Loyalty is following the shopper into quick commerce

Over the years, retailers have worked hard to bring customers into their owned ecosystems.

Download the app. Join the loyalty program. Shop directly. Identify yourself every time you transact.

But as more shopping takes place on marketplaces and quick commerce platforms, retailers face a dilemma: what happens to loyalty when the customer chooses to shop through a channel the retailer doesn’t own?

Increasingly, the answer seems to be: loyalty needs to follow the shopper.

And as AI agents begin shopping on our behalf, that could become even more important.

Petbarn was the first retailer to integrate its loyalty program with Uber Eats in Australia in 2025, allowing Friends for Life members to access Petbarn member pricing through the platform.

Dan Murphy’s has since become another early mover, and is an interesting example because loyalty is already deeply embedded in the retailer’s proposition. My Dan’s has more than 5 million members and an 83% scan rate.

In late 2025, Dan Murphy’s extended My Dan's into Uber Eats, becoming the platform’s second retailer loyalty integration in Australia and its first liquor loyalty integration globally. Members could link their account and access member pricing, with more than 200 member-exclusive offers available at launch.

It was a logical move for a key retailer in the category.

Many alcohol purchases are occasion and time driven. You’re having friends over, you’ve run out of something, or plans change. In those moments, rapid delivery becomes a natural extension of the Dan Murphy’s proposition.

But with an 83% loyalty scan rate, moving a transaction onto a third-party platform potentially turns a highly identifiable and engaged customer into a less connected one. Linking My Dan’s provides a bridge between the convenience of the marketplace and the customer relationship Dan Murphy’s has built.

It also means customers don’t have to choose between speed and member value. They can access the convenience of rapid delivery while retaining one of the core benefits they associate with shopping at Dan Murphy’s.

Costco is doing something similar with DoorDash. Shoppers don’t need to be Costco members to order Costco products through DoorDash, but Costco members can link their membership to access lower member pricing within the platform.

These retailers aren't simply using quick commerce platforms as another fulfilment channel. They are allowing a core part of their membership proposition and experience to travel with the customer into a third-party ecosystem.

Sainsbury’s is increasingly connecting its Nectar loyalty ecosystem with Uber.

In April, Nectar introduced the ability for members to convert Nectar points into Uber vouchers that can be used across Uber and Uber Eats.

Then in July, customers gained the ability to link their Nectar account and earn points on eligible Sainsbury’s purchases through Uber Eats.

That starts to look less like a delivery partnership and more like an interconnected omni-channel ecosystem.

And Tesco is following a similar path, announcing in July that it would launch on Uber Eats in August, followed by Deliveroo later this year. Shoppers using the platforms will be able to access a range of Clubcard Prices and earn Clubcard points.

That means Tesco is taking one of its most important customer propositions and making it available to customers via quick commerce marketplaces as well.

For retailers, integrating loyalty is a significant step.

Owned eCommerce has traditionally given retailers a rich, known view of who is shopping and how their behaviour changes over time. Third-party marketplaces disrupt that. Revenue still lands with the retailer, but the customer experience and much of the behavioural data sit with the platform instead.

Loyalty integration bridges that gap. When a shopper identifies through their loyalty membership on a third-party platform, the retailer can reconnect that activity to a known customer, and shoppers no longer have to trade away member pricing and points for the convenience of quick commerce.

Integrating loyalty into Uber Eats, DoorDash or Deliveroo is not without tension.

Retailers have spent years building direct relationships through apps, websites and loyalty programs. Extending those benefits to third-party platforms risks shifting habitual behaviour from the retailer to the marketplace and adds a further cost line to baskets that already carry delivery fees and platform commission.

But the alternative may be worse. Withholding loyalty benefits keeps customers less connected to the brand and misses a chance to reach younger shoppers that quick commerce attracts more readily than retailers' own apps and stores.

Tesco's approach is telling. By extending Clubcard into both Uber Eats and Deliveroo, the strategy seems less about dictating where customers shop and more about remaining relevant wherever they choose to shop.

This gets even more interesting when the person choosing the channel is no longer the shopper... or the shopper choosing the channel is no longer a person.

Imagine asking an AI assistant: "Restock the household essentials we normally buy, get them delivered tonight and keep the total under $100."

The agent may need to choose between the retailer’s website, Uber Eats, DoorDash or another marketplace based on price, availability, delivery time and convenience.

But there is another input it will increasingly understand: loyalty.

If I'm a Costco member, the agent needs to know that linking my membership may unlock a lower price on DoorDash.

If I'm a My Dan’s member, it should recognise the member pricing and offers available when deciding where to purchase.

If I have Clubcard, it should understand the Clubcard Prices available to me.

If I have accumulated loyalty points or rewards, eventually I may expect my agent to understand their value and decide whether they should be used.

And suddenly loyalty interoperability becomes much more than a convenience feature.

It becomes part of the core criteria an AI agent uses to decide who to transact with on the shopper's behalf.

We have traditionally thought about loyalty programs as something tied to a single channel: customers enter a retailer's ecosystem, deepen their relationship through loyalty and receive benefits for their continued custom.

But commerce is becoming increasingly distributed. A customer might discover a product through social, purchase through Uber Eats, replenish through a retailer app and eventually ask an AI assistant to shop for them.

The retailer will not necessarily own every interface. What it can own and is distinctly theirs is the anchor that keeps the customer connected back to them, wherever they transact. Loyalty becomes that anchor, connecting the experience, affording member pricing and delivering value across channels, and enabling the retailer to keep the distributed shopper engaged over time.

For retailers and brands, there are a few implications:

Petbarn, Dan Murphy's, Costco, Sainsbury's and Tesco are early examples of what that future could look like.

The next era of commerce may be less about pulling customers back to an owned destination, and more about securing the sale in the environments we don’t control – with loyalty playing a vital role in enabling that.

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I’m an advisor, trainer and thought leader with 25+ years’ experience across digital, marketing, loyalty and commerce, working with consumer, FMCG and retail brands. I’m also the host of Unpacking the Digital Shelf – APAC Edition and have been recognised as a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert (2026), and Top 20 CMO (2018).

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