• by Teresa Buyikian , September 29, 2023

It pays to be loyal, especially if you’re a QSR invested in your customer loyalty program. In a new report published this week by Paytronix, a digital customer engagement company, the total number of active QSR loyalty members constantly increased between January of 2021 and June of 2023, resulting in a 24% uptick.

These members also spend an average of 6% more per visit/check than non-loyalty member customers. Spending and visiting the most?  The top 10% of active loyalty members are responsible for nearly half of all loyalty visits at 44%, and for 50% of QSR loyalty spend. And those top 10% of loyalty members’ checks averaged 33% more than other members, according to the report.

The average QSR loyalty member is also getting younger. They are most likely to be in the 36-45 age group, younger than other category loyalty members (specifically full-service restaurants and convenience stores).

Newly joined loyalty members prove to be most valuable, with such programs responsible for an 18%–30% increase in both spend and visit frequency among new members.

Loyalty customers also appear to remain loyal to their ordering method of choice. Nearly 50% of QSR loyalty members order online at least 90% of the time, while less than one in eight QSR loyalty members order both in-person and online. Of loyalty members only 35% typically order in-store. If members do visit in real life, they frequent at midday on weekdays, and tend to spend their rewards at the beginning of the week.

In terms of marketing loyalty programs, email remains the primary driver. QSR visit frequency occurs nearly 50% more when customers are willing to receive emails from a brand.

Paytronix sourced the data in its report from its database of in-store and online transactions that occurred between January 1, 2020, and June 30, 2023. Only merchants continuously operating loyalty programs between 2020 and 2023 were evaluated.