Grocery rewards programs most valued type of loyalty program among Canadians: Survey

As food prices remain high, a new survey from Givex Corp. finds Canadians rank grocery rewards programs as the single-most valuable type of loyalty program. 

The online e-commerce platform for gift cards and e-gift cards released its 2023 Consumer Survey Tuesday (May 9).

Almost all Canadians surveyed (98%) say they have used rewards or points from a loyalty program to make a purchase at least once.

The annual survey, which measures Canadians’ sentiments on dining out, loyalty programs and restaurant technology, polled more than 1,500 consumers in April 2023.

READ: How loyalty programs can deliver the savings shoppers want

Grocery rewards programs were found to be particularly valuable to lower-income households (60%, compared to 50% of high-income households).

Over half (57%) of Canadians are a member of between two to four loyalty programs, and one-in-five is a member of at least five loyalty programs.

Twenty per cent of respondents say they use rewards or points from a loyalty program when making a purchase about once a month.

Canadians appear to be dining out less often this year compared to last year, both for sit-down restaurants (35%) and takeout and delivery (35%). But over one-quarter (28%) say that so far this year, they're actually dining out more often than in 2022. 

In addition, young Canadians (aged 18 to 34) are dining out more in 2023 (34%) than their older counterparts (compared to just 26% of those aged 35 to 54 and 27% of those 55 and older).

Nearly seven-in-ten (69%) say they feel comfortable using technology when dining at restaurants (such as the use of a mobile application to view a menu or order), up slightly from 2022. 

In general, the comfort level with technology appears to be increasing amongst those between the ages of 18 to 54, Givex said. 

Four-in-five Canadians say promotions such as “buy one, get one” (80%) and coupons or discounts (78%) make them more likely to dine out at a restaurant. Slightly over half (56%) say the same about loyalty programs.

Almost half (46%) of Canadians agree they're more likely to order takeout/delivery at a restaurant if they offer a loyalty rewards program.