New benchmarking framework from Loyalty360's 2026 State of Customer Loyalty research helps brands understand how prepared they are to execute their customer loyalty strategies, identify capability gaps, and benchmark their readiness against peers and industry leaders.
CINCINNATI, Sept. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Loyalty360, the association for customer loyalty, has announced its 2026 Customer Loyalty Readiness benchmarks and Industry Leaders, developed as part of its 2026 State of Customer Loyalty research.
The Loyalty360 Customer Loyalty Readiness Score measures how well positioned an organization is to execute and advance its customer loyalty strategy based on organizational, strategic, technological, measurement, and customer experience factors evaluated through the research. Participating brands receive an individual score and readiness level, along with overall and industry-level benchmarks for comparison.
2026 Customer Loyalty Readiness Benchmarks
Across participating organizations, the average Customer Loyalty Readiness Score was 91.91.
To provide context for individual scores, Loyalty360 established five Customer Loyalty Readiness Levels. Organizations with scores of 94.375 or higher, representing the top decile of participating organizations, are classified as Industry Leading.
Score/Readiness Level:
- Industry Leading: 94.375+
- Highly Ready: 93.000–94.374
- Ready: 91.500–92.999
- Developing Readiness: 90.000–91.499
- Emerging Readiness: Below 90.000
Each participating organization can use its score and readiness level to benchmark its results against the broader research population. Readiness levels are based on individual scores and are separate from the Industry Leader recognition outlined below.
Because the State of Customer Loyalty research includes organizations actively engaged in customer loyalty, the benchmarks represent participating in loyalty-focused organizations rather than the broader business community.
Why Customer Loyalty Readiness Matters:
As customer expectations, technology, data capabilities, AI, personalization, and loyalty strategies continue to evolve, having a loyalty program is only part of the equation. Brands also need the organizational capabilities to execute their strategy and adapt as customer expectations change.
The Customer Loyalty Readiness Score is designed to help brands move beyond simply asking "How is our loyalty program performing?" to a broader question: "How prepared are we to deliver the loyalty strategy we want to execute?"
Industry Readiness Benchmarks and 2026 Industry Leaders
The research also provides insight into Customer Loyalty Readiness across industries. Industry averages ranged from 90.50 to 93.52, with CPG recording the highest average Customer Loyalty Readiness Score, followed by Financial Services and Sports/Entertainment.
The highest-scoring participating brand within each industry is recognized as a 2026 Customer Loyalty Readiness Industry Leader. When brands received the same highest score within an industry, they are recognized as co-leaders.
Industry averages reflect all participating organizations within each industry and do not represent the individual scores of the recognized Industry Leaders. Individual organizational scores are not being publicly disclosed.
Industry | Industry Average | 2026 Industry Leader(s)
- CPG | 93.52 | Nestlé Purina
- Financial Services | 93.12 | Bank of America; PNC Bank
- Sports / Entertainment | 92.89 | Cleveland Cavaliers
- Travel / Hospitality | 92.49 | Hilton
- Fuel / C-Store | 92.21 | Love's Travel Stops
- Restaurants | 91.98 | Insomnia Cookies; Nothing Bundt Cakes
- Grocery | 91.67 | Food Lion; Stop & Shop
- Retail | 91.46 | ThriftBooks
- Manufacturing | 91.10 | Boehringer Ingelheim
- Telecommunications | 90.50 | Deutsche Telekom AG
About the State of Customer Loyalty Research
Loyalty360's State of Customer Loyalty research examines the priorities, challenges, investments, technologies, organizational considerations, measurement practices, and customer experience strategies shaping customer loyalty today.
The Customer Loyalty Readiness Score adds a benchmarking framework to the research, giving participating organizations additional context for understanding their position relative to peers and identifying opportunities to strengthen their approach to customer loyalty.
About Loyalty360
Loyalty360 is the association for customer loyalty. Loyalty360 provides a trusted and objective community for brands and customer loyalty professionals through research, benchmarking, conferences, awards, peer-to-peer networking, thought leadership, and educational resources.
For more information about Loyalty360 and the State of Customer Loyalty research, visit Loyalty360.org.
Media Contact
Carly Stemmer Ivory, Loyalty360, 1 5138000360 115, [email protected], https://loyalty360.org/
SOURCE Loyalty360
Share this article