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Tag: Flybuys

  • Only 50% of Australian Loyalty Program Members Actively Use Accounts

    Only 50% of Australian Loyalty Program Members Actively Use Accounts

    A record 93 per cent of Australian consumers hold loyalty memberships, but only 50 per cent actively used all their cards over the past 12 months, according to a 2026 survey by consultancy The Point of Loyalty.

    The Australian loyalty program market is expanding by 13.5 per cent annually toward a valuation of $1.57 billion in 2026, as rising living costs push shoppers to seek savings.

    The Scale of Inactive Accounts

    A survey of more than 800 customers across Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, IGA and FoodWorks by Edith Cowan University researchers examined why consumers join retail reward programs only to neglect them.

    Researchers Sanjit K Roy and Saalem Sadeque from Edith Cowan University found financial rewards alone fail to retain active users. Fatigue sets in quickly when redemption rules require high baseline spend, such as outlays of $2,000 to earn a $10 voucher. Shoppers abandon programs that demand excessive tracking or complicated checkout app interactions.

    Supermarket Duopoly Dominance

    Two major operators control most of the domestic membership base. Woolworths counts 14 million registered accounts in its Everyday Rewards network. Coles reports more than 9 million active members in Flybuys, which links grocery baskets with Wesfarmers-owned chains including Bunnings, Kmart and Target.

    For retail operators across the Asia-Pacific region, these enrolment numbers look impressive on paper but mask balance sheet liabilities. Unredeemed points sit as deferred revenue obligations. Inactive accounts generate zero incremental basket value. Rivals that rely on upfront shelf discounting, such as ALDI, continue to capture price-sensitive volume without funding complex points administration.

    Trust and Data Exchange

    Shoppers surrender personal details, contact lists and payment patterns in exchange for program benefits. When retail pricing feels opaque or discounts appear trivial, participation drops immediately.

    The university study identified three distinct operational levers that dictate whether a member remains active: institutional trust, relationship commitment and clearly visible return value. Programs that fail to send targeted offers lose out to straightforward discount mechanics. High-frequency users expect direct discounts on regular purchases rather than generic promotions on slow-moving inventory.

    Friction in Reward Redemption

    Security concerns also weigh on consumer willingness to maintain secondary retail memberships. Major corporate data breaches across Australia over recent years raised shopper scrutiny regarding who stores their purchase histories and contact records.

    Competition will test whether broad coalition ecosystems hold an advantage over single-banner apps. Flybuys relies on cross-category earning power across home improvement and department store networks to keep accounts active. Woolworths counters by integrating fuel, insurance and pharmacy tie-ins directly into its digital wallet ecosystem.

    Supermarket executives will watch the active redemption rate per registered member as annual retail data filings land later this year.

  • Coles Plus adds extra benefits

    Coles Plus adds extra benefits

    Coles customers can now earn double Flybuys points on eligible products1every time they shop in Coles Supermarkets and Coles online, thanks to subscription-based service Coles Plus.

    Since launching in February, Coles Plus member numbers have grown rapidly and now Coles is offering members unlimited free delivery2, including free Same Day Delivery at select stores3, for all orders of $50 or more – down from the previous minimum of $100.

    The new offer means customers will be able to save up to $11 per home delivery in the lead up to Christmas.

    For just $19 a month, Coles Plus members also have exclusive access to a number of benefits including a Priority Customer Care line and unlimited use of Click&Collect Rapid, which allows Coles online customers to order and pick up their groceries in less than 90 minutes – a service priced at $5 per order for non-members.

    Coles General Manager Online Commercials Karen Donaldson said Coles was listening to customer feedback and responding to changing customer needs to tailor the benefits offered to Coles Plus members.

    “In the past year we’ve seen more customers adopting a hybrid approach by shopping both in-store and online, so it’s important we expand our subscription program to reward those customers in a meaningful way,” she said.

    “We continue to see significant growth in demand for online grocery shopping and we are investing in customer experience and capacity, which is having a positive impact on customer satisfaction.

    We recently launched our shoppable Coles App enabling customers to order through the app, view the catalog, or build their shopping list and then use it to map out their trip to the supermarket aisle-by-aisle.

    “By rewarding the loyalty of our digitally-engaged customers both in-store and online, it ensures Coles continues to lead anytime, anywhere, anyhow shopping.”

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  • Flybuys tops loyalty programs

    Flybuys tops loyalty programs

    Flybuys remains the top ranked loyalty program according to Australians, though the distance between it and second-place Woolworths Rewards narrowed significantly in 2019, according to the 7th annual For Love or Moneyreport.

    Flybuys dropped from a 35 per cent share to 30.4 per cent in the latest report, while Woolworths Rewards grew from 20.2 per cent to 21 per cent, based on survey respondents stating the programs were “doing a very good job.”

    While much of the list of top loyalty programs appears the same, there are some notable additions and subtractions, with Myer One and Commbank Awards falling off the list to make room for Event Cinema’s Cinebuzz Rewards, and Mecca’s Beauty Loop program.

    The most important considerations by program members surrounded how secure their data is, how it’s being used, and the reputation of the company itself – with 57 per cent of survey respondents noting they are worried they will be hacked or subjected to fraud based on information gathered by a loyalty program.

    “With numerous data breaches being reported world-wide… loyalty programs are at a pivotal point with member data protection, collection and use,” report author and chief executive of The Point of Loyalty Adam Posner said.

    “To maintain members’ trust and ongoing engagement with their loyalty programs, brands with programs should prioritise a proactive and transparent approach to clearly highlight to their members how their data is being protected and used.”

    Despite concerns surrounding the use of data, 62 per cent of loyalty program members take advantage of the rewards and benefits available to them. Millennials were the most likely to utilise these rewards, with 68 per cent indicating they utilise the advantages of a loyalty program.

    Additionally, the report found that loyalty programs tend to stimulate extra purchases from its members, with 28 per cent of members indicating purchased something they didn’t need in order to earn points, or maintain program benefits – an increase on the 16 per cent first measured in 2015.

    “The incremental purchases that a well-structured loyalty program can stimulate is where business who invest in loyalty programs really succeed,” Posner said.

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  • Ebay brings Flybuys to platform into the Wesfarmers deal

    Ebay brings Flybuys to platform into the Wesfarmers deal

    Wesfarmers has inked a deal with Ebay Australia that will see its Flybuys loyalty program extended to purchases made on the marketplace.

    As of today, Ebay shoppers can collect and redeem Flybuys points with 40,000 Australian retailers on the marketplace, earning one point for every $2 spent on eligible items.

    The partnership is the biggest expansion in the Flybuys program since the addition of Velocity frequent flyer points in 2016, signalling the growing importance of the program to Wesfarmers in the context of the planned Coles demerger.

    For Ebay the deal is its first move into loyalty, representing a significant opportunity to strengthen its customer retention in the lead up to the launch of Amazon Prime in Australia later this year.

    The online marketplace estimates that over 60 per cent of Australian households who actively use Flybuys will now also be able to redeem points for Ebay vouchers at a rate of 2,000 points for $10, which they can use to purchase items from the e-commerce company’s 1.1 billion global listings.

    Julie Nestor, Ebay Australia’s chief marketing officer, said Ebay had originally approached Flybuys with the idea for the partnership and described the deal as a no-brainer.

    “We’re thrilled to partner with Australia’s most popular loyalty rewards program as part of our mission to continue innovating and transforming the retail industry,” Nestor told.

    The details of the partnership remain confidential and Ebay would not be drawn on the specifics, but it comes as Wesfarmers pushes to better leverage its digital and data capabilities.

    In February, Wesfarmers group managing director Rob Scott announced the creation of a new data unit within the retail conglomerate, to pursue a variety of projects across its business units, as its rival Woolworths steps up its own efforts.

    Wesfarmers will retain ownership of Flybuys in the Coles demerger, a move that was flagged by Scott in March as a strategic boon.

    Ebay said the partnership will help smaller retailers on the platform gain access to a widely recognised loyalty program, which they likely would not be able to do on an individual basis.

    Citing a survey conducted with 1,570 sellers in April, Ebay said 62 per cent of small retailers believe a rewards program would help their business compete with larger players, while 71 per cent believe a loyalty program would be too expensive to set up and run.