South Africa, April 14 -- Brands are doubling down on loyalty while consumers are switching more than ever, and the maths suggests they are solving the wrong problem.

South African brands are infatuated with loyalty programmes, built on a simple narrative that they increase retention, build loyalty and drive long term growth.

Yet the latest Truth and BrandMapp Loyalty Whitepaper shows something different, with usage reaching 82% of economically active consumers and South Africans juggling an average of 10.3 programmes.

At the same time, brand allegiance is weakening and consumers are switching more, not less. The industry's response is more loyalty, even as decades of empirical evidence point in another direction.

The myth that built ...