Loyalty is continuing to evolve and with that Consumer-packaged goods loyalty is evolving with it.   Brands are getting smarter and trying new things as they continue to learn more about their customers and what drives their loyalty.

In our first article, we focused on how CPG brands are embracing retailer-agnostic loyalty with receipt scanning, flexible brand activations where customers join programs that focus on brands they feel connected to, and utility-driven loyalty through experiences and engagement that makes customers’ lives easier. Our second article focused on how modern CPG loyalty extends far beyond transactional interactions, by rewarding product usage, building community engagement, and offering premium service and access

Today we’ll further explore our final 3 CPG trends (#7-#9) focusing on how future packaging will become a marketing tactic for loyalty, including a sustainability feature to a loyalty program that can engage customers, and how AI personalization is more important than ever.

7. Connected Packaging is Becoming an Always-On Loyalty Channel

For many CPG brands, the most underused customer touchpoint is the package itself.

We understand the issues and have heard all the objections, like priority messaging, ability to affix unique codes, costs, and retailer pushback.

One technique that is gaining popularity is the Dynamic QR code. It can turn a package into an entry point for:

• Loyalty enrollment
• Receipt submission
• Recipes and usage ideas
• Personalized offers
• Product authentication
• Ingredient and sourcing information
• Reordering
• Reviews and surveys
• Recycling instructions
• Games and digital experiences

Unlike a static QR code, a dynamic code can send consumers to different experiences over time without requiring the package to be redesigned. Brands can update campaigns, personalize destinations, test offers, and measure engagement after the product has entered the market. The move toward next-generation two-dimensional barcodes under the GS1 Sunrise 2027 initiative is making this capability increasingly relevant.

GS1 Sunrise 2027—also called Ambition 2027—is the retail industry’s transition from relying primarily on traditional one-dimensional UPC/EAN barcodes to supporting much more capable two-dimensional barcodes at the point of sale.

The package should no longer be treated as the end of the marketing journey. It can become the beginning of the post-purchase relationship.  This update is through a combination of the dynamic barcode, as well as, how the customer interacts with the brand and will personalize based on phone location and previous interactions.

8. Sustainability Works Best when Consumers can Participate

Sustainability is a big trend in loyalty. It’s one thing to read a corporate claim. But it’s a whole different level when a loyalty program lets consumers take measurable action.

Regional programs such as Nestlé Collect have rewarded consumers for returning clean, empty product packaging. Members earn points, move through tiers, receive rewards, and participate directly in the recycling process.

Nespresso also integrates recycling services into its membership experience in several markets, making responsible disposal more convenient for customers.

The strongest purpose-based loyalty mechanics can reward consumers for:

• Returning or recycling packaging
• Choosing refills
• Reducing waste
• Donating rewards
• Supporting community initiatives
• Participating in educational or health-related activities

However, the activity must be easy, transparent, and connected to a credible outcome. But…be careful and be genuine! Consumers will quickly recognize when purpose is being used as decoration rather than as a real program benefit.

9. AI Personalization Must Deliver Help, not Just More Messages

CPG companies now have more data from receipts, apps, retailer media networks, ecommerce, communities, subscriptions, and connected packaging. Artificial intelligence can use that information to select the next-best product, offer, message, recipe, reminder, or experience for each member.

The need is real: recent consumer-products research cited by SAP Engagement Cloud found that 52% of consumers considered their experiences with consumer-product brands impersonal¹. The same research emphasizes connecting physical and digital interactions into a consistent customer view.

But personalization should not simply mean sending more promotions. Effective personalization could include:

• Recommending a recipe based on products previously purchased
• Reminding a customer that a routinely used item may need replenishment
• Offering a trial of a complementary product
• Recognizing a dietary, household, pet, or beauty preference
• Adjusting rewards to the member’s actual interests
• Suppressing promotions for products the consumer recently bought
• Identifying when a customer may be drifting toward another brand

As AI shopping tools increasingly influence product discovery and comparison, brands will also need accurate, structured product information and offers that digital agents can understand. Industry research in 2026 is already highlighting the growing relationship among AI-driven personalization, retail media, first-party data, and emotional loyalty.

Bottom line: use data to reduce effort and increase relevance, not to make the customer feel watched.

There you have it. 9 trends we are seeing in CPG loyalty. So, what should CPG companies do next? First, design or redesign your loyalty program around seven principles:

1. Build for retention, not just enrollment. Acquiring a member is not the same as changing that person’s behavior.
2. Recognize purchases across retailers. Use receipt processing, retailer loyalty-card connections, ecommerce integrations, or trusted rewards partners.
3. Provide immediate value. Do not make consumers wait months before receiving a meaningful benefit.
4. Reward more than spending. Recognize product use, healthy habits, reviews, referrals, recycling, content creation, feedback, and community participation.
5. Create a reason to return between purchases. Useful content, tools, services, communities, and experiences keep the relationship active when the consumer is not shopping.
6. Personalize around needs and occasions. A customer is not merely a buyer of a SKU. The brand should understand the meal, routine, problem, household, pet, or occasion behind the purchase.
7. Prove incrementality. Measure whether the program increases verified repeat purchases, purchase frequency, category share, cross-brand adoption, retention, advocacy, and customer lifetime value – not just registrations, emails opened, or points issued.

The Future of CPG Loyalty

The best CPG loyalty programs are developing into connected relationship platforms that combine commerce, content, data, utility, service, community, and experience.

P&G demonstrates the potential of an umbrella relationship across a large brand portfolio. Kellanova shows how modular, brand-specific activations can sit on shared infrastructure. McCormick turns cooking assistance into an engagement strategy. Colgate rewards healthy routines. ARM & HAMMER builds community around pet ownership. Nestlé connects loyalty activity with omnichannel shopper insight. Nespresso combines consumption with recognition, access, service, and premium experiences.

The common thread is that none of these strategies depends on points or discounts alone.

The future of CPG loyalty is not simply about rewarding people for buying another package. It’s about earning a lasting place in their routines, households, communities, and lives.

1 SAP Emarsys, The Global Consumer Products Engagement Report: US Edition, 2025, p. 57, conducted in association with Deloitte.