2027 Trends: How AI, Agentic Commerce and Changing Consumer Expectations Will Reshape Customer Loyalty

The Future of Loyalty: From Transactions and Points to Intelligent, Human-Driven Connections

Industry experts at the 2026 Asia Pacific Loyalty Conference discussed how AI, agentic commerce, data, personalisation and changing customer expectations are reshaping loyalty.

Customer loyalty trends for 2027 point to a shift beyond traditional points, rewards and transactions. Industry leaders at the Australian Loyalty Association (ALA) APAC Conference highlighted the growing importance of relevance, recognition, experience and customer value.

AI is creating opportunities for more relevant customer experiences while raising questions about trust, security and human connection. Meanwhile, agentic commerce could change how consumers discover and purchase products through AI agents. Loyalty programmes may need to appeal to both customers and the technology acting on their behalf.

For loyalty leaders, the challenge extends beyond adopting new technology. Businesses also need reliable data, suitable systems and organisational capabilities to support better customer experiences.

Loyalty Is Moving Beyond Points

Loyalty programmes are moving beyond traditional points and membership tiers towards experiences, recognition and emotional connections. Several industry experts expect these elements to become more important as brands respond to changing customer expectations.

Aziz Kastoun, Account Executive at Eagle Eye, sees opportunities for businesses to move beyond transactional rewards.

“Points are starting to become a little bit more expected or traditional. There’s definitely new ways and more expectations from younger generations to move away from points and more into experiential or emotion-focused loyalty and rewards. There’s a big opportunity for a plethora of businesses to change their perception of points and what’s going to resonate with their customers and members.”

Alison Caston, Head of Digital Marketing at Funlab, also expects emotional connections to become more important than financial rewards alone.

“I think we’ll see a lot more loyalty programme propositions skew to emotional connection with the consumer and away from points. So moving recognition and reward away from just a financial perspective and more emotional connection will gain more popularity.”

AI Will Reshape Loyalty, but Relevance Matters More Than Hype

AI is expected to play a growing role in customer engagement, personalisation, operations and fraud prevention. However, industry experts caution that adopting AI does not automatically improve customer experiences.

Bel Lloyd, Customer Success Lead at Amperity, distinguishes between hyper-personalisation and relevance. Lloyd suggests that more customer data does not necessarily produce better experiences. Excessive personalisation can make customers uncomfortable when interactions lack genuine value.

 

 

Steve Hui, CEO & Co-Founder of The iFLYflat Flights Club, questioned whether current personalisation capabilities consistently meet customer expectations.

“All the loyalty programmes talk about having data – they can personalise – but I don’t think I’ve ever received anything that’s truly personalised to me. That’s what we overestimate. We assume that with the use of AI and the ability to personalise, people will want to buy, but I think it’s way more complicated than that. There have to be a lot more breadcrumbs before you get to the point where you actually buy, and buy from a specific brand.”

Customers increasingly expect businesses to use their information intelligently while maintaining trust in how that data is handled.

Billy Loizou, AVP & General Manager APAC at Amperity, believes AI should support rather than replace human connections.

“The one thing about AI that I’m most concerned about is it making everything the same. If I think of the best loyalty experiences I’ve had, there’s a level of human connection. We can use AI to make the service element, concierge element behind the programme, easier, and empower humans to make it more human. I still believe the human connection inside of brands is the most important thing.”

Agentic Commerce Will Change Who, or What, Loyalty Is Designed For

Agentic commerce could change how customers discover products and make purchasing decisions. AI agents may increasingly evaluate products, offers, and loyalty benefits on behalf of consumers.

Mandy Gallie, Vice President, Loyalty Sales APAC at Mastercard, outlined estimates for agentic transactions by 2030.

“We’re estimating about 25% of all transactions will be done online, and over half of those will be agentic transactions, so not even performed by a human. What that means is that we’re going to give over our decision-making power for more than 12% of all retail transactions, and that’s just by 2030.”

If these estimates materialise, loyalty programmes may need to make their offers understandable to AI agents as well as human customers.

James Roth, General Manager of Operations at the Australian Loyalty Association, noted that purchasing decisions involve more than price. Customers also consider status, points and emotional connections with brands.

Loyalty programmes may therefore need to make their benefits discoverable by AI systems while preserving the human motivations behind purchasing decisions. Agentic commerce could change how consumers discover, compare and purchase products.

Strong Data Foundations Are Becoming Essential

Relevant loyalty experiences depend on reliable customer data, whether a person or an AI agent makes the purchasing decision.

Bel Lloyd highlighted problems caused by fragmented customer information. A loyalty programme may recognise a customer through their membership ID without understanding their wider relationship with the brand. Billy Loizou also noted that fragmented data can lead businesses to spend money acquiring customers they already have.

James Roth sees loyalty teams playing a broader role in developing customer understanding. Their involvement in data, marketing, engagement and branding positions them to help improve information used across organisations. Membership numbers alone may not show whether a programme delivers meaningful value.

Loyalty Technology Is Becoming More Connected

Loyalty technology is becoming more interconnected as specialist platforms combine customer data, engagement, offers and personalisation.

Billy Loizou described how these systems can work together across different technology platforms. Loyalty now extends beyond marketing teams and dedicated programmes. It also involves commerce, customer experience, fraud prevention and AI.

Interoperability can help businesses adapt their technology as customer expectations change. Flexible systems allow organisations to connect different capabilities without relying on a single platform.

The Human Connection Remains the Differentiator

Despite advances in AI and customer data technology, industry experts continue to emphasise the importance of human relationships.

Customers increasingly expect businesses to provide relevant experiences in exchange for their personal information. This relationship depends on consent, trust and a fair exchange of value. Benefits may include personalisation, recognition, relevant offers, or improved experiences.

The future of customer loyalty will depend on how businesses use technology to deliver experiences customers value. AI and agentic commerce may support these efforts, but technology adoption alone does not guarantee stronger relationships.

Simplicity also remains important. Loyalty programmes need to be understandable to businesses and customers, even as the technology supporting them becomes more complex.

About Eagle Eye

Eagle Eye is an AI-powered loyalty and promotions platform serving retailers, grocers, hospitality and travel brands. The company says its platform combines loyalty and promotions technology with AI-powered personalisation to support customer engagement.

Its customers include Loblaws, Giant Eagle, Wakefern, Asda, Tesco, Morrisons, JD Sports, E.Leclerc, Carrefour and the Woolworths Group. According to Eagle Eye, its platform executes more than 1.7 billion personalised offers weekly and manages over 750 million loyalty member wallets worldwide.

Visit eagleeye.com to learn more.