Grocery and sports retail represent the largest sectors of untapped loyalty value, HyperFinity finds
51 of the UK’s leading retailers are collectively missing out on £806.9 million in gross margin each year through loyalty programmes that fail to convert member engagement into genuine commercial return, according to HyperFinity research.
This finds that the average retailer is sitting on £15.8 million of untapped gross margin opportunity tied up in underperforming loyalty programmes. Crucially, the analysis shows this is not a crisis of customer loyalty itself, but a crisis of execution.
Recent consumer research from HyperFinity found that 91% of shoppers use their loyalty programmes on every visit or most visits, and 79% want more personalised offers. However, the intelligence to turn that participation into genuine commercial value remains largely untapped.
HyperFinity says it has identified three failure modes that appear most consistently across underperforming programmes: Redemption friction: where personalised rewards cannot actually be used by the customer; Value erosion: programmes dilute their value over time and customers no longer feel recognised or personally rewarded; App performance: where technical issues can undermine the loyalty experience at key moments of engagement. Between them, these three issues account for the vast majority of loyalty underperformance across the 51 retailers analysed.
Grocery and sports retail represent the largest sectors of untapped loyalty value in the analysis. In grocery, where loyalty programmes are near-universal and consumer expectations are high, the gap between programme promise and programme delivery is particularly pronounced. In sports retail, high basket values and strong brand affinity mean the commercial cost of underperformance is further amplified.
Across all retail sectors, a consistent and telling pattern emerges. Programmes that score well with consumers on sentiment are still leaking serious commercial value, often because the mechanics of earning and redeeming rewards break down at the point of transaction. The analysis also surfaces a subtler challenge. Some programmes that perform well on consumer sentiment are still failing to translate that engagement into incremental behaviour.
Consumers, meanwhile, have already signalled their readiness for personalised loyalty. Separate HyperFinity research found that 69% of shoppers are comfortable with retailers using AI to personalise loyalty offers. For retailers, the opportunity is to use that technology to deliver genuinely relevant value - rewarding customers on the products they already love, while introducing them to new products and categories they’re likely to value. Those that get this right can turn loyalty into a true competitive advantage, HyperFinity argues.
Thomas Hill, Co-founder at HyperFinity, comments: “The loyalty opportunity in UK retail has never been greater. Customers value loyalty programmes, which is a powerful driver of loyalty in return. But to realise that opportunity, retailers need to recognise customers as individuals and give them offers that make them feel valued and rewarded.”
“Our research found that 44% of shoppers say they will stay loyal to a retailer even during periods of economic pressure, if the rewards are genuinely worthwhile. At a time when consumers are more price conscious than ever, loyalty should be about more than simply offering discounts. It should be about using customer insight to understand what people genuinely value and delivering experiences and products that feel relevant to them.”
So hot right now
HyperFinity is included in RTIH’s first ever Retail Technology Hot 100 List. Launching in August, this sees us bringing you the hottest companies whose solutions and systems are helping drive the retail sector forward.
Our Founder and Editor, Scott Thompson, drew up a list of 150 companies that had consistently been on his radar over the past 12 months whilst bringing our community the latest retail tech news and views that matter. These companies operate across the omnichannel retail landscape (stores, online, mobile, supply chain, payments etc).
Our judging panel, including Vineta Bajaj, Group CFO, Holland & Barrett, Dan McGrath, JD Group Customer Operations, JD Sports, Dr. Astha Purohit, Director of Product Management, Customer Data and Identity, Walmart, and Paula Bobbett, Chief Data and Digital Officer, Boots, provided feedback on those who have the most innovative, forward thinking technology offerings and are also best addressing retailers' current challenges, painpoints, and opportunities.
The judges used the following framework when making their picks:
1. Retailer problem fit - how meaningful, strategic, and widely felt the retailer pain being addressed is.
2. Production traction in retail (2025–2026) - real named retailer deployments, pilots.
3. Innovation and defensibility - genuine technical novelty paired with a defensible competitive position.
And there was also a public vote, with thousands of members of our community of retail tech enthusiasts getting involved. Thanks to all those who took part! Based on the judging panel's feedback and the public vote, we then drew up our first ever RTIH Retail Technology Hot 100.
So, without further ado, here are the 100 hottest global retail technology ventures right now. Drum roll, please…
