As part of the Adyen Index: Retail Report study, Adyen looked at Poles' attitudes towards discounts and their impact on consumer loyalty. As it turns out, 63% of respondents say that discounts still attract them to brands. At the same time, however, as many as 69% of them say that they treat discounts at brands they regularly buy from as the norm rather than a distinguishing feature. What is more, almost half of those surveyed (46%) believe that current loyalty programs are not tailored to their needs and therefore do not add real value to their purchases. According to Adyen, this is a sign that discounts alone are not enough to retain customers for longer.

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The payment company argues that Polish consumers increasingly expect personalised experiences. As many as 40% of them find it helpful when a brand analyses their purchases and browsing history to provide them with personalised offers and advertisements. Convenience and flexibility are also crucial to customers. For example, 55% of respondents declare greater loyalty to retailers who allow them to purchase online with the option of returning the item to a brick-and-mortar store. More than half of respondents also say they would be more loyal to retailers who allow them to order a product that is not available in-store and have it delivered directly to their home. What also matters is a convenient shopping experience. Adyen reports that as many as 40% of consumers abandon transactions when checkout takes too long. Furthermore, 52% leave their purchases if they cannot use their preferred payment method.

At the same time, Adyen statistics show that only 38 percent of companies in Poland run loyalty programs, and just 24 percent invest in new initiatives in this area. The biggest challenge for personalisation – including the tailoring of loyalty programmes – is said to be the lack of access to uniform data from online and offline sales, which are often treated as two separate worlds.

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According to the payment company, implementing a unified commerce strategy that integrates data from all sales channels contributes to increased sales (experienced by 48% of companies using this strategy), increased customer loyalty (observed by 41% of companies), and improved order efficiency (indicated by 40% of companies). Card-linked loyalty programs are also becoming increasingly important. 'Thanks to them, participation in the programme becomes completely hands-free – each payment automatically accrues points or benefits. From the company's perspective, this means access to a unified database that integrates purchases made across different channels, which significantly facilitates the creation of personalised experiences and offers tailored to real consumer behaviour," points out Matouš Michněvič from Adyen, CEE country manager at Adyen.