Arrivia, a travel technology company, published research on November 9 that finds 86% of loyalty decision-makers expect their program budgets to grow, while only 32% of consumers say the rewards programs they use consistently exceed expectations.

What the research found

The report, titled Beyond Enrollment, draws on a survey of 2,007 U.S. adults conducted July 22 to 29, 2026, and a separate survey of 250 U.S. manager-level and senior decision-makers in loyalty, rewards, benefits or engagement, conducted June 29 to July 14. Business respondents came from organizations with at least 250 employees in six sectors. Arrivia says 86% of those decision-makers expect growth in loyalty program budgets and spending on travel benefits and engagement technology over the next two years. Rewards and redemption experiences top the planned upgrades, followed by loyalty platform technology and AI-enabled tools.

On the consumer side, 90% expect to stay loyal to their preferred brand or organization, and 32% say its rewards program consistently exceeds expectations. Forty percent want more valuable everyday rewards. Two-thirds (66%) say a program with travel and vacation benefits would be more valuable than one limited to discounts, points or cash.

Why it matters

The budget figure gives a marketing team a data point for an internal ask, and the platform and AI-tool priorities show where vendors in this category will sell next. We covered the same ground in Ask Your Loyalty Vendor for Offer Relevance Next to Scan Rate and in Restaurant Chains Keep Folding Loyalty Into the CMO Job.

One detail worth keeping

Ashley Wilson, arrivia’s Chief Client Officer, said, “Customers may renew their memberships or continue making purchases without ever using their rewards program.” That separates retention from program influence, which is how a 90% loyalty figure and a 32% expectations figure sit side by side. Arrivia notes that comparisons between the consumer and business surveys are directional, because the consumers were not matched to the businesses surveyed. Rising budgets need a way to see which members redeem, which spend more afterward, and which would have renewed anyway.

Source: arrivia on PR Newswire