Your brand is being filtered out. A seismic shift is fundamentally changing how consumers relate to loyalty, and most brands aren’t built for it. More than half of AI users have already turned to an AI assistant to help them decide where to shop, what to buy, or which brand to use.

And among all respondents, nearly 1 in 3 have gone a step further: deliberately opening an AI assistant — ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, and a growing field of others — and telling it which brands to favor above all others. It’s a deliberate hardcoding of their preferences directly into the algorithms that will shape every future recommendation they receive.

The FreedomPay report reveals how checkout has quietly become the moment that makes or breaks customer loyalty, as rising expectations outpace outdated systems and force retail and hospitality leaders to rethink payments from the ground up. Consumers have more ways than ever to check out and pay. And they have strong opinions about how they want to do it.

The takeaway – checkout has become a make-or-break brand moment.

Everyday low price (EDLP) is a popular and viable operating model for many retailers, particularly in the grocery sector. The appeal to consumers is straightforward and powerful: consistent low prices, no promotions, no need to wait for a discount or deal. It is a model built on trust, and for the retailers that execute it well, that trust is a genuine competitive asset.

But even EDLP retailers grapple with how to grow visit frequency and basket size without compromising the price promise that defines their brand. Deeper discounts are not the answer. Smarter loyalty, powered by personalization, is.

Shifts in consumer behavior — specifically the desire for data privacy and instant, personalized recognition — and AI’s acceleration of the buying process are making traditional loyalty programs feel stale and pointless for brands and shoppers. Blanket discounts and traditional rewards aren’t what drive today’s consumers; they want value, relevance and trust in a brand. This is particularly true for Gen Z, who make purchase decisions faster and with purpose.

Are your customer loyalty programs over-reliant on incentivisation to drive engagement? Do loyalty members lose interest over time, disengage, or jump ship to competitor brands faster than you can say “Black Friday flash sale?” It may be time to breathe new life into your loyalty efforts. If it’s fresh inspiration you’re after, this guide is a great place to start.

What’s Inside

In this guide, we take a pragmatic look at:

As AI-powered assistants increasingly guide shoppers from discovery to purchase, the experience itself is being reshaped. It’s faster, more conversational, and often more helpful. But it’s also increasingly removed from the retailer. Retail customer experience has always been about understanding people, be it their needs, their preferences or their intentions in the retail space. This is vital because it informs customized and authentic responses that build trust over time.

There is no question that AI is transforming the nature of customer contact. There is, however, ample debate about what that transformation will mean for the idea of the human connection. Customer contact thought leaders have long argued that AI is about augmenting rather than replacing humanity. They stress that by automating rote tasks and surfacing actionable intelligence real-time, AI enables humans to better demonstrate qualities like personalization, empathy, and resolve – and thus better cultivate meaningful relationships.

Beauty is the 3rd most popular spending category for Gen Zalpha, with 40% of young people who love to spend on beauty. Despite this desire, 29% of young consumers actively search for a discount before purchasing. How can beauty brands capture young people’s attention with value-driven messages, and successfully convert that attention into purchases?

This comprehensive study delivers both the hard numbers and the real-life qualitative insights you need to capture the youth market.