INCENTIVIZE Summit 2026: 5 takeaways from the future of loyalty and promotions

On the main stage, we heard from brands including HUGO BOSS, KFC Spain, TUI, Costa Coffee, Footasylum, lastminute.com, Rakuten and Estée Lauder. Our Learning Labs took the conversation from strategy to practice, and the day closed with our inaugural INCENTIVIZE Awards. It was also our first INCENTIVIZE as part of Adyen, giving us the opportunity to explore incentives through the combined lens of payments and loyalty.

Across a full day of sessions, five ideas kept coming back. Here is what we are taking home from London.

The next chapter of loyalty is likely to be decided at checkout, where a large share of shoppers still pay anonymously and the relationship ends just as it could begin. The problem is clear: most programs ask customers to do the work by opening the app, finding the QR code, and digging out the card. Every extra step loses someone your business would love to know.

In their opening fireside chat, Talon.One CEO Christoph Gerber and Adyen CEO Ingo Uytdehaage shared their vision for bringing loyalty and payments closer together. When a returning customer is recognized at checkout, with their consent, a brand can connect the purchase to relevant loyalty context and make a more considered decision about the incentive. Instead of defaulting to a blanket discount, it can weigh what the customer values against conversion, margin and long-term loyalty.

Created exclusively for our customers and community, our “Stores of the Future” activation brought this vision to life in partnership with Joe & The Juice and H&M. Across two simulated store experiences, attendees got a first look at what the future of payment-linked loyalty could hold: earning points and receiving a return offer at Joe & The Juice, or viewing member prices and rewards at H&M. No app to open or loyalty card to find, just an exclusive sneak peek at what's next for connected customer experiences. ⁠

When loyalty is infrastructure, the whole business owns it, funds it and measures it like a growth engine.

The strongest programs showcased at INCENTIVIZE are run as core business systems. HUGO BOSS built its four-tier program in seven months on a composable, API-first setup, with one global template that markets adapt locally. KFC Spain went omnichannel from day one and passed 1.3 million members in five months. At Costa Coffee, club metrics sit on every team’s scorecard, finance included.

Brands need to win hearts and wallets at the same time, but the easiest route is often a discount. In a joint keynote with WPP Enterprise Solutions, Talon.One’s Sam Panzer and WPP’s Celine Deleuran Kristensen explored a more creative approach.

The stakes are high: across many industries, roughly 20% of revenue is discounted away. Repeated blanket discounts can also train customers to wait for the next offer, eroding margins and brand perception over time. ⁠

⁠The session shared research from 1,800 consumers across six markets. While shoppers valued guaranteed savings, the structure of an offer mattered: “second pair 50% off” scored more than twice as highly as “15% off.” Gamified offers, meanwhile, stood out for being unique, exciting and memorable, qualities that can build brand salience over time. ⁠

⁠Sam and Celine introduced the eight Creative Currencies, a behavioral science-based framework for expanding what value can mean beyond price. From game mechanics to cultural moments, they help marketers design promotions that motivate customers in more meaningful ways. ⁠

⁠The takeaway: great promotions don’t just drive a sale. They change customer behavior, create memorable experiences and build brand value - without relying on ever-deeper discounts.

Machines shortlist on facts, so the pull that makes a customer ask for you by name has to be built long before checkout. What we can measure is not always what matters most, and the brands that remember both will win.

First, make your benefits readable. A loyalty program only protects your brand if agents can see what it offers. Second, get your data in order. Product, pricing, promotion and loyalty information needs to be consistent across channels, because agents act on whatever they can find. Teams are already starting to bring AI into their daily work with incentives, for example by reading campaign performance straight from their AI tools through the Talon.One MCP server.

In their session, TUI’s Head of Loyalty, Alex Swift, and Loyalty Technology Owner, Colin Thomas, shared how they launched a global loyalty program at startup speed, and the lessons apply well beyond travel. The strongest loyalty programs start with executive backing, a fixed launch date and a small core team that’s empowered to make decisions.Business and technology leads work side by side from day one, so everyone understands which choices have been made, and why. And as programs grow, so does the number of teams involved. That’s when the discipline to stay aligned matters more than any single tool.

Alex and Colin emphasized that trust is built by showing, not telling. Teams run new systems alongside old ones so business users could see them working before go-live. They launch in small steps, learn from what went wrong and scale once they were confident. Pace is a choice, and the best teams choose to move fast while looking after their people.

Through the presentations, the demos, and the conversations, INCENTIVIZE Summit celebrated our customers and the incredible work they’re building on Talon.One. The day ended on a high note as we unveiled the first INCENTIVIZE Awards winners: Five standout stars recognized for their innovative campaigns, disciplined ROI, leading programs and customer experiences, and early-career accomplishments. Congratulations to this year’s winners:

Want to know what made each of them stand out? Read the full winners story here.

If you want to turn your incentives strategy into a growth infrastructure for your business, reach out to our team and let’s talk about what that could look like for you.