Retailers don’t need to foot the bill for loyalty alone. Suppliers are often willing to pay – for access to audiences, personalised offers and actionable insights.

UK retail media spend hit £1.4bn in 2024 and is set to exceed £7bn by 2028. Supplier-funded loyalty is the next phase of this growth – more targeted, more measurable and more profitable.

Retail media is above-the-line: banners, shelf-edge promos and broad in-app ads. Supplier-funded loyalty happens below-the-line: it’s discreet, personalised and built on loyalty data.

Supplier funded loyalty is a win-win for both parties:

• Retailers get loyalty costs offset – and new revenue streams.
• Suppliers gain market share, acquire new customers and access deeper insights.
• Everyone wins from more relevant, better-performing campaigns.

Even when suppliers are funding loyalty activity, all targeting must be customer-led. Poor personalisation – no matter how well-funded – risks damaging trust and driving disengagement.

To scale supplier-funded loyalty, you need:

• Rich first-party data.
• A diverse supplier base.
• Infrastructure that automates targeting, execution and reporting.

For true one-to-one personalisation, setting up offers manually won’t cut it. Intelligent decisioning and API-led delivery are essential to keep supplier activity relevant, responsive – and fast.

If suppliers are investing, they expect results. Retailers need to be able to show uplift analysis, campaign dashboards and segment-level insights – in a clear, shareable format.

There’s no single tool that can power a supplier funded loyalty programme. A composable tech stack allows you to integrate best-in-class tools for targeting, delivery and closed-loop measurement – at scale.

A supplier funded loyalty programme is a triple win:

• Customers get more relevant offers.
• Retailers generate incremental revenue.
• Suppliers grow share and gain strategic insight

Everyone sees the value.