More than seven in ten Australian consumers — 73 percent — are likely to try new shopping behaviours, according to McKinsey’s latest consumer loyalty survey. That figure has crept up three percentage points since the previous quarter alone. What it means in practice is that the old rules of brand loyalty are wearing thin. Australians are switching, experimenting, and rethinking where they spend money faster than many businesses have adjusted to. Based on the same survey of over 1,700 consumers across eleven industries, the shift touches everything from groceries to airline tickets. This article draws on that research and on Statista’s 2026 consumer insights report to show what is actually changing and where the real opportunity sits for businesses that pay attention.
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This article is general information only and does not constitute professional advice. For your specific situation, consult a qualified professional.
Businesses that built their model on repeat custom alone are finding that model less reliable. The McKinsey data shows that net intent to spend remains positive for essentials but has turned negative for discretionary goods. That split matters because it tells you Australians are still spending — they are just more selective about where. Statista’s 167-page report on Australian consumers, published in mid-2026, covers attitudes across food, fashion, mobility, media, and AI usage. Between the two data sets, a consistent picture emerges: convenience, immediacy, and peer trust now outweigh brand heritage for a growing share of buyers. Here’s what you actually need to know.
What I tend to notice is that many business owners still treat loyalty as something customers owe them rather than something that has to be earned fresh each time. The McKinsey data pushes hard against that assumption. The consumers who are most valuable — the ones who increase purchase frequency and recommend brands to others — are the ones who feel they are getting something tangible and immediate in return. That change in expectations is the single biggest shift in Australian consumer behaviour right now, and it cuts across every industry surveyed.
A useful next step is to look at how the future of Aussie retail is being reshaped by these expectations, particularly in sectors like groceries and fashion where switching costs have fallen sharply.
What Shifting Loyalty Means for Your Business Revenue
When six in ten consumers say that a loyalty programme membership has changed how they shop, the question is not whether to have one — it is whether yours is good enough to survive comparison. The McKinsey survey found that top-quartile programmes make members roughly twice as likely to increase purchase frequency and 79 percent more likely to recommend the brand compared with bottom-quartile programmes. That gap has widened since 2022, meaning the gap between effective and ineffective programmes is now larger than it was three years earlier.
The numbers for specific sectors are striking. Grocery programmes influence about 60 percent of members — up eight percentage points since 2022. Airline programmes affect the choices of roughly 70 percent of members — a jump of 24 percentage points over the same period. Both figures suggest that consumers are not merely participating in these programmes passively. They are actively changing their purchasing decisions because of them. For a business operating in either sector, not having a competitive programme means handing market share to someone who does.
At the same time, 16 percent of non-participants said it takes too long to earn rewards — up two points since 2022. That tells you that even consumers who have not joined a programme are aware of the friction involved and are choosing to opt out. For businesses, this creates a clear design constraint: if the path to a reward feels long, a significant chunk of potential members will never bother to sign up. That is a revenue leak that happens before the customer even engages.
The broader pattern is that digital disruption has lowered the effort required to switch brands, making loyalty a choice rather than a default.
Where Most Businesses Get Consumer Behaviour Wrong
Treating all loyalty members the same
The McKinsey data shows that top-quartile programmes are roughly twice as effective at driving repeat purchases as the rest. One reason is that they segment members by behaviour rather than treating everyone identically. A points system that gives the same reward to a twice-a-year shopper and a weekly shopper does not recognise the higher-value customer. The result is that the best customers feel undervalued and the least engaged ones cost the business margin without contributing proportionally. What I would do first is audit your current programme against this standard: does it distinguish between a casual buyer and a core one? If not, the revenue leak is structural, not promotional.
Making rewards take too long to reach
Sixteen percent of non-participants say the time it takes to earn rewards is a dealbreaker — up from 14 percent in 2022. That two-point shift may look small, but it represents a growing segment of consumers who have done the mental calculation and decided the effort is not worth it. The practical fix is to introduce micro-rewards — small but immediate benefits that give the member a sense of progress after each interaction. A coffee shop loyalty app that offers a free drink after five purchases is faster to deliver value than one that requires twenty.
Ignoring the grocery and airline benchmarks
Grocery programmes influence 60 percent of members, up eight points since 2022. Airline programmes influence 70 percent, up 24 points. These are not niche sectors. If programmes in everyday categories like groceries can shift consumer behaviour that much, then any business with a repeat-purchase model is facing the same dynamic. The mistake is assuming that your industry is somehow immune to the trend.
→ Scroll right to see all columns
| Programme Type | Member influence rate | Change since 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Grocery | ~60% of members change shopping behaviour | +8 percentage points |
| Airline | ~70% of members change purchasing choices | +24 percentage points |
| General retail (all programmes) | ~6 in 10 members change behaviour | Widening gap between top and bottom quartiles |
Overlooking the trust shift
The McKinsey research found that Australians now rely more on peer recommendations and community feedback than on traditional brand marketing. That is not a marginal preference — it is the dominant trust signal. A business that continues to pour budget into brand advertising without building a referral or community mechanism is effectively shouting into a room where most people are listening to someone else. Integrating user reviews, customer testimonials, and referral incentives into the loyalty structure aligns the programme with where trust actually sits.
Building a Strategy That Matches How Australians Actually Spend
Redesign your rewards around immediacy
The data on reward timing is clear. Sixteen percent of consumers who do not join programmes say it takes too long to earn anything. Even among active members, grocery programme usage has slipped five percentage points since 2022 — 65 percent of members now use their programme almost every shop, down from 70 percent. That suggests that even enrolled members are becoming less engaged. The fix is to restructure the reward schedule so that value is delivered early and often. A practical approach is to offer a small discount or bonus on the first transaction after sign-up, then progressively larger rewards as the customer hits defined milestones. A Shopify-powered loyalty setup can automate this kind of tiered reward structure fairly easily.
Match the trust curve with peer-driven mechanics
Since peer recommendations now outrank brand messages, your loyalty programme should include a referral component that rewards both the referrer and the new customer. The mechanics are straightforward: give the existing member a credit or discount for each successful referral, and give the new member a first-purchase incentive. The cost per acquisition through this channel is often lower than paid advertising, and the retention rate of referred customers tends to be higher because they arrive with built-in trust. For businesses that need help structuring referral compliance, a service like JustAnswer Business Law can clarify the legal terms.
Use data to personalise, not just to track
The McKinsey research emphasises that loyalty is becoming more dynamic, data-driven, and demand-responsive. That means collecting purchase data is only the first step. The second step is using it to personalise offers, communications, and reward timing. If a customer buys the same product every six weeks, the programme should send a reminder or a small incentive around week five. If a customer hasn’t engaged in three months, a targeted re-engagement offer beats a generic newsletter. Statista’s report covers attitudes toward AI tools, and a growing number of Australian consumers are open to AI-driven personalisation as long as it feels helpful rather than intrusive. A MagicFit AI content tool can help generate personalised ads and offers at scale without requiring a full creative team.
Plan for the next phase of loyalty regulation and expectations
Consumer trust in how data is used is tightening. The shift toward peer-driven trust means that businesses must be transparent about how loyalty data is collected, stored, and applied. Although no specific new Australian regulation is referenced in the research, the general direction of consumer protection globally points toward stricter rules on data usage in loyalty schemes. Businesses that build their programmes with transparent opt-in mechanics and clear privacy notices now will have less retrofitting to do later. For advice on data compliance, JustAnswer Finance can connect you with a professional familiar with Australian business requirements.
Another angle worth watching is the link between loyalty and how consumers think about experiential investments — a growing trend where Australians prioritise experiences over physical goods, which shifts what kind of rewards feel valuable.
Frequently Asked Questions
What percentage of Australians are in at least one loyalty programme? ▾
How quickly should a loyalty programme deliver its first reward? ▾
Are airline loyalty programmes still relevant in Australia? ▾
Why do grocery loyalty programmes matter for non-grocery businesses? ▾
What is the main reason consumers leave a loyalty programme? ▾
The Trust Shift Is Still Accelerating
The data from both McKinsey and Statista points in one direction: Australian consumers are becoming more deliberate, more deal-aware, and more responsive to peer input than to brand messaging. That is not a temporary cycle. The 24-point jump in airline programme influence and the eight-point rise in grocery programme influence since 2022 suggest that loyalty, when properly structured, becomes a stronger lever over time — not a weaker one. The businesses that will hold their customer base are those that treat loyalty as a continuous design problem rather than a one-off campaign.
Remember: this article is general information only. For advice on your specific situation, speak to a qualified professional.
If this was useful, you might also want to read How to Sell a Business in Australia for Maximum Profit.
Sources and Further Reading
The Future of Aussie Retail — Explores how Australian retailers are adapting their business models to shifting consumer expectations similar to those covered in this article.
Digital Disruption in Australia — Looks at how technology is reshaping business operations and customer engagement across Australian industries.
McKinsey (2026). Australian Consumer Loyalty Survey. 🔗
Statista (2026). Consumers in Australia — Report. 🔗
