Stop Rewarding Points, Start Reducing Friction

We've been told for years that the path to loyalty is paved with delightful surprises. Free upgrades, birthday treats, a handwritten thank-you note. But the data tells a different story. When researchers at the Corporate Executive Board studied more than 75,000 customer service interactions, they found that exceeding expectations did almost nothing to build loyalty. What mattered was eliminating the hassle. Their conclusion, published in the Harvard Business Review, was blunt: stop trying to delight your customers. Instead, reduce the effort they have to expend. (HBR: Stop Trying to Delight Your Customers)

That insight, counterintuitive as it sounds, is the single most important thing we've learned about customer experience. And it's especially true in loyalty programs, where we often mistake busywork for engagement.

The Loyalty Program That Isn't Working

Imagine you're the loyalty manager at a mid-sized online retailer. You've got the standard points program: customers earn points for every dollar, and they can redeem those points for discounts once they hit a threshold. You've been told that points programs are the most widespread model—77% of tracked brands use them (Euromonitor)—so you assume you're doing the right thing.

But your numbers are stagnating. Repeat purchase rate is flat. The program's net promoter score is mediocre. And when you dig into the data, you notice something strange: a third of your members have points sitting in their accounts that they've never redeemed. You're not alone. A full 26.2% of loyalty points in the UK go unused, and 11.9% expire unspent (Retail Gazette via Antavo 2026). Your members aren't lazy—they're frustrated. They're looking at your rewards catalog and thinking, "This isn't worth my time."

Why Points Programs Fail

The problem is that points programs, as designed, put the burden on the customer. They have to track their balance, remember to redeem before expiry, and navigate a clunky rewards portal. And the payoff? Often a paltry discount that doesn't feel like a reward at all. Over a quarter of UK and Irish consumers (26.2%) say it takes too long to earn rewards, and 41.1% are frustrated by expiring points (Retail Gazette via Antavo 2026). They're not engaged—they're annoyed.

Even worse, we've trained customers to expect points as a given. Free shipping used to be a differentiator, but now it's table stakes. As the Bond Loyalty Report notes, free shipping is so ubiquitous it no longer makes customers feel valued (Bond Loyalty Report 2024). What made your program special? Probably nothing. And that's the problem.

The Fix: Make It Effortless

So what should you do? Stop obsessing over the points mechanics and start obsessing over the effort your program creates. The research is clear: customers want a simple, quick solution, and the Customer Effort Score is a better predictor of loyalty than satisfaction or NPS (HBR: Stop Trying to Delight Your Customers). Apply that to your loyalty program.

First, eliminate friction at every step. Make earning automatic—no need to clip offers or remember to scan a card. Make redemption instant, with no minimum threshold. Offer multiple ways to redeem, because 38% of US consumers want more options, like choosing a physical gift or early sale access (Antavo US Loyalty Trends 2025). And above all, don't let points expire. 49% of US consumers want no expiration (Antavo US Loyalty Trends 2025). If you keep points available, you keep the relationship open.

Second, ditch the one-size-fits-all rewards catalog. The data is overwhelming: 73% of shoppers want personalized rewards (Euromonitor), yet only 45% of brands offer them. That gap is your opportunity. Instead of a generic 10% off, offer a member a free sample of a product they've been eyeing, or early access to a sale. Gartner predicts that by 2030, one in five loyalty programs will offer only fully personalized, member-specific perks (Gartner via CX Dive). Get ahead of that curve.

Real-World Proof

Look at Amazon Prime. It's not a points program at all—it's a paid membership that removes friction. Free two-day shipping, instant streaming, no thinking required. Members spend an average of $2,283 a year versus $916 for non-members (Rivo). That's not because Prime members are wealthier or more loyal by nature—it's because Amazon made the experience so easy that it becomes the default choice.

Closer to the ground, consider a home improvement retailer like The Home Depot. Their Pro Xtra program for contractors combines traditional tiers with behavior-based, personalized discounts—so a plumber gets deals on pipes, not paint (Gartner via CX Dive). That's not just clever segmentation; it's reducing the effort a contractor has to spend finding the right deal.

And when you do get the experience right, the payoff is measurable. A 5% increase in customer retention can lift profits by 25% to 95% (Euromonitor). That's not a rounding error—that's the difference between a stagnant brand and a thriving one.

The Comparison: Points vs. Effort-Based Loyalty

The shift is not just theoretical. Bond Loyalty Report 2025 found that for the first time, granting members special access and personal experiences became the top driver of perceived loyalty value, surpassing financial and transactional value (Bond Loyalty Report 2025). People want to feel recognized, not just rewarded.

Where to Start

You don't have to blow up your program overnight. Start with a simple audit:

• Map every step a customer takes to earn and redeem. Ask: Is this necessary? Can it be automated?
• Check your redemption rate. If it's low, fix the friction points before adding new rewards.
• Survey your members on what they find frustrating. Their answers will guide you.

One quick tip: If you have points expiring, stop that practice immediately. Nothing says "we don't value you" like taking away earned rewards. The fact that 41.1% of UK and Irish consumers are frustrated by expiring points is a red flag you can't ignore (Retail Gazette via Antavo 2026).

Remember, loyalty isn't about making customers jump through hoops. It's about making them want to stay. And the way to do that is to make every interaction effortless.

The Bottom Line

If you take away one thing from this, let it be this: Stop trying to delight your customers with more points and perks. Start reducing the effort they have to put into being loyal. The evidence is overwhelming—from the 75,000-person study that birthed the Customer Effort Score to the billions of dollars Amazon Prime generates by making shopping frictionless. Your customers don't want a relationship that requires work. They want one that just works.

Sources

• HBR: Stop Trying to Delight Your Customers - https://hbr.org/2010/07/stop-trying-to-delight-your-customers
• Euromonitor - https://www.euromonitor.com/
• Retail Gazette (Antavo 2026) - https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2026/02/more-than-a-quarter-of-loyalty-points-go-unspent-says-new-research/
• Antavo US Loyalty Trends 2025 - https://antavo.com/blog/us-loyalty-trends/
• Bond Loyalty Report 2025 - https://bondbl.com/news/the-bond-loyalty-report-released-in-collaboration-with-visa/
• Rivo: Amazon Prime Loyalty Program - https://www.rivo.io/blog/amazon-prime-loyalty-program
• Gartner via CX Dive - https://www.customerexperiencedive.com/news/future-loyalty-personalized-not-universal/817124/