As Grocery Loyalty Membership Climbs, New Research Shows Influence Per Member Is Declining
New survey of 12,000+ consumers finds competing grocery memberships up 47% since 2023, as a saturated landscape limits the influence any single program can command
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 13, 2026 – Upside, the digital marketplace for brick-and-mortar retail, today released Escaping the Loyalty Plateau, a new report on the state of retail loyalty.
Consumers are joining programs at record rates — 82% of grocery shoppers belong to at least one. But only 59% use their program regularly, and with the average member now juggling 3.4 programs, no single program can command the influence it once did. Based on survey data from more than 12,000 U.S. consumers and retailers, the report offers a framework for understanding that gap and what grocery operators can do to close it.
Key findings for grocery operators
27-point gap: the share of consumers who say loyalty matters versus those who actually use their grocery program regularly.
3.4 programs: the average grocery loyalty member now belongs to 3.4 programs in the same category, a 47% increase since 2023 and the steepest acceleration of any category studied.
39.2 out of 100: Upside's loyalty influence score for grocery — the lowest of the three retail categories measured. Despite having the most members, grocery programs have the least behavioral influence per member.
60% of grocery consumers: are "preference-first" shoppers with high brand affinity and high price sensitivity, making them the most responsive to loyalty incentives. Yet most programs are built to reward already-committed customers rather than this persuadable majority.
10% brand-first: only about 1 in 10 grocery loyalty members is committed enough that incentives won't change their behavior. That means 90% of the membership base has some degree of persuadability that most programs aren't designed to reach.
Understanding the gap
Grocery loyalty programs do meaningful work inside the shopping trip — influencing which items consumers buy and when they visit. Growing overall spend is a harder behavioral lever, and one that's become harder to pull as the loyalty landscape has grown more crowded.
That crowding is structural. As every major grocery chain has introduced app-based programs with similar features — digital coupons, personalized offers, and fuel discounts — the barrier to joining has dropped to a phone number at checkout. Consumers sign up readily and accumulate memberships, because opting out of any one of them feels like leaving money on the table.
The result is a landscape where more investment is producing less differentiation. And less differentiation makes it harder for any single program to stand out to shoppers who are still deciding where to go.
The path forward
Upside's analysis of transaction data found that consumers who supplemented their loyalty program with a broader marketplace platform saw month-one churn fall by more than 30 percentage points compared to those using neither. The data suggests that reaching shoppers outside of owned channels — while they're already making everyday purchasing decisions — can meaningfully extend a program's influence beyond what enrollment alone achieves.
The report urges grocery operators to treat the 60% of "preference-first" consumers in their category not as a monolith, but as a persuadable audience that responds to personalized, performance-based incentives — not blanket promotions built around the business's needs rather than the shopper's.
The full report includes a breakdown of consumer segments, category-level influence scores, and retention data across millions of transactions. Download the Escaping the Loyalty Plateau report at upside.com/reports/escaping-the-loyalty-plateau.
FOR MEDIA, THE REPORT CAN BE ACCESSED HERE.
ABOUT UPSIDE
Upside is a digital marketplace that connects millions of consumers with brick-and-mortar retailers nationwide. Since 2016, Upside’s personalized offers have empowered individuals to gain greater purchasing power for their essential needs while helping businesses achieve measurable profits. Billions of dollars in commerce run through the Upside platform annually, directly benefiting retailers, consumers, and sustainability initiatives. For more information, visit www.upside.com.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Jane Coloccia
JC Communications, LLC
917-930-0062
Jane@JCCommunicationsllc.com