Loyalty Programs Are Broken — Blockchain Is The Solution

Forbes

24-06-2025

Loyalty programs
For years, loyalty programs promised sustained customer relationships and revenue. Yet, anyone who's navigated labyrinthine redemption portals or seen points expire knows the truth: traditional loyalty programs are fundamentally broken.
The flaws are clear. Engagement rates are shockingly low. A recent Capital One Shopping report indicates that while the average U.S. consumer is enrolled in 19 loyalty programs, active participation is only around 49%. This suggests nearly half of the memberships are dormant, failing their core purpose. Furthermore, industry estimates reveal hundreds of billions in unredeemed loyalty points globally, a stark testament to illiquid loyalty currencies and program inefficiencies.
Consumers also face fragmented points systems that restrict redemption to a single brand, or limited, unappealing catalogs. Lack of transparency around point value and expiration breeds mistrust. Centralized systems result in low program interoperability, and high operational costs often erode the very profits they aim to boost.
Beyond just active engagement, basic enrollment also presents a mixed picture. According to a recent Prosper Insights & Analytics survey, while overall participation in customer loyalty programs averages about 50% across all generations, there are significant differences. Boomers show the highest participation (approximately 58%), while Gen-Z has the lowest (about 45%). This generational disparity, combined with widespread low active engagement, exposes the limitations of fragmented, legacy systems.
Prosper - Customer Loyalty Programs
Blockchain: The Solution
This is where blockchain technology emerges, not as a fleeting trend, but as a genuine fix for these systemic issues. By decentralizing loyalty programs, blockchain offers unparalleled transparency, flexibility, and security, cultivating an environment where loyalty can truly flourish.
Imagine a future where your airline miles seamlessly convert into points for your daily coffee, a streaming service, or even become exchangeable for other digital assets. This is the core promise of blockchain-based loyalty: points become liquid, valuable digital assets that users genuinely use like money. Say goodbye to forgotten or unredeemable points.
One of the most compelling aspects is enhanced transparency. Every transaction, from earning to redeeming, is immutably recorded on a distributed ledger. This eliminates doubts about hidden rules or point depreciation. For brands, this drastically reduces fraud, as all transactions are verifiable and tamper-proof. Blockchain's immutability ensures earned loyalty points are secure, fostering unprecedented trust.
Crucially, blockchain's architecture can also deliver real-time, transparent data insights for brands without compromising user privacy. Instead of centralized PII storage, blockchain solutions can leverage anonymized or pseudonymized data. This provides aggregate behavioral patterns, allowing brands to understand customer preferences and tailor offers effectively, all while adhering to strict data protection regulations like GDPR.
Gabriele Giancola, founder of qiibee, a pioneering blockchain loyalty solution, highlights this dual benefit. "The true value of blockchain for loyalty," Giancola states, "lies in its ability to empower both sides. Consumers gain instant points liquidity and flexibility over their earned value, while brands acquire real-time insights into customer behavior and campaign effectiveness, all within a privacy-preserving framework. It's a shift from fragmented silos to an interconnected, value-driven ecosystem where everyone thrives."
Navigating Regulations and Adoption
The path to widespread adoption involves addressing regulatory complexities and practical challenges. The evolving landscape for digital assets, particularly regarding their classification, demands meticulous consideration. Companies implementing blockchain loyalty must ensure compliance with relevant financial, consumer protection, and data privacy frameworks across various jurisdictions, often requiring specialized legal guidance.
Moreover, mass adoption hinges on user-friendliness. Consumers prioritize seamless, rewarding experiences. This means intuitive interfaces, frictionless earning and redemption, and immediately evident benefits are paramount. Robust, scalable solutions are therefore essential for success. Giancola adds, "For blockchain loyalty to truly go mainstream, it must feel as effortless as a tap of a credit card but deliver value far beyond it. The underlying tech must be invisible; the benefits, undeniable."
qiibee: A Real-World Blockchain Solution
qiibee is actively bridging this gap. By providing a decentralized, enterprise-grade blockchain infrastructure, qiibee empowers brands to tokenize their loyalty points, transforming them into valuable digital assets. This fundamentally redefines the brand-consumer relationship.
Here's how qiibee's blockchain-based solutions tackle common issues:
Success Stories: Brands Leading the Charge
Several prominent brands are already leveraging blockchain loyalty solutions, demonstrating tangible benefits and paving the way for broader adoption.
Consider Miles & More, a leading airline loyalty program. Their exploration of blockchain-based loyalty signals a progressive approach to enhancing flexibility. Similarly, Moda Health has investigated how blockchain can revolutionize health and wellness incentives. These examples, though specific implementation details with qiibee are part of ongoing advancements, underscore a clear trend towards dynamic, blockchain-powered loyalty programs.
Furthermore, innovative platforms like Starbucks Odyssey utilize NFTs as a loyalty mechanism, providing unique digital collectibles that unlock exclusive real-world experiences. Similarly, Nike's .SWOOSH platform integrates Web3 to forge a new dimension of brand interaction and loyalty through virtual products and digital experiences. These instances highlight a growing recognition: genuine loyalty in the digital era demands innovation, transparency, and a true transfer of value and ownership to the consumer.
The Future of Loyalty
The limitations of traditional loyalty programs are increasingly evident. Blockchain technology offers a robust, secure, and transparent framework to revitalize these programs, transforming them from mere discount schemes into dynamic, interconnected ecosystems of real value. For forward-thinking brands, embracing this shift is not just an option—it's an imperative for cultivating lasting customer relationships. The broken model of yesterday is yielding to the blockchain-powered solution of tomorrow, promising a more engaged, rewarded, and loyal customer base.
For users the most compelling aspect, is actually that they points are more liquid and valuable because there is a higher program interoperability, means consumers have more options to earn, spend and convert their points
This can be done, but is not the best use case. Storing all transactions related to the loyalty currencies by tokenising points, is actually the most valuable use case
This is also how then brands can check in an anonymous way the earning and spending behavior of a certain wallet and understand the consumers better