Data-driven discounting: How to personalise promotions and build loyalty

Sales promotions are a key element in the retail marketing mix, whether you are an ecommerce operator or a bricks-and-mortar store.

They can include a discount on the purchase price offered to customers, but this is not always the case. Value can also be added via multi-buys and bundles, coupons to redeem against future purchases, on-pack competitions and more.

In this article, we will look at the power of personalisation, which is helping brands and retailers to delight customers and encourage long-term loyalty, especially in this emerging age of AI-enabled data-driven promotions.

A brief introduction to sales promotions

First, let’s answer some FAQs about sales promotions, before we dive into how data is transforming the way campaigns are planned and delivered on a personal level.

What are sales promotions?

“An activity or series of activities done to increase sales of a particular product, for example by reducing its price or advertising it.”

– Cambridge Dictionary[1]

Why offer sales promotions?

Sales promotions can serve multiple purposes, including:

A promotion can be offered by a brand to increase sales, by a retailer to increase footfall, or as a partnership between both for mutual benefit.

What are the main types of sales promotions?

Some common examples of promotional marketing include:[2]

At MRM we offer a range of promotions and coupon services including on-pack promotions, prize draws and digital coupons, to help our clients craft campaigns that deliver maximum return on investment.

Crucially, we enable you to collect detailed customer data via our Lodestone platform, which runs across all of your sales promotions to provide you with insights that enable per-customer personalisation and encourage long-lasting loyalty.

Go beyond price drops

Customer loyalty is a way to multiply the ROI you receive from a sales promotion. Instead of encouraging a single purchase at a lower price, you establish a pattern of behaviour that brings in repeat revenues.

A simple example of this is money-off coupons, which reward customers for buying your product twice. But platforms like Lodestone allow you to go much further, using customer data to develop novel loyalty strategies and explore personalisation at the individual level.

Shoppers look to loyalty schemes to save money

UK consumers now actually value loyalty schemes more than other methods to save money on their essential shopping.

In November 2025, Barclays’ UK Consumer Spending Report[3] found that nearly two thirds (64%) of consumers were looking to reduce the cost, or increase the value, of their weekly shop.

Most of those people said they used loyalty schemes to achieve this. Barclays said: “At 58%, this was a more popular method than buying discounted products, stockpiling, and opting for a big weekly shop rather than doing several smaller shops throughout the week.”[4]

Consumers want perks beyond discounts

It’s not all about saving money. Over three quarters (76%) of UK consumers want loyalty schemes to offer perks other than price discounts.[5]

Personalised perks are one way to do this, by maximising the perceived value of offers using insights gained from customers’ past behaviour.

“It is important that retailers align their benefits closely with customers’ interests and ensure the process of earning rewards is streamlined across channels.”

– Sam Nguyen, Senior Retail Analyst, Mintel[6]

The AI-enabled deep-data revolution

Artificial intelligence is helping retailers to gain an edge in a crowded marketplace, as 82% of retail executives believe AI gives a competitive advantage over competitors who do not use it.[7]

This is driving retail businesses to invest heavily in AI. Nearly three quarters (73%) said their companies will spend 10-20% of their total budget on AI in the coming year.[8]

“64% of consumer and retail CEOs say AI is a top investment priority for their business and 68% expect to see a return on their investment within 1-3 years.”

– KPMG, February 2026[9]

Beyond the AI pilot stage

As AI platforms become more established, businesses in the retail space are moving past the initial pilot stage of adoption, allowing them to focus more on maximising ROI.[10]

In a 2025 survey, Adobe for Business found that more than three fifths of senior executives (61%) expected to drive growth by using personalised experiences to boost customer engagement.

An even higher 65% said they anticipated growth from “leveraging AI and predictive analytics to increase customer retention and loyalty”.[11]

Does AI improve customer loyalty?

Yes. In the Adobe for Business survey, 98% of respondents saw some benefit from AI-driven personalisation to improve customer experience and engagement. Nearly half (48%) reported a significant benefit from their use of AI.

Meanwhile, 97% saw a benefit from using AI-driven insights to enhance their decision-making, including 49% for whom the benefits were significant.

These are impressive figures and demonstrate the value of AI insights to guide strategy, and to deliver better customer loyalty and satisfaction.

Do shoppers want AI personalisation?

Research shows that consumers DO want retailers to use AI to improve their shopping experience, to make shopping more immersive, and to offer a more personalised buying journey.

American Express found that among Gen Z shoppers (aged under 30 in 2026) there is significant desire for AI-driven personalisation in retail spaces:[12]

This is especially important for bricks-and-mortar retailers, where 65% of Gen Z consumers expect more from every high-street visit than they can get by buying online.

In the same survey, 59% said a shopping trip is a ‘day out’ for them and nearly four fifths (79%) said they want better options for food, drink and leisure from physical retail spaces.

How to give your customers what they want

AI and individual-level insights based on solid customer data are tools to give consumers what they are looking for in a climate of cost-conscious shopping. Brits are looking for value in all its forms – and retailers, both physical and online, can benefit from offering that value.

“Technology, particularly agentic AI, gives retailers a way to tackle both sides of the challenge we’re facing – low, uneven growth and rising costs. It can help operating costs across the business and speed up how they plan, buy and move product, while also reshaping discovery and service for customers.”

– Jacqueline Windsor, UK Head of Retail and Strategy & Partner, PwC UK[13]

To find out how Lodestone can help you bring promotional ideas to life and connect with your most loyal customers on a personal level, contact MRM today.