By Charlie Casey, CEO of LoyaltyLion

To continue responding to shifts in consumer expectations, brands need to ensure they’re delivering consistent and impressive customer experiences.

A consistent and enjoyable shopping experience is one that a customer will want to repeat. Here are some tips for expanding your business in 2026.

Customization & Ethical Use of Data

Personalization is the buzzword that never stops buzzing. But now it’s hyper-personalization. Brands will increasingly start to use firmographics rather than demographics to reach customers, and they need to in order to meet their expectations. It will be less about age, gender or location and more about hair type, skin type, body shape and other characteristics. Six in ten (58%) consumers sign up to a loyalty program to get more personalized recommendations than they might otherwise.

However, with increased AI usage causing more and more consumers to ask questions about privacy and data usage, it will be more important than ever for brands to show consumers they’re using their data responsibly.

More personalization will drive more retention and repeat purchases. Loyalty programs can also help you to collect more enhanced data and build trust with customers so they have more confidence in the way you’re using it.

Green Goals

Eco-conscious consumers will continue to demand sustainability and transparent eco-efforts should be front and center for all brands. Whether it’s rewarding recycling, or implementing resale opportunities there will be continued opportunities to connect with customers on causes they care about.

Showing customers that you share their values is key to retaining them. Our data shows that 54% of consumers believe a retailer’s loyalty program better represents their brand’s values than ever before.

Clear and honest communication about your sustainability policies is crucial. However you can also use a loyalty program to motivate and encourage customers to engage in eco initiatives, both online and in-store.

Mobile-First Shopping 

Mobile is another trend that is not new. However mobile is becoming a more and more dominant sales channel and brands need to ensure that their mobile apps and experiences are fast with smooth UX. This will enable new shoppers to browse and convert easily while also increasing the chances of returning for another purchase.

A good mobile experience on the first purchase is far more likely to drive the all-important second purchase and hopefully more. A bad one will hinder your chance to retain customers.

However, mobile provides a great opportunity to keep up with customers through push notifications that have higher conversion rates than email or SMS. Plus, loyalty programs can be delivered consistently across mobile experiences, and even used to motivate app downloads. In fact, 72% of consumers want to access their loyalty program and rewards on a mobile.

AI Tools

Technologies the world over will all be rolling out powerful AI-features to streamline every element of your store management. This can be intimidating but it’s a huge opportunity to free up time to think more creatively and strategically. Use AI to remove grind and grunt work so that you can make time for higher-value activities and deep thinking.

Make the most of the opportunity to step back and take the time to think about what your customers want and what creative things you could be doing to retain or reward more of them. Speak with customers and understand their feedback, and use that insight to think of more creative loyalty or retention campaigns.