Take out your wallet and count the number of loyalty cards you have. Then, add to this number any others you might have sitting on your phone, in digital wallets or membership apps.

There’s a good chance you’re a member of at least one loyalty program. You may even find some memberships you don’t remember signing up for. If this is the case, you’re not alone.

According to a 2026 annual survey commissioned by consultancy The Point of Loyalty, 93% of Australian consumers were members of at least one loyalty program in 2026.

This was the highest level recorded since 2016. However, only 50% of loyalty program members had actively used all of their memberships in the past 12 months.

Our research set out to answer a simple question: why do so many of us sign up for loyalty programs only to neglect or forget about them? Our findings have lessons both for businesses designing loyalty programs and consumers who want to get more out of them.

‘Are you a member with us?’

We surveyed more than 800 customers of major Australian supermarkets including Coles, Woolworths, ALDI, IGA and FoodWorks.

The popularity of these programs continues to grow. In Australia, the loyalty program market has experienced significant expansion and is expected to continue growing as rising living costs encourage consumers to seek greater value from their........

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