ZipLine, a mobile payment and rewards technology platform, has released a survey on payment and loyalty, finding customers favour “perks and long-term value.”
Conducted by Google in July, the US survey, Payment Trends in the United States analysed a sample of 500 adults in the millennial (born between 1981-1996) and gen X (born between 1965-1980) categories.
It found that 70 per cent of both millennials and gen Xers prefer amusement offerings that include rewards programmes.
Millennial males look for a balance between immediate rewards and long-term value, with 30 per cent prioritising immediate rewards and 30 per cent finding long term value to be most important, the report suggests. Millennial women also seek immediate rewards, followed by exclusive perks. For 45 per cent of gen X women, immediate rewards are the most important, while 20 per cent primarily seek out exclusive perks.
For transactions between $10 and $250, more than 45 per cent of the respondents preferred debit payments over credit (37 per cent) and cash (18 per cent). This is especially true for women, over half of whom prefer debit payments to credit. With a growing preference for debit, merchants can spend less on interchange fees and start redirecting their savings towards loyalty programmes that build their brand and increase sales.
"Our research suggests that rewards combined with debit payment remain largely an untapped market," said ZipLine CMO Kristen Bailey. "This is great news for outlets, who are eager to put the profits traditionally eaten away by interchange fees to better use: inspiring customer loyalty."
