In this Loyalty360 Trend Report Q&A, Rachel McInnis, VP of Solution Strategy at Maritz, shares how economic pressure, rising expectations, and accelerating AI adoption are reshaping loyalty strategy. From reward choice and faster time-to-value, to the balance between automation and human connection, McInnis outlines what loyalty programs must do to stay emotionally relevant and economically meaningful for today’s members.
Loyalty360: How are macroeconomic shifts (e.g., fluctuating consumer confidence, discretionary spending cuts) affecting program engagement and reward design?
Rachel McInnis: Inflation and income disparity are beginning to shape loyalty strategy. As budgets tighten and economic pressure is felt unevenly across consumers, many brands are reevaluating whether their current program rules meet member needs. Programs that historically relied solely on in-kind or aspirational rewards are increasingly expanding reward choice—adding merchandise, gift cards, and more flexible options—to ensure rewards are valued by all members.
This past holiday season offered a clear signal as points were being used for small indulgences. This program treats me, unlocks luxuries I might not otherwise justify, allowing members to give something experiential and meaningful without the stress of out-of-pocket spending—suggesting loyalty points are increasingly being used as a financial rebalancing tool as much as a reward currency.
For some members more acutely impacted by inflation, value is defined by utility and stress reduction. Loyalty programs that make necessities easier to access, stretch a fixed budget further, or enable higher quality choices to create their own form of luxury: peace-of-mind, dignity, and control. In that sense, effective loyalty isn’t just rewarding behavior—it’s improving lives in relevant, tangible ways.
The takeaway for loyalty marketers is clear: reward redemption options must be inclusive by design. Providing a diverse mix of options – spanning everyday essentials, experiential rewards, and aspirational indulgences – ensures programs resonate across income levels and life stages. In an inflationary environment, choice isn’t a “nice to have”; it’s the mechanism that allows loyalty to remain emotionally compelling and economically relevant for all members.
Loyalty360: What is a loyalty challenge you see today that did not exist 18–24 months ago? What created this new pressure?
Rachel McInnis: The pressure to operationalize AI in a way that improves the member experience. Both executives and consumers want brands to move beyond experimentation and dreaming of “what’s possible” to tangible, everyday applications that deliver real value.
Loyalty marketers are now grappling with very practical questions: How does AI actually make my program easier to use, more relevant, or more rewarding? Where can AI enhance personalization without crossing into something that feels automated, inauthentic, or invasive? Where should human touchpoints remain nonnegotiable? This shift has created a new kind of pressure– modernizing tech stacks quickly enough to stay competitive, while ensuring that the technology serves the relationship, not the other way around.
At the same time, as AI becomes more embedded in daily life, members are increasingly discerning about where they see its value. They want smarter recommendations, faster service, and frictionless experiences – but they also crave moments of genuine human connection. For loyalty programs, this means designing experiences and reward portfolios that reflect both sides of that equation. Programs must keep pace with AI-enabled innovation that delivers clear utility, while offering rewards and interactions that feel personal, experiential, and emotionally resonant.
One of the things that we grapple with at Maritz is how to keep human elements at the forefront of member experience. We want AI to remove friction and enhance relevance, but human elements are what build trust, authenticity, and emotional loyalty. In this next phase, success will be defined by how thoughtfully it’s used to strengthen the member relationship.
Loyalty360: How are you helping companies reduce time-to-value so members experience meaningful benefit earlier in the loyalty program lifecycle?
Rachel McInnis: This starts with rethinking the role of early redemption. Many traditional loyalty programs – particularly in travel and other high value, in-kind models – ask members to wait too long before they experience a tangible benefit. We work with brands to shorten that runway by introducing lower threshold, high perceived value rewards allowing members to feel rewarded quickly, even while they’re still earning toward aspirational redemptions like free nights or flights.
One effective strategy we’ve been developing is to expand the reward mix to include smaller, everyday “little luxuries.” A small reward that fits naturally into a member’s daily life – whether that’s a morning coffee, a lunch treat, a fragrance, or a pretty piece of jewelry – can be far more motivating than an abstract balance of points tied to a future goal that feels out of reach. Lower value, digital gift cards can play a particularly powerful role here enabling near real-time redemption and gratification, eliminating friction between earning and enjoying.
Ultimately, accelerating time-to-value isn’t about lowering standards—it’s about building momentum. Early, meaningful rewards create emotional engagement, establish trust in the program, and encourage continued participation. When members experience value sooner, they engage more frequently, redeem more confidently, and stay on the path to higher value redemptions that drive long term loyalty and lifetime value.
Loyalty360: As more loyalty programs pursue everyday relevance, what innovations are helping brands become a functional part of customers’ routines?
Rachel McInnis: We’re seeing innovation focused less on aspirational, “someday” rewards and more on functional value embedded in daily life. Maritz recently introduced hyperlocal restaurant, spa, and salon gift cards – connecting members to the neighborhood coffee shop they visit every week or the new sandwich spot everyone’s talking about.
These modest, local redemptions often feel disproportionately valuable because they’re deeply personal and immediately usable. Rewards that support a member’s real routine – rather than a distant or generic incentive – reinforces the sense that the brand truly understands them. More importantly, it positions the loyalty program as an enhancer of everyday life, not just a points bank waiting to be emptied. By showing up in the moments that already matter, brands can make loyalty feel less transactional and more like a trusted part of customers’ daily habits.
Loyalty360: Emotional loyalty continues to be discussed, but how are you seeing the loyalty industry operationalize it in measurable, repeatable ways?
Rachel McInnis: Emotional loyalty is often discussed in abstract terms. We’re seeing the industry make it tangible by intentionally engineering emotion into the overall loyalty experience. Brands are increasingly recognizing that no single mechanic can carry the full weight of loyalty. Instead, it’s the accumulation of emotional “boosters” across every touchpoint that creates a durable bond.
Operationally, this means designing engagement loops that deliver small, repeatable moments of recognition and appreciation throughout the member lifecycle. These moments don’t have to be grand to be effective. Simple, human gestures – such as how a front desk associate welcomes a loyal guest, acknowledges their status, or thanks them genuinely – create emotional impact that is both measurable and scalable when embedded into training, scripts, and experience standards. Loyalty, in this sense, extends beyond the program construct and becomes a shared responsibility across the brand.
We’re also seeing emotional loyalty operationalized through the reward experience itself becoming a competitive advantage. As reward catalogs and earn rates become increasingly commoditized, differentiation shifts from what the reward is to how it’s delivered. At Maritz, we position the entire reward journey as a core driver of emotional loyalty – from discovery and curation, to storytelling, to the surprise-and-delight moments woven into pre-and post-redemption communications.
Because we don’t just host the redemption platform but also act as the fulfillment partner, we’re able to orchestrate a cohesive, emotionally intentional experience. Modern UX design, thoughtful curation, and storytelling elevate redemption from a transactional exchange to a memorable brand interaction. It’s about delivering a moment – one that reinforces how the brand sees, values, and understands the member.
Importantly, these approaches are measurable. Brands can track increases in repeat redemptions, engagement after recognition moments, satisfaction with the redemption experience, and downstream behaviors like retention and share of wallet. When those emotional “hits” are deliberately designed and consistently delivered, emotional loyalty stops being a soft concept and becomes a scalable, repeatable driver of long-term value.
Loyalty360: Question: Where are you seeing experiential or status-based rewards produce outsized impact and where do they underperform?
Rachel McInnis: These rewards often represent the emotional north star of the program – the experiences or privileges that keep members excited, engaged, and motivated to keep earning, even if they’re not redeemed frequently. When designed well, they fuel long-term aspiration and reinforce the brand’s promise at a higher emotional level.
Where we’re seeing outsized impact is less about traditional “experiential” rewards as a discrete category and more about experiential value showing up everywhere in the reward mix. One of the strongest indicators of this is in redemption growth patterns: the fastest growing rewards consistently share an experiential or social component, even when they’re classified as gift cards or merchandise. Think of Topgolf gift cards, popular restaurant brands, or products like record players, outdoor camping gear, and cooking or entertaining merchandise. These rewards represent activities that are done in real life – often together – and create moments, not just transactions. They enable connection, memory-making, and shared experiences, which is where emotional loyalty is often built.
At the same time, experiential and status-based rewards can underperform when they feel too distant, exclusive, or inflexible – particularly in periods of economic pressure. If an experience requires significant planning, additional out-of-pocket spend, or long earn times, it can start to feel aspirational in theory but inaccessible in practice. Similarly, status benefits that lack day-to-day relevance or aren’t consistently recognized across touchpoints can lose their emotional impact quickly.
The key takeaway for loyalty marketers is that experiential impact isn’t limited to categories labeled “experiences.” It’s about how rewards fit into members’ real lives and how they’re fulfilled. Even a straightforward redemption can deliver experiential value when it’s tied to social connection, personal interests, or everyday enjoyment – and when the fulfillment experience itself feels thoughtful and seamless. Programs that broaden their definition of experiential value and deliver it consistently across the reward portfolio are seeing the strongest engagement and emotional return.
Loyalty360: Partnerships increasingly extend beyond traditional earn-and-burn mechanics. What new partnership models are you seeing gain traction?
Rachel McInnis: One of the most significant shifts we’re seeing in partnership strategy is the evolution from traditional, brand-centric earn-and-burn mechanics toward partnerships designed to enhance the member’s overall lifestyle. Rather than asking members to engage only within a brand’s core ecosystem, programs are extending their value into members’ lives. This shift is driving several emerging models, including:
These models deliver tangible member benefits, including:
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Leveraging shared technology, data, and operational capabilities across partners to deliver more integrated, cost-effective experiences.
Loyalty360: What factors help determine whether a partnership meaningfully enhances member value versus adding unnecessary complexity?
Rachel McInnis: A partnership only creates meaningful member value when it enhances the core promise of the brand and delivers a benefit members can immediately recognize and use. When partnerships are added simply to expand a roster – without a clear value proposition or relevance to the brand’s identity – they tend to introduce friction, confusion, or even disengagement.
Several factors help determine whether a partnership enriches the member experience rather than adds unnecessary complexity:
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Clarity of Member Benefit: The value must be easy to understand and even easier to access. If the benefit requires explanation, multiple steps, or doesn’t feel materially additive, it risks becoming noise.
Ultimately, strong partnerships amplify the loyalty promise by making the member’s experience richer, easier, and more personally relevant. Anything that doesn’t do that is complexity that can create confusion and friction.
Loyalty360: What unseen opportunities do you believe brands are underestimating today, but will matter significantly in the next phase of loyalty evolution?
Rachel McInnis: Two major opportunities are still flying under the radar for many brands, yet they’ll be central to the next phase of loyalty evolution.
First, the true strategic value of redemption is still vastly underestimated. Too often, redemption is viewed as a cost center rather than what it actually is: a behavioral signal and a predictive lever. When a member redeems, they’re demonstrating trust in the program, emotional engagement with the brand, and willingness to reinvest in the relationship. High-quality redemption experiences shape future purchase behavior, increase lifetime value, and deepen loyalty in ways that “earn” alone cannot. Brands that treat redemption as a core growth driver, not a budget liability, will unlock significant competitive advantage.
Second, as AI accelerates, brands risk losing sight of the human element, and that’s a missed opportunity. While AI will enable unprecedented personalization, prediction, and operational efficiency, the next frontier is using that intelligence to enhance the human experience, not replace it. Members don’t remember the algorithm; they remember how the brand made them feel. Loyalty leaders who prioritize empathy, recognition, and emotional resonance – augmented by AI rather than overshadowed by it – will build programs that are not just smarter but more meaningful.
Ultimately, the unseen opportunities lie in reframing what we measure and what we value: redemption as a signal of loyalty momentum, and humanity as the differentiator in an increasingly automated world.