Membership Has Lost Its Magic

Once upon a time being a ‘member’ felt special, it came with a feeling of exclusivity, identity and belonging. But today, consumers are signed up for everything: retailers, supermarkets, insurance providers, toilet roll deliveries, chilli sauce boxes, novelty underwear subscriptions…the list goes on.

Membership now feels like something you accumulate rather than exclusive and premium. Mintel reports that 58% of consumers hold four or more retail loyalty cards. At this level of membership it becomes another admin task, another login, another monthly cost.

It’s less ‘magic’ and more ‘mundane’!

It’s less about loyalty and more about savvy shopping

People haven’t stopped signing up to loyalty schemes, far from it! 97% of UK shoppers now belong to at least one supermarket loyalty scheme, and on average they have three. Today, shoppers treat loyalty cards like a money‑saving tool, not a badge of loyalty.

At the same time, in our own customer closeness work we consistently hear fatigue and scepticism about loyalty prices. Many shoppers question whether they’re genuinely saving money or just navigating another marketing tactic.

If brands want loyalty that lasts, they need to rebuild what membership means

To reignite the magic brands must rebuild membership around belonging, community and experience, not points.

Here’s how that looks in practice:

1.     Make membership feel like a place, not a points system - People stay when a membership feels like a community. Gymshark’s new loyalty programme is a great example; members earn rewards not just for buying, but for showing up, training and engaging with the brand. It turns membership into identity and participation, not points.

2.     Create value between the big moments - Don’t vanish between sign‑up and renewal. Little, consistent touches matter, like Waitrose’s new “Little Treats”, which gives members up to three free products or money‑off vouchers every month as they shop. It creates regular, low‑effort moments of value that keep the membership feeling alive all year round.

3.     Personalise or be ignored - Personalisation is now expected. Brands like Tesco Clubcard keep people engaged by tailoring offers to what customers actually buy making customers feel understood rather than sold to.

4.     Build experiences people would genuinely miss - The test of a strong membership: if it disappeared tomorrow, would members miss it? National Trust membership works because it feels like access to a lifestyle, days out, nature, heritage. It’s emotional, not transactional.

Membership hasn’t failed — it’s just faded.

Brands that bring back real belonging, meaningful community and emotionally resonant experiences will be the ones who restore its magic.