SAP launches loyalty management solution to strengthen retailer-customer relationships

Announced at Retail’s Big Show, the flagship industry event hosted by the National Retail Federation, SAP announced a new loyalty management solution aimed at retailers and consumer packaged goods companies, which is due to be released H2 of 2025.

This news follows SAP’s recent announcement which saw the giant unveil the general availability of the SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, retail, fashion, and vertical business solution, with promising supply chain capabilities for retailers.

According to research from SAP Emarsys, five in six (83%) consumers in the UK feel undervalued by the brands they remain loyal to, with many questioning their loyalty altogether. SAP’s new solution aims to equip retailers with experiential journeys and personalized, real-time offers to help earn customer loyalty through integration with the SAP Commerce Cloud, SAP Service Cloud, SAP Emarsys and SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, retail, fashion and vertical business solutions. 

Key features of the new solution include: 

• Loyalty profiles that connect shoppers with a cloud-based wallet, facilitating targeted and personalized offers, entitlements and real-time basket analysis.
• Multi-brand loyalty management, as well as shared loyalty programs with partners that centralize loyalty programs across regions and markets, which enable combined brand programs for gaining market share. 
• A single place for omnichannel promotion planning with real-time redemption to deliver any type of offer, digital payment and gifting to all customers on any channel. 
• Loyalty journey planning that delivers experiential omnichannel journeys tailored to customer needs through personalized commerce, marketing, service and retail interactions. 
• Quantifiable metrics that track promotion performance and loyalty-related liabilities, linking to financial systems to measure ROI and enable settlements with the member and partner brands. 

In addition to this announcement, SAP has also announced the general availability of an AI shopping assistance in the first half of 2025. This AI assistance, delivered in conjunction with the SAP CX AI Toolkit, expands the existing AI capabilities of SAP Commerce Cloud, elevating the online shopping experience through natural language conversations that help customers find what they need. 

This news follows other retail announcements in the industry where Google Cloud announced a series of advancements that aim to utilize AI to help retailers transform businesses and enhance the customer experience. Following on from Google Cloud, Salesforce recently announced two AI-powered innovations for retailers: Agentforce for Retail and Retail Cloud with Modern POS, designed to drive sales and boost productivity, all while delivering a more personalized shopping experience. 

What does this mean for SAP insiders? 

This SAP announcement offers several key benefits to users, especially in the retail and consumer packaged goods sectors:

1. Enhanced Customer Loyalty: By providing tools for personalized, real-time offers and experiences, users can foster deeper customer loyalty and engagement. The integration with SAP solutions ensures that these offerings are aligned across multiple touchpoints and channels, strengthening the overall customer experience.
2. Streamlined Loyalty Management: The multi-brand and omnichannel loyalty management capabilities allow businesses to manage loyalty programs more effectively across regions and partners. This centralization simplifies the process and enhances operational efficiency, helping users maintain a unified strategy for customer retention.
3. Real-Time Data & Insights: The inclusion of real-time basket analysis, loyalty profile tracking, and promotion performance metrics allows users to quickly assess the effectiveness of their loyalty strategies. This data-driven approach helps optimize offers, promotions, and campaigns, directly impacting ROI and improving decision-making.
4. Omnichannel Flexibility: The solution allows users to deliver promotions, digital payments, and gifting seamlessly across various customer touchpoints, both online and offline. This flexibility ensures a smooth and consistent experience for customers, regardless of how they interact with the brand.
5. Comprehensive Integration: With integration across SAP’s ecosystem (Commerce Cloud, Service Cloud, Emarsys, S/4HANA Cloud), users benefit from a holistic approach to customer engagement, enabling streamlined workflows and more accurate, personalized interactions with consumers.
6. AI Shopping Assistant: The upcoming AI shopping assistant will empower users to enhance the online shopping experience, offering customers a more intuitive and efficient way to find products through natural language queries. This feature helps increase customer satisfaction and drive higher conversion rates.

Overall, these innovations equip users with advanced tools to build more meaningful customer relationships, optimize loyalty programs, and enhance operational efficiency, ultimately leading to stronger business outcomes.