europe	Barcelona	9-11 June 2026
eTail East	Boston	10-12 August 2026
Loyalty & Awards Conference	Toronto	5-7 October 2026
TBH Loyalty™ Amsterdam 2026	Amsterdam	6-7 October 2026
World Aviation Festival	Lisbon	13-15 October 2026

Without further ado, here are the best loyalty events happening in 2026:

1. Loyalty & Retail Media Summit

Dates: 10-11 February 2026

Location: Berlin, Germany

The Loyalty & Retail Media Summit Berlin 2026 unites retail innovators and loyalty professionals to explore how loyalty strategies intersect with retail media to deliver measurable engagement and revenue growth.

Featuring case studies and thought leadership on data-driven personalization, customer journey optimization, and loyalty-first media monetization frameworks, the summit provides actionable insights for marketers and strategists looking to integrate loyalty with commercial media ecosystems.

2. eTail West

Dates: 23-26 February 2026

Location: Palm Springs, CA, USA

eTail West is a four-day eCommerce and retail innovation conference that brings together 2,500+ senior retail executives to explore cutting-edge digital commerce strategies, omnichannel growth, and retail technology innovation.

The event features keynote speeches, interactive problem-solving roundtables, hands-on workshops, and unparalleled networking opportunities designed for operator-level learning and practical application.

3. TBH Loyalty™ London 2026

Dates: 24 February 2026

Location: London, UK

Loyalty’s friendliest meet-up just got friendlier. Join us for a full day at the iconic Glaziers Hall, overlooking London Bridge, where loyalty leaders and practitioners gather to share ideas, spark debates and shape what’s next. Expect brand keynotes, breakout sessions, live loyalty experiments, challenges and plenty of networking.

4. Asia Pacific Loyalty Awards

Dates: 19 March 2026

Location: Melbourne, Australia

Dress Code: Black tie

The Asia Pacific Loyalty Awards celebrate excellence, innovation, and best practices in the loyalty industry across the Asia Pacific region.

The event features a rigorous judging process by independent industry experts and culminates in a spectacular gala evening at Sofitel Melbourne, recognizing standout organizations and individuals contributing to the thriving loyalty industry.

5. DACH Loyalty Days

Dates: 24-25 March 2026

Location: Frankfurt, Germany

DACH Loyalty Days brings together loyalty and CRM leaders from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland for two days of strategic discussions and real-world case studies on customer retention, loyalty program innovation, and data-driven engagement.

The event connects regional practitioners with expert speakers and peers to share best practices, network with industry decision-makers, and explore the latest approaches to building stronger customer relationships in the DACH market.

6. Shoptalk Vegas

Dates: 24-26 March 2026

Location: Las Vegas, NV, USA

Shoptalk Vegas 2026 is a premier retail transformation event bringing together 10,000+ retail leaders, 200+ speakers, and industry innovators at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

The event features keynotes from top brands, panel discussions on AI, omnichannel strategies, and supply chain innovation, plus hands-on workshops and networking opportunities focused on the future of retail.

7. Aviation Festival Asia

Dates: 25-26 March 2026

Location: Singapore

Aviation Festival Asia is the region’s leading aviation technology conference bringing together 2,500+ attendees and 150 speakers over two days at Suntec Singapore.

The event focuses on software, services, sustainability, marketing, and distribution strategies for airlines and airports, creating partnerships and exploring tech innovation across the Asia-Pacific region.

8. Captivate

Dates: 8-9 April 2026

Location: Abu Dhabi

Captivate is Capillary Technologies’ premier global summit exploring how digital innovation and AI are reshaping loyalty management and customer engagement.

The event brings together global loyalty leaders for visionary keynotes, real-world case studies, hands-on workshops, and unparalleled networking with C-level executives and industry thought leaders.

With fresh perspectives, and a glimpse into the future of engagement, Captivate is THE place to experience how AI is transforming loyalty. Make sure you don’t miss Captivate 2026!

9. TBH Loyalty™ Toronto 2026

Dates: 21 April 2026

Location: Toronto, Canada

Loyalty’s Smartest Conversation, Now in North America Europe loves it, and now it’s Canada’s turn. One of the loyalty world’s most talked-about events is finally landing in Toronto.

Often called “loyalty’s friendliest meet-up,” this is not your typical conference. Think fewer suits, more real talk. No boring panels or sales pitches. Just smart, honest conversations with people who have been in the trenches. If you geek out over loyalty, enjoy swapping war stories, and want to hear what is actually working for brands today, you will feel right at home.

10. Advanced Customer Loyalty & Retention 2026

Dates: 23 April 2026

Location: London, UK

This one-day conference offers fresh approaches to retaining customers, increasing repeat purchases, and enhancing loyalty using AI, automation, and advanced data analytics.

The event features 26 loyalty leaders sharing insights and case studies across 13 industries, plus interactive panel discussions and speed networking with experts from retail, travel, consumer goods, and hospitality.

11. Loyalty & Engagement Awards

Dates: April 2026

Location: Hong Kong

[The exact date is yet to be shared]

The Loyalty and Engagement Awards is an awards ceremony and gala dinner recognizing excellence in customer-centric marketing campaigns and loyalty strategies in Hong Kong.

Now in its sixth year, the event celebrates creativity, vision, and transformative strategies that strengthen customer relationships, judged by a panel of independent senior marketers and loyalty veterans.

12. Loyalty Expo

Dates: 12-14 May 2026

Location: Orlando, FL, USA

Loyalty Expo 2026 brings hundreds of loyalty professionals and brand marketers to Orlando, Florida, featuring sessions on best practices, case studies, and actionable loyalty strategies.

The event includes the prestigious Loyalty360 Awards (the most respected awards in the loyalty industry), an exhibit hall showcasing cutting-edge loyalty technologies, and extensive networking opportunities.

13. CMRC 2026

Dates: 1-3 June 2026

Location: Frisco, TX, USA

The 32nd Annual Customer Relationship Management Conference (CMRC) takes place at the Omni PGA Resort & Spa in Frisco, Texas, bringing together 700+ retail leaders from Fortune 500 brands.

The event focuses on future trends in customer loyalty, retention, and personalization, with keynotes on human connection, sustainability, and omnichannel customer experiences.

14. Aviation Festival Americas

Dates: 3-4 June 2026

Location: Miami, FL, USA

Aviation Festival Americas unites 1,500+ airline and airport executives across the USA, Canada, and Latin America over two days at Miami Beach Convention Center.

The event features 200+ influential speakers across six conference tracks, live demonstrations, and extensive networking focused on new strategies, technologies, and partnerships driving aviation industry growth.

15. Loyalty Summit

Dates: 3-4 June 2026

Location: London, UK

Loyalty Summit in London brings together senior travel loyalty professionals for two days of strategic exploration featuring keynotes, panel discussions, fireside chats, and networking opportunities.

The event focuses on emerging technologies, next-generation customer experiences, and innovative loyalty strategies within a premium, executive-focused environment.

16. Shoptalk Europe

Dates: 9-11 June 2026

Location: Barcelona, Spain

Shoptalk Europe is a three-day retail innovation event at Fira Barcelona Gran Via attracting 3,500+ decision-makers from leading retailers, brands, and tech companies worldwide.

The event features over 160 industry speakers, Europe’s largest retail meetings program with 20,000+ matchmade meetings, and a focus on digital transformation and omnichannel retail strategies.

17. eTail East

Dates: 10-12 August 2026

Location: Boston, MA, USA

eTail East 2026 brings together 1,200+ East Coast retail leaders and digital transformation specialists at the Sheraton Boston Hotel for a strategic checkpoint mid-year.

The event features keynotes, panel discussions, problem-solving roundtables, and hands-on clinics focused on leveraging data, AI, and technology to drive growth and optimize omnichannel retail strategies.

18. Loyalty & Awards Conference

Dates: 5-7 October 2026

Location: Toronto, Canada

Loyalty & Awards is a two-and-a-half-day travel loyalty conference hosted by Global Flight where airlines, hotels, suppliers, and industry professionals convene to exchange information on new trends and innovations.

The event features expert keynotes, workshops, social activities, and the prestigious Golden Loyalty Awards gala dinner recognizing excellence in travel loyalty programs.

19. TBH Loyalty™ Amsterdam 2026

Dates: 6-7 October 2026

Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands

TBH Loyalty™ Amsterdam is Europe’s go-to gathering for loyalty, CRM, and customer engagement professionals — a one-day event where real conversations replace polished pitches. Brought to you by Europe’s Loyalty Association (The ELA™), TBH Loyalty™ Amsterdam brings together brand-side practitioners, solution providers, and industry thinkers for a packed day of keynotes, panel debates, live labs, and curated networking. Expect honest case studies, forward-looking ideas, and the kind of peer-to-peer exchange you won’t find in a webinar — all set in one of Europe’s most vibrant cities.

20. World Aviation Festival

Dates: 13-15 October 2026

Location: Lisbon, Portugal

World Aviation Festival is the premier global aviation technology conference and exhibition at FIL Lisbon, bringing together 4,500+ attendees and 600 speakers over three days.

The flagship event unites airlines, airports, and technology leaders from around the world to discuss collaboration, innovation, and strategies shaping the future of global aviation.

Elevate Your Loyalty Game in 2026

With so many major loyalty conferences and loyalty events happening globally in 2026, there’s no shortage of opportunities to learn, network, and discover the latest trends shaping the future of customer loyalty. From intimate executive summits to large-scale industry expos, these events offer the platforms needed to elevate your loyalty strategy and stay ahead of the competition.

Ready to transform your loyalty program?

Talk to Capillary Technologies’ Loyalty Experts to discuss how you can leverage these industry insights and cutting-edge loyalty solutions to maximize customer lifetime value and drive sustainable business growth.

December 2025

1. Loyalty Evolves From a Program Into an Intelligent Operating System

2. Behavioral Loyalty Replaces Transaction Loyalty

3. Personalization Gets So Good It Stops Feeling Like Marketing

4. AI Agents Become the Front Door to Loyalty—Not Just to Support

5. Churn Prediction Becomes a Live Feed, Not a Monthly Report

6. AI Learns Emotional Intelligence—and Loyalty Starts Depending on It

7. AI Turns Loyalty Content Into an Ecosystem, Not a Stream

8. Privacy Becomes the Heart of Loyalty Value, Not the Fine Print

9. AI Rewrites the Loyalty Scorecard

10. Autonomous Experimentation Becomes the New Loyalty Growth Engine

What This All Means for Loyalty Leaders in 2026

Summaya

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December 2025

What Is Captivate and Why It’s One of the Top Loyalty Conferences Globally?

Putting Loyalty Back at the Strategy Table Through Captivate

What Happens at Captivate: Inside the Premier Customer Loyalty Conference

What Makes Captivate Different From Other Loyalty Events

1. Loyalty, Seen Through an AI Lens

2. One Room, Many Markets

3. Case Studies That Show The Before and After

Captivate So Far

How to Attend Captivate

Loyalty Conferences FAQs

1. What is Captivate, and why is it one of the top global loyalty conferences?

2. Why should I attend a loyalty conference in 2026?

3. Who should attend customer loyalty conferences like Captivate?

4. When and where is the next Captivate loyalty conference happening?

5. What topics and sessions are covered at Captivate loyalty conferences?

6. How many brands and leaders typically attend Captivate loyalty events?

Anjali Pillai

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What is Loyalty Management Software?

The Great Shift in the Loyalty Game: How Loyalty Management Software Evolved

The 1980s-2000s: From Punch Cards to Digital Loyalty Platforms

2010s: Mobile Apps and Gamification

2020-2025: The AI-Powered Loyalty Era

What Matters Now: 5 Non-Negotiable Features of Modern Loyalty Management Software

Why Capillary Technologies Is the Leading Enterprise Loyalty Platform in the US

Quick Comparison: 11 Best Loyalty Management Software

Top Loyalty Software Picks by Business Type:

For Enterprise Retailers & Multi-Brand Organizations:

For Restaurant Chains & Hospitality:

For E-Commerce & Digital-Native Brands:

For B2B Manufacturers & Distributors:

For Small to Medium-Sized Businesses:

Our Methodology: How We Evaluated These Top Loyalty Management Platforms

Best Loyalty Management Software: In-Depth Reviews of Top 11 Solutions

1. Capillary Technologies

2. SessionM (Mastercard)

3. Antavo

4. Talon One

5. Punchh (PAR Engagement)

6. LoyaltyXpert

7. CardFree

8. Fishbowl GRM

9. Extole

10. PassKit

11. Kangaroo Rewards

Loyalty Management Software Implementation: Best Practices for Success

Choosing Your Loyalty Solutions Partner: When to Consult Loyalty Experts

The Loyalty Platform vs. Strategy Gap

When You Need a Loyalty Consultant

Meet Brierley: Pioneers of Modern Loyalty Strategy

Getting Started with Loyalty Consulting

Conclusion

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the best loyalty platform for enterprise businesses?

Q: Which loyalty platform is best for restaurants?

Q: Do I need a separate app for digital loyalty programs?

Q: Difference between loyalty and referral platforms?