Capillary Research · 2026
A New Way to
Measure What
Customer Loyalty Is
Really Built On
The BLQ Report introduces the Balanced Loyalty Quotient, a proprietary framework that measures both the rational and emotional forces behind customer loyalty. Register your interest to be among the first to receive the full report when it launches.
13,500
US consumers
26,642
Brand evaluations
54
Major brands
8
Categories
Launching soon · Register to be first in line
Inside the BLQ Report
Register Your Interest in the BLQ Report
The full report is launching soon. Register now and your copy will be sent to your inbox the moment it goes live, including brand rankings, category benchmarks, seven defining findings, and practical recommendations for loyalty leaders.
- Complete rankings across 54 major brands
- Benchmarks across eight consumer categories
- Emotional and rational loyalty scores
- Seven defining findings about the state of American loyalty
- The 14 attributes shaping customer relationships
- Category-level opportunities and structural challenges
- Practical implications for loyalty strategy, program design, and growth
Be First to Receive the BLQ Report
Capillary’s largest consumer loyalty study to date.
You will receive the full report by email as soon as it is released. By submitting this form, you agree to receive relevant communications from Capillary Technologies. You can unsubscribe at any time.
The Problem
Loyalty Has Always Been Measured in Fragments
Transactions
Visits
Redemptions
Satisfaction scores
NPS
These metrics tell brands what customers do. They show how often people return, whether they redeem rewards, and how they respond to a program. But they do not always explain why a customer stays.
One customer may return because a brand is convenient, affordable, or difficult to replace. Another may return because they trust the brand, identify with it, and genuinely prefer it over the alternatives.
On a traditional dashboard, both customers appear loyal.
But are those relationships equally strong? The Balanced Loyalty Quotient was created to answer that question.
The Framework
Introducing the Balanced Loyalty Quotient
The Balanced Loyalty Quotient, or BLQ, measures loyalty across two analytically independent dimensions.
Dimension 01 · Head
Rational Loyalty
The practical reasons customers continue choosing a brand.
Value
Convenience
Utility
Ease
Rewards
Dimension 02 · Heart
Emotional Loyalty
The deeper reasons customers feel connected to a brand.
Trust
Recognition
Affinity
Identification
Emotional connection
Together, these dimensions reveal more than the overall strength of customer loyalty. They show what that loyalty is built on, how balanced it is, and how resilient it may be when prices change, competitors enter, or expectations evolve.
The Research at a Glance
Grounded in Real Customer Relationships
~13,500
US consumers surveyed
26,642
Individual brand evaluations
54
Major brands assessed
8
Consumer categories studied
14
Loyalty attributes measured
2
Independent dimensions of loyalty
1
Comparable loyalty framework
Every evaluation came from a consumer who personally engages with the brand they assessed.
The findings are grounded in real customer relationships, not general brand familiarity.
Coverage
Eight Categories. One Comparable View of Loyalty.
The framework makes it possible to compare loyalty across very different customer relationships while still accounting for the realities of each category.
C1
Retail and Specialty
C2
Restaurants and QSR
C3
Travel and Hospitality
C4
Home Improvement
C5
Entertainment
C6
Telecom
C7
Convenience and Fuel
C8
Healthcare and Pharmacy
It reveals which categories generate the strongest emotional bonds, which depend more heavily on practical value, and which brands are outperforming the natural limits of their market.
Seven Defining Findings
Findings That Challenge Familiar Assumptions
The report answers some of the most important questions facing loyalty leaders today.
Q· Which categories create the strongest emotional loyalty?
Q· Which brands rely most heavily on convenience and value?
Q· Can a brand appear successful while its customer relationships remain vulnerable?
Q· Do the loyalty benefits consumers say they want match what actually influences their behavior?
Q· Which brands are outperforming the structural constraints of their category?
The BLQ Report brings together seven major findings that explore these questions and offer a clearer view of what drives long-term customer relationships.
Why This Report Matters
Beyond the Transactional Formula
For decades, loyalty strategies have largely followed a transactional formula. That model can drive engagement and influence behavior. But it does not fully account for trust, preference, attachment, recognition, or advocacy.
The old model
- Spend more
- Earn more
- Redeem
- Repeat
The BLQ Report helps loyalty leaders see where a customer relationship is strong, where it is fragile, and where the next opportunity for growth may be hiding.
A new lens for:
- Evaluating loyalty program performance
- Identifying gaps between behavior and sentiment
- Strengthening emotional connection
- Improving retention and customer lifetime value
- Building loyalty strategies around what consumers genuinely value
- Benchmarking brand performance against competitors and category norms
Who Should Read It
Designed for the Leaders Behind the Metrics
This report is designed for leaders responsible for:
Customer loyalty
Customer experience
Retention and engagement
CRM and lifecycle marketing
Customer insights and analytics
Brand strategy
Digital transformation
Customer lifetime value
Loyalty program design and optimization
Whether you are building a new loyalty strategy or reassessing an established program, the BLQ Report offers a clearer view of the customer relationships behind the metrics.
The Minds Behind the Research
Analytical Depth. Practical Clarity.
Don Smith, Ph.D.
Chief Global Consulting Officer, Capillary Technologies
Don Smith is the architect of the report’s analytical foundation. A statistician by training, Don spent more than a decade teaching statistics and policy evaluation before applying that discipline to loyalty strategy.
His work focuses on making customer data more useful, not simply more available. The BLQ framework reflects that philosophy by connecting customer behavior with the deeper forces that shape loyalty.
Tom Pfaff
Vice President, Strategy, Capillary Technologies
Tom Pfaff brings more than four decades of experience across advertising, customer strategy, and loyalty marketing.
His contribution ensures that the report’s findings translate into clear, practical implications for loyalty leaders, from program design and engagement to retention and long-term growth.
Together, Don and Tom bring analytical depth and practical clarity to one of Capillary’s most ambitious research initiatives.
See Loyalty Differently
Get the First Look at the Full BLQ Report
The loyalty industry has spent years optimizing around familiar signals. The BLQ Report asks whether those signals are telling the full story.
Register your interest to be among the first to explore the complete brand rankings, category benchmarks, seven defining findings, and strategic recommendations, and discover what 26,642 brand evaluations reveal about the state of American loyalty.
Reserve Your Copy
Register to receive Capillary’s largest consumer loyalty study the moment it launches.
Your copy will be sent to your inbox as soon as the report is released.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Balanced Loyalty Quotient?
- The Balanced Loyalty Quotient is a proprietary framework that measures customer loyalty across two independent dimensions: rational loyalty and emotional loyalty.
What is included in the report?
- The report includes rankings across 54 brands, category benchmarks, emotional and rational loyalty profiles, seven major findings, and practical implications for loyalty leaders.
Which industries are covered?
- The study covers Retail and Specialty, Restaurants and QSR, Travel and Hospitality, Home Improvement, Entertainment, Telecom, Convenience and Fuel, and Healthcare and Pharmacy.
Who participated in the research?
- Nearly 13,500 US consumers completed 26,642 evaluations of brands they personally engage with.
Is the report free?
- Yes. Register your interest using the form and the full report will be sent to you at no cost when it launches.
When will the report be available?
- The full BLQ Report is launching soon. Everyone who registers will receive their copy by email on release day, ahead of general availability.