Retail membership clubs like Amazon Prime, Walmart+, and Costco are reshaping how people shop, belong, and engage across channels, according to new research from Medill’s Spiegel Research Center using 2024 Prosper MBI data. Their findings on multi‑club membership, demographics, happiness, and streaming behavior offer a fresh playbook for how shopping centers can design smarter, more connected loyalty ecosystems—not just more apps.

Retail members are often in three or more clubs, skew married, millennial, higher‑income, and deeply motivated by emotional and social needs—not just discounts. They report higher happiness and generate stronger Net Promoter Scores, meaning membership experiences translate into measurable advocacy. For shopping centers, that’s a signal: loyalty has shifted from single‑brand punch cards to networked memberships that bundle retail, services, and content.

At CommunityRewards, we help centers operationalize this insight by turning their properties into loyalty “hubs” that connect tenants, events, and offers into one coordinated membership experience instead of fragmented store‑by‑store efforts. By aligning with the same emotional drivers powering retail clubs—belonging, convenience, and status—shopping centers can lift visit frequency, broaden cross‑shop behavior, and give brands richer, property‑level data to act on.

“Membership isn’t just a card—it’s a signal that a shopper wants a relationship. Our job is to help centers design loyalty that actually deserves it.”

Read Full Spiegel Membership Study

Joni Ekovich, Chief Marketing Officer
jonie@points4purpose.com
Points4Purpose