The Rise of Pop-Up Loyalty and the Slow Death of Customer Monogamy
Here’s something that’s quietly shifting under our feet, and barely anyone’s flagging it. Loyalty is getting flighty. Not loyalty points. Real loyalty. The emotional kind. The kind that used to tie customers to a brand with a nod of respect, a sprinkle of routine, and maybe an inside joke or two.
I blame digital punch cards. The new breed of loyalty mechanics is fast, reactive, and surprisingly effective. I spent two weeks obsessed with them. Not the supermarket apps—we said no supermarkets. I’m talking about the weird verticals. Barber shops in Christchurch with AR scratchies. A ramen pop-up in Wellington offering ‘loyalty NFTs’ that unlock secret menu items, which is both ridiculous and effective. And a surfboard brand on the West Coast that only grants private sales to followers on their close friends Instagram list. It’s all very hush-hush, and that’s exactly why people are into it.
Think about it. In a world obsessed with scale, these micro-loyalty drops are doing the opposite. They’re weaponising smallness. Making loyalty feel like a secret club, not a spreadsheet. The playbook’s flipping. Brands used to push for broad reach, permanent sign-ins, and points that expire next summer. Now, they’re catching attention with fleeting offers, disappearing perks, and access that vanishes if you hesitate. If that sounds manipulative, welcome to every theme park since 1955.
Here’s my takeaway. Brands can no longer assume customers want to commit. They want to flirt. Swipe right today, ghost tomorrow. Loyalty, in 2025, is more like dating than marriage. And the best marketers are adjusting accordingly. Not chasing lifetime value, but short-term delight that might just spark something real. Or at least DM-worthy.
I blame digital punch cards. The new breed of loyalty mechanics is fast, reactive, and surprisingly effective. I spent two weeks obsessed with them. Not the supermarket apps—we said no supermarkets. I’m talking about the weird verticals. Barber shops in Christchurch with AR scratchies. A ramen pop-up in Wellington offering ‘loyalty NFTs’ that unlock secret menu items, which is both ridiculous and effective. And a surfboard brand on the West Coast that only grants private sales to followers on their close friends Instagram list. It’s all very hush-hush, and that’s exactly why people are into it.
Think about it. In a world obsessed with scale, these micro-loyalty drops are doing the opposite. They’re weaponising smallness. Making loyalty feel like a secret club, not a spreadsheet. The playbook’s flipping. Brands used to push for broad reach, permanent sign-ins, and points that expire next summer. Now, they’re catching attention with fleeting offers, disappearing perks, and access that vanishes if you hesitate. If that sounds manipulative, welcome to every theme park since 1955.
Here’s my takeaway. Brands can no longer assume customers want to commit. They want to flirt. Swipe right today, ghost tomorrow. Loyalty, in 2025, is more like dating than marriage. And the best marketers are adjusting accordingly. Not chasing lifetime value, but short-term delight that might just spark something real. Or at least DM-worthy.