Do Customers Behave Differently After Joining a Paid Loyalty Program? Evidence from a Longitudinal Within-Customer Analysis in Czech E-Commerce

Abstract

Purpose – While traditional loyalty programs are well-established in marketing, paid loyalty programs are gaining prominence across global e-commerce markets. This raises the question of whether paying members of such programs exhibit distinct purchasing patterns compared to their pre-enrolment behavior.

Design/Methodology/Approach – The present study addresses that research gap by conducting a quantitative analysis of 21,805 unique customers of a leading Czech e-commerce retailer. Using paired t-tests, five behavioral hypotheses were tested across four sample variants.

Findings and Implications – Results indicated that customers’ transaction frequency increased post-enrolment in a paid loyalty program compared to pre-enrolment, alongside a higher volume of items purchased. Contrary to expectations, members do not appear to systematically fragment their purchases and these behavioral changes are not reflected in their overall expenditure.

Limitations – This study is limited by its focus on a single e-commerce company in the Czech Republic within one industry. The use of secondary consumer data provided no control over the sampling process. The nature of the data excludes the identification of former members due to privacy laws in Europe.

Originality – The findings provide empirical support for paid loyalty programs and their effectiveness in enhancing behavioral loyalty and customer value by comparing members’ behavior pre- and post-enrolment, rather than merely comparing members with non-members. This study offers practical insights for marketing practitioners when evaluating the design of their loyalty programs and determining the feasibility of a fee-based membership.