Why Loyalty Is Becoming Big Business in the UAE

Loyalty programmes were once one of retail’s simplest ideas: spend, collect points, eventually get something back. The mechanics were easy to explain and often just as easy to ignore. In the UAE, however, loyalty is becoming a far more strategic business. The most ambitious programmes are no longer confined to one brand or one type of reward; they are turning into ecosystems that connect retail, mobility, banking, hospitality and everyday spending.

The market data reflects that change. Research & Markets estimates UAE loyalty spending at US$432.3 million in 2026, with a forecast of about US$733.8 million by 2030. A market growing at that pace attracts investment not because companies have suddenly become more generous, but because loyalty can influence economics that matter: how often a customer returns, how much they spend, how long they stay and how much a business knows about the relationship.

Loyalty is moving from marketing tactic to operating system

The most sophisticated programmes now sit closer to a company’s core commercial strategy. They connect transactions over time, reveal patterns in customer behaviour and create a direct channel for targeted offers. A supermarket can identify a lapsed shopper. A fuel retailer can reward a higher-value visit. A bank can combine card usage with partner benefits. A subscription can turn discounts into a recurring reason to stay inside an ecosystem.

This explains why loyalty budgets are increasingly judged against measurable behaviour rather than simple enrolment. ADNOC Distribution, for example, said in 2025 that members of ADNOC Rewards spent about 20 per cent more per visit than non-members. That figure belongs to one programme and should not be generalised across the whole industry, but it illustrates the commercial logic: a reward is valuable to a company when it changes behaviour enough to justify its cost.

The UAE is becoming a market of connected programmes

Perhaps the clearest sign of maturity is the rise of partnerships between large loyalty ecosystems. In September 2025, ADNOC Distribution and Landmark Group connected ADNOC Rewards with Shukran, enabling members to convert points between the two programmes. At the time, ADNOC Rewards had more than 2.5 million members and Shukran had about 7 million members in the UAE.

That partnership is important because it changes the meaning of a reward currency. Points earned through one part of a consumer’s life can become useful somewhere else. The programme stops behaving like a closed store of value and starts behaving more like a network.

For customers, this is attractive because it increases optionality. For businesses, it opens access to other ecosystems without forcing each company to build every benefit itself. A mobility programme does not need to become a fashion retailer; it can connect to one.

Growth creates a new problem: too much to manage

The paradox is that a richer loyalty market can become harder for consumers to navigate. A customer may hold airline miles, bank rewards, retail points, a dining membership, employee benefits and several gift cards simultaneously. Each has different rules, expiry policies and redemption journeys.

That fragmentation creates an opportunity alongside the growth of loyalty itself. Consumers may not need another programme as much as they need a clearer view of the programmes they already belong to.

This is where a product such as Rewaly can occupy a different position. It does not need to replace a retailer’s own loyalty app or claim authority over every balance. It can become a personal layer above those systems — helping users remember what they have, where it can be used and which benefits are relevant at a particular moment.

As loyalty becomes big business in the UAE, the competition will not only be about who offers the most points. It will increasingly be about who makes reward value easiest to understand and use.

Sources: UAE Loyalty Market — Research & Markets; ADNOC Rewards and Shukran partnership