Not all users are customers. Some are just... ghosts.
They log in. They scroll. Maybe they even buy once. But they don’t engage. They don’t join your campaigns, open your emails, or take part in anything that makes your brand more than a transaction.
And here’s the scary part: you might be counting them as retained.
- But without interaction, there is no growth.
- Without engagement, there is no loyalty.
- And without loyalty, there's one direction left to go: churn.
In today’s market, passive users cost more than lost ones. Because they’re still there, but they don’t do anything. They weigh down your campaigns, inflate your numbers, and quietly drain your revenue potential.
So how do you fight back against ghost customers? This month, we will explore:
- What it really means to retain users, not just on paper, but in behaviour.
- The hidden costs of non-active users for customer retention strategies
- Failure and success stories from top companies!
Let’s bring your audience back to life!
It’s not enough for a loyalty program to attract customers, it needs to activate them!
Customer retention is often framed as a question of how to keep customers. But what it’s really answering is something more strategic: How do you keep them active, engaged, and responsive to your loyalty campaigns?
Because if customers aren’t participating, they’re not contributing, and loyalty, no matter how well designed, won’t deliver the value it promises.
These statistics indicate a serious problem: many brands are falling short in terms of personal connection and relevance. Companies need to realise that loyalty programs should be dynamic ecosystems where members want to check in, take action, and feel recognised, not the other way around.
So yes, retention matters. But real loyalty success starts with activation. When customers feel like more than a number, they’re more likely to respond to personalised campaigns, stay involved, and ultimately become long-term advocates.
Otherwise, even the best loyalty program becomes just another forgotten tab on someone’s phone.
The Loyalty Lifecycle: Turn Data into Power-Ups
Loyalty doesn’t start when someone signs up for your program. It starts when they use it.
Your customers are already telling you how to win their engagement. Not through surveys (although those help), but through their behaviour.
They’re talking through:
- When they join your loyalty program (and when they don’t),
- Which perks do they redeem?
- How often they return,
- What channels do they use to interact?
- Where do they drop off?
Every interaction leaves a clue. Every tap, purchase, pause, and exit is a signal. The question is: are you picking up what they’re putting down?
The answer lies in your loyalty program. The data at every point of your loyalty program shows the blueprints for engaging with your target audience. You just need to look at them the right way.
That’s exactly what we unpack in Part 3 of our Loyalty Lifecycle series. From CLV to churn rate, NPS to offer redemption, we break down what you should be tracking and how to use those insights to win customer engagement and keep your program evolving.
Read the full blog to learn how to decode your loyalty data and unlock the real ROI of retention.
The Loyalty Life-cycle Part 3: Turn Data into Power-ups
News From Loyalty World
Kroger’s Click-and-Mortar Loyalty: Driving Growth Through Digital Engagement
When sales slow, where do you look for growth? Kroger’s answer: digital loyalty.
Despite a 1.2% dip in overall sales last year, Kroger’s digital sales surged by 11%, with delivery alone jumping 18%. It’s a sign that even in a tough economy, the grocery giant is finding traction through smarter, more connected experiences.
At the heart of Kroger’s growth is an ecosystem of savings, personalisation, and convenience. From customer appreciation weeks to Thanksgiving bundles under $5 per person, Kroger isn’t just competing on price. It’s delivering value where it counts.
*And customers are responding: digital offer clips are up 5%, savings up 14%, and engagement through loyalty programs like Kroger Plus and Boost is rising fast.
Their loyalty program is a retention engine with personalised rewards, digital perks, and even streaming benefits (hello, Disney+). These added layers of value help turn everyday shoppers into loyal households. More engagement means more data, and more data powers Kroger’s retail media and precision marketing efforts. That’s how you make promotions feel personal, not pushy.
The data never lies! Kroger’s data-driven loyalty program revealed that shoppers who utilise both online and in-store channels are the most loyal and profitable customers. With 87% of grocery transactions still occurring in-store, Kroger is embracing the click-and-mortar model: digital when it’s convenient, physical when it matters.
Kroger's Digital Engagement Strategy Drives Growth Amid Sluggish Sales | PYMNTS.com
The North Face XPLR Pass Loyalty Program
The North Face is a prime example of customer engagement with its ever-evolving loyalty program. Since its launch in 2021, The North Face has been working to understand its customer base in a step-by-step manner.
Their social media campaigns, seasonal rewards, and loyalty initiatives were all part of a testing phase. Now, they’re bound to perfect it.
How do they do it? By creating a loyalty program that speaks directly to their audience: outdoor enthusiasts, adventure seekers, and eco-conscious consumers.
- The XPLR Pass program offers points for more than just purchases. Members earn rewards by checking in at national parks, attending brand events, and participating in the brand’s sustainability initiatives.
- Discounts, exclusive product drops, early access, and surprise gifts are tailored to fit an active lifestyle that values experience as much as product.
The North Face’s loyalty program is a community built around a shared love for exploration and sustainability.
Loyalty doesn’t stay stable, so there’s still a way to go. The North Face knows that to keep pace with its evolving customers, the journey never really ends.
The North Face XPLR Pass Loyalty Program
Glossier’s Community-Driven Loyalty: Turning Fans into Lifelong Customers
Glossier, the digital-first beauty brand, has found a novel way to foster customer engagement and loyalty: the Glossier Passport Book. This collectable passport invites shoppers to visit all Glossier stores across the US and UK, collecting exclusive stickers and Polaroid photos at each stop. It’s loyalty built on experience, not just perks.
This initiative taps into what Glossier does best—creating emotional connections and building community. Instead of relying on points, they align with their audience’s love for self-expression, personalisation, and shareable moments. For Glossier’s millennial and Gen Z fans, it’s more than makeup; it’s a movement worth coming back for.
Loyalty isn’t static, and Glossier shows that keeping it alive means making it fun, social, and deeply personal.
Glossier launches collectible beauty passport to boost loyalty and store footfall
Loyalty Tip of the Month
Bridge the gap between now and next.
Curious why users open your app but don’t act, or why a campaign gets clicks with zero follow-through?
That’s the space where loyalty strategy should live, not in blanket rewards, but in the subtle shifts between what users already do and what you want them to do.
Buying once isn’t the problem. Buying again, trying something new, or moving deeper into the journey is. The real win isn’t in the purchase, it’s in designing small, specific nudges that make returning feel like progress, not repetition.
The real goal is to spark your customer’s active self. Retention isn’t about bombarding them with tired tactics. It’s more about keeping them genuinely engaged, consistently participating in your loyalty campaigns and initiatives.
How to use data to guide customer loyalty | Kaizen Technology posted on the topic | LinkedIn
Insight of the Month
Over 35% of consumers plan to cancel memberships and it’s just the beginning.
Loyalty world saw a 10% decrease in loyalty engagement over the course of 2 years. Now, it has resulted in loyal users dropping their favourite programs. Why? Because of wrong engagement.
Generic offers, irrelevant messaging, and stale experiences are pushing even the most loyal customers away. Over 50% of Gen Z and Millennials say they plan to cancel some memberships in the next year, and if that age group is checking out, the future of your loyalty program is at risk.
When we say active users and engaged customers run loyalty programs and drive revenue, this is exactly what we mean. A sustained drop in engagement almost always signals program abandonment within three to six months.
To prevent that, rethink your approach. Focus on personalisation, exclusive digital perks, and timely engagement strategies that keep users emotionally and functionally invested.
The warning signs are clear; don’t wait until your program is too far gone to save.
Loyalty Programs Are Growing—So Are Customer Expectations
Welcome to Your Loyalty Calendar: June Edition!
Our Loyalty Calendar is here to inspire you with fresh ideas to celebrate these special days and strengthen your customer relationships.
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