KFC China leads the way in new loyalty programmes report as adidas, Nike, and McDonald's also shine

Loyalty programmes have quietly evolved into some of the largest and most powerful consumer ecosystems in the world, reshaping how brands own and activate customer relationships.

That's according to a newly released report from Let’s Talk Loyalty in partnership with Capillary Technologies. This finds that brands like KFC China, adidas, and Nike are operating prorammes at massive scale - with dozens now exceeding 100 million members globally and a growing number surpassing 200 million.

Among the findings: Retail accounts for over 40% of the largest loyalty programmes globally; North America represents nearly half of the world’s largest programmes; Travel and hospitality brands continue to operate some of the most mature, large scale ecosystems .

The bigger takeaway: as third-party data declines, loyalty is becoming the system through which brands directly manage customer relationships at scale - not just a marketing tool, but core infrastructure.

The world’s largest loyalty programme operates in China courtesy of KFC. It is part of Yum China which operates a total loyalty membership of 590 million member accounts across its brands, also including Pizza Hut.

In second place is adidas (adiclub), followed by Nike (Nike Membership), Marriott (Bonvoy), H World Group (H Rewards), Hilton (Hilton Honors), and McDonald's (MyMcDonald's Rewards).

Also in the mix are Amazon Prime, H&M Membership, Ikea Family Club, and Costco Membership.

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

Loyalty programmes will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.

Check out our 2025 winners here.

Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”

“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”

He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”

Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.