Retention economics
Longitudinal and self-selection-aware studies suggest loyalty programs can improve purchase behavior, but effects vary by customer segment and program design.
Open article
Research library
Consumer psychology behind repeat visits.
Loyalty Chips is built around a simple claim that needs evidence: customers are more likely to come back when the reward is clear, progress is visible, and the reminder is tangible.
Evidence map
The practical case is strongest when behavior, progress, and touch work together.
The studies below do not promise automatic retention. They point to conditions a local program can design for: reachable rewards, clear progress, first-party follow-up, and a physical cue customers notice.
Physical salience
A card or chip gives the program a place in the customer journey. Touch research helps explain why tangible objects can feel more owned and memorable.
Open articleReward progress
Goal-gradient research shows customers accelerate as they approach a reward, and endowed progress can make an incomplete goal feel worth finishing.
Open article
Articles
Three research briefs for local operators.
Do loyalty programs increase retention?
What Liu, Leenheer, Bolton, and Reichheld imply for local businesses trying to turn one visit into a second.
Why physical cards and chips are remembered.
How mere touch, psychological ownership, and tangible service objects support a physical loyalty handoff.
Reward psychology: endowed progress and goal gradients.
Why short, visible reward paths can outperform vague point banks for motivating the next visit.
Primary sources
Selected studies behind the articles.
Apply the research
Make the next visit visible before the customer leaves.
Use a chip, card, or stand to connect the reward, the customer record, and the return invitation in one physical moment.