Feeling Superior: The Impact of Loyalty Program Structure on Consumers’ Perceptions of Status

We study status as it pertains to loyalty programs, investigating the impact of the number and size of tiers on consumers’ perceptions of status. We find that increasing the number of elites in the top tier dilutes perceptions of status, while adding a subordinate tier enhances status. Tiers below t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of consumer research 2009-04, Vol.35 (6), p.890-905
Main Authors: Drèze, Xavier, Nunes, Joseph C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bronzes
Business surveys
College students
Customer loyalty programs
Customers
Hotel chains
Loyalty programs
Platinum
Regression analysis
School surveys
Silver
Social comparison
Status
Studies
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We study status as it pertains to loyalty programs, investigating the impact of the number and size of tiers on consumers’ perceptions of status. We find that increasing the number of elites in the top tier dilutes perceptions of status, while adding a subordinate tier enhances status. Tiers below the second tier do not affect those at the top but can make those in the tier immediately above feel more elite. Given the choice between alternative programs, those who do not qualify for status prefer hierarchies with multiple tiers. Finally, we show that status‐laden labels (gold and silver) on their own signal an increasingly selective hierarchy.
ISSN:0093-5301
1537-5277
DOI:10.1086/593946