Loyalty Programs: The Complete Guide
Loyalty Programs: The Complete Guide (3rd Edition)
By Philip Shelper
Co-created by Stacey Lyons, Scott Harrison, Ryan De Boer, David Schneider, Federico Couret, Hunter Murray
With contributions by Michael Smith, Sam Panzer
Loyalty’s leading global reference is now in its third edition.
This third edition is the biggest yet, with 50 per cent more content, over 250 global case studies, and new chapters covering the forces reshaping the industry.
Loyalty Programs: The Complete Guide (3rd Edition) is the most comprehensive book on loyalty program theory and practice available. It combines academic research, loyalty psychology, and global industry expertise to deliver a complete, global view of every aspect of loyalty programs.
Loyalty programs have become the most important marketing discipline of the century. As first-party data grows scarce and AI reshapes how people buy, a well-designed program is how a brand knows its customers, keeps them, and grows their value over time.
Whether you are designing a program from scratch, running one that needs to work harder, or making the commercial case to your board, every chapter answers the questions loyalty professionals face, grounded in academic research and brought to life by over 250 real-world case studies.
What this book helps you do
- Design a best-practice program, using proven frameworks
- Implement the right technology, rewards, and member experience
- Operate and evolve with commercial modelling, analytics, and ROI measurement
- Future-proof your program for AI, agentic commerce, and a privacy-first world
Inside the 3rd Edition
Two parts, 24 chapters, one complete picture. Part 1 covers loyalty theory and fundamentals. Part 2 covers loyalty program enablement. Inside, you will find:
- The history of loyalty programs
- Do loyalty programs generate loyalty? An academic research review
- Loyalty & Reward Co’s Essential Eight™ design principles
- Loyalty psychology, biases, and heuristics
- Design components, subscriptions, and rewards and benefits
- Business-to-business (B2B) programs
- Gamification and games
- Loyalty technology, payments, and innovation
- Artificial intelligence, including generative and agentic AI
- Blockchain and Web3 loyalty
- Data collection, reporting, and analytics
- Lifecycle management, promotions, and omnichannel personalisation
- Commercial modelling, business cases, and ROI
- Operations, multi-market governance, and legal considerations
- Security and fraud risks and mitigations
- El futuro de la fidelización
¿Qué opinan los expertos?
"Loyalty Programs: The Complete Guide is the reference I come back to whenever I need to ground a strategic conversation in real data and frameworks. After several years building and scaling membership programs across global sports and consumer brands, I still continue to find new angles in it. It's the one book in this space that treats loyalty as the complex, cross-functional discipline it actually is, rather than a simple rewards mechanic. Essential reading for anyone serious about the field."
Fabio Martini, Global Marketing Director, ASICS
"This essential standard work stands apart in a field too often crowded with repetition, opinion and vague advice. It is factual, methodical and grounded in a deep understanding of how loyalty programs actually work. Rather than filling pages with fashionable language, it offers structured thinking, practical frameworks and evidence-based insights that professionals can apply. This combination of analytical rigour and real-world relevance makes it an essential reference for anyone designing, operating or improving a loyalty program."
Max Byloff, CEO of Loyalty, Comarch
"Loyalty Programs: The Complete Guide offers a refreshingly complete view of what loyalty strategy should be. The book is clear-eyed about the commercial goal, driving incremental revenue, retention and customer lifetime value, while never losing sight of the people behind the numbers. The strongest programs do not simply give away points or discounts, they understand what members genuinely value and create experiences that feel relevant, rewarding and worth returning for. I've applied the book's principles in both my MBA studies and my work building loyalty and technology products, and they have become an important reference point in how I evaluate ideas and make product decisions."
Kate Lisko, Senior Product Manager, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
Compre el libro
Explore el mundo de la lealtad con esta guía completa.
Disponible en inglés en formato impreso y Kindle.
About the authors
Philip Shelper is CEO and Founder of Loyalty & Reward Co, the world’s only global pure-play loyalty consultancy. He has designed loyalty programs for over 160 brands worldwide and previously held loyalty roles at Qantas Frequent Flyer and Vodafone. Phil is a member of several hundred loyalty programs and an obsessive researcher of loyalty psychology and loyalty history, all of which he draws on to understand what makes a program succeed.
Loyalty Programs: The Complete Guide (3rd Edition) was co-created by members of the expert Loyalty & Reward Co team, including Stacey Lyons, Scott Harrison, Ryan De Boer, David Schneider, Federico Couret, and Hunter Murray. Loyalty & Reward Co specialise in loyalty program design, implementation, and evolution for major brands globally.
The book also includes contributions from Michael Smith, co-founder of the Loyalty Security Association, and Sam Panzer, Senior Director of Strategic Marketing at Talon.One.
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