Another key factor to consider with a loyalty programme is time principles. These principles state that when running a loyalty programme, immediate low cost rewards are better received than less frequent, but higher value rewards. For example: if a brand offered a consumer an immediate £50 to complete 10 surveys that day or £100 in a year to complete 1 survey every three months, most consumers would elect for the more time consuming task for the immediate reward.
Within that, you must be mindful that the task and the reward are either balanced or that the reward is perceived to be worth more than the time required to earn it. If you offered a consumer £10 to complete 10 surveys that take 10 minutes each, most consumers would decline the £10, or even £20, as £20 is not worth an hour of their time.
If, however you offered a free main course and dessert at a restaurant (e.g. Pizza Express), which would still be a reward of £20, the consumer would be more likely to engage and complete the survey as they would perceive the value to be far higher than £20. This also ties into hedonistic rewards and consumers valuing experiences/ merchandise over money or cash equivalents.
Brands also greatly utilise choice architecture. For example, if they have excess stock of a cheap item (e.g. Pringles), they would put that item at the front of the store and by the tills, or if it were an online store, they would put it on their homepage advertising the sale – even if that sale is only 50p off.
Choice architecture states that consumers make decisions based on the layout, sequence and the way in which choices are presented to them. Your environment shapes your choice. This principle is best utilised for quick decision making where there is no feeling of financial loss or a potential loss of control.