The Rise of Brand Memberships and the Future of Customer Loyalty

📍London, UK

Brand memberships are having a moment in retail, and it is not a passing one. Across fashion, beauty, grocery, and home, brands are moving beyond traditional loyalty programs built on points and discounts and instead creating paid or value-based memberships that promise access, belonging, and emotional connection. Consumers are no longer just looking for savings. They want to feel part of something, whether that is a community, a lifestyle, or a shared set of values. Paying to belong changes the relationship between brand and customer, shifting it from transactional to intentional.

The key difference between loyalty and membership is depth. Loyalty programs tend to reward spend after the fact, while memberships ask customers to opt in upfront, sometimes financially, sometimes through engagement. That small act of commitment fundamentally changes behavior. Members shop more frequently, default to the brand first, and are more open to new products, services, and experiences. This is why brands like Costco, RH, and a growing number of emerging labels have built business models where the membership itself sits at the center, not at the edges.