Beyond offers & points: Designing to keep users engaged and retained

To drive more meaningful loyalty, brands must think beyond short-term incentives and focus on designing products that build genuine, long-lasting relationships with their users.

Our dedicated user research team recently conducted a study with a small group of users to gain additional insight into the factors that influence loyalty across different industries. This exercise helped us identify the key elements that any business must consider when designing mobile experiences that leave positive impressions and keep users coming back for more.

Understanding the complexity of loyalty

Loyalty is not one-size-fits-all; users view loyalty differently depending on the industry. To many users, their chosen supermarket, broadband provider or energy company are considered easily interchangeable with others. But when quality and trust are paramount, such as in premium retail, personal finance or healthcare, users can experience much deeper loyalty.

This highlights a critical point: loyalty strategies must be tailored to the context of the product or service. While financial incentives play a significant role, they must be balanced with broader features to ensure consistent user engagement and retention.

Financial incentives matter—but they’re not enough in isolation 

Users value tangible rewards such as discounts and points because they feel like they’re "getting something back." However, these incentives alone can be transactional and do not build deep loyalty. Without features that trigger habit forming routines, not to mention a great user experience, customers may easily switch to competitors’ products if they offer them a better overall experience.

Creating habit-forming triggers can significantly enhance engagement and retention, as we found during our work with the Co-op. At the core of the app experience are member offers, which are refreshed every week. Users receive eight personalised offers, and can select up to two to redeem in-store. Over time, it became clear that building expectation around a regular routine was the most effective strategy for fostering usage and retention.

The weekly event leverages habit-forming principles through the interplay of triggers, routines, and rewards. Triggers such as store signage, push notifications, and even weather cues prompt users to check the app. A predictable routine, with the offers appearing on the same day each week, builds a sense of anticipation, while relevant and personalised rewards create satisfaction. As one user review noted, "I get happy when I see the notification. It’s a nice start to the week and it cheers you up a bit."

Consistency builds trust

Trust and consistency emerged as crucial factors for loyalty. Users expect reliable quality in both products and services. Whether it’s providing useful functionality, or delivering on their promises, brands that prioritise consistency promote a sense of dependability that encourages repeat engagement. 

User experience coupled with customer service is a key differentiator

Exceptional user experience and customer service was identified as one of the most important factors for loyalty. Users emphasised the importance of an easy, hassle-free resolution process when issues arise. Minimal friction is key, and support should be easy to access within your digital product. Investing in a well-designed support experience within your app can enhance user satisfaction and increase brand trust.

Values and identity are secondary

While brand values and identity can serve as a "nice bonus," they are not always deal-breakers for some users. This underscores the importance of focusing on functional benefits, like ease of use and quality, over aligning brand messaging with user values.

Designing for lasting loyalty

To move beyond offers and points, designers and developers need to focus on creating experiences that resonate on a deeper level. Here are some actionable strategies to consider during the digital product design process:

• Streamline the user journey: Simplify navigation, minimise friction points, and ensure users can easily achieve their goals within the app. For instance, make loyalty redemption processes intuitive and effortless.

• Focus on personalisation: Use data to tailor recommendations, rewards, and content to individual user preferences. A personalised experience makes users feel both valued and understood.

• Invest in quality assurance: Ensure that app performance is consistent, from loading times to feature reliability. Users are less likely to remain loyal to apps with frequent bugs or outages.

• Enhance customer support features: Offer in-app support features, such as a live chat or easy returns, to resolve user issues quickly and effectively.

A holistic approach to loyalty

Our research findings emphasise that loyalty isn’t solely about points or rewards, it’s about trust, consistency, and delivering real value. Designing mobile experiences that users genuinely enjoy, combined with high-quality products and services, creates a foundation for lasting loyalty.

By thinking beyond the transactional, brands can build meaningful connections with their users and ensure long-term engagement. The challenge is to craft experiences that leave a lasting positive impression - because when users trust your app and find consistent value, they’ll keep coming back for more. 

Contact us to find out how you can design a digital product that drives real loyalty with Apadmi’s mobile experts.