Millennials and Gen Zs view traditional loyalty programs as "manipulative," "hierarchical," and "built around exclusions."

Those are highlights from VoC research conducted by ERDM for Detroit-based watchmaker Shinola, which was looking to revamp its loyalty program. These points also underscore findings from similar research done for other brands, whose customers, across all generations, have knocked loyalty programs for tying rewards to the number of transactions. They emphasized the betrayal they feel when brand love evaporates if they stop purchasing for a while.

These findings point to a need for brands and marketers to flip the concept of loyalty. The onus is on brands to demonstrate their long-term commitment to their customers, not the other way around. As one person said in the research: "Be as loyal to me as I have been to you. Do that, and I will continue to buy from you."