# Loyalty Program Dashboards [Image] This experience acts as a home base for members after they’ve signed in. People come here to orient themselves—confirming their membership status, checking benefits, and understanding what REI recognizes about them. For the business, this space supports loyalty by reinforcing value and trust beyond any single purchase. We tested REI’s logged-in loyalty dashboard, focusing on the account overview where members can link their Co-op membership, review benefits, and access account tools. Participants were asked to imagine returning to the site and share how well they understood the page, how it made them feel, and whether it supported membership-related decisions. The test used Comprehension, Desirability, and Usefulness to reveal how clearly the page communicates, how positively it’s received, and whether it feels genuinely helpful in that moment. Account and loyalty pages often fail quietly—not because users are confused, but because they don’t feel necessary. This kind of testing surfaces whether a dashboard builds confidence, reinforces value, or fades into the background. For teams, these signals help clarify whether a loyalty experience is simply informative or actually supports long-term engagement and trust at a moment that shapes how often people come back. * * * ### **Define Goals for Your Loyalty Program Dashboards** An eCommerce loyalty dashboard should balance user needs like clarity, trust, and a sense of progress with business goals such as retention, repeat purchases, and long-term brand affinity. Users want to clearly understand what they’ve earned and how to use it. Businesses want loyalty to feel tangible, motivating, and worth coming back for. When loyalty dashboards work, rewards feel real—not abstract. **Audience:**
 This concept was tested with outdoorsy consumers and online shoppers in the United States who reviewed REI’s member rewards page. Participants were asked to interpret their rewards status, understand benefits, and share whether the experience made them feel motivated to keep shopping with the brand. **User Needs** At this point, users are checking whether loyalty is actually paying off. The experience should reinforce confidence and progress. - Rewards and benefits should feel clearly worth the effort of being a member (**valuable**). - The dashboard should clearly explain what rewards mean and how they can be used (**insightful**). - Information should be easy to scan, understand, and act on without confusion (**usable**). - Users should feel in control of their rewards and confident about next steps (**empowering**). - The numbers, balances, and benefits should feel accurate and trustworthy (**credible**). Together, these needs ensure loyalty feels earned, understandable, and motivating—rather than vague or forgotten. **Business Goals** From the business perspective, loyalty dashboards are about reinforcing commitment over time. - **Increase Customer Retention** – Give members clear reasons to stay engaged with the brand. - **Encourage Repeat Purchases** – Turn visible rewards into motivation for future shopping. - **Strengthen Brand Trust** – Reinforce credibility by clearly honoring earned benefits. - **Improve Loyalty Program Engagement** – Help members understand and actually use their rewards. - **Gain Insight Into Member Behavior** – Learn which rewards drive engagement and long-term value. When these goals are aligned, the loyalty dashboard becomes a reinforcement loop—showing customers that staying loyal delivers real, visible value while helping the business sustain long-term growth. * * * ### **Choose Metrics to Test Your Loyalty Program Details** This concept tested REI’s Loyalty Dashboard, a logged-in account experience meant to reinforce membership value and support ongoing engagement. A design stack of UX metrics was selected by mapping core user needs to observable signals in this moment. The metrics used—Comprehension, Desirability, and Usefulness—reflect how clearly the page communicates, how it makes members feel, and whether it earns a place in their routine. **Intuitive → Comprehension** In this moment, users are trying to quickly understand what this page is and what information it contains. Comprehension captures whether people can orient themselves without effort—recognizing membership status, benefits, and available actions at a glance. This metric surfaces early hesitation or clarity, which strongly shapes confidence in an account experience. **Valuable → Desirability** Users are deciding whether membership feels worth paying attention to and engaging with over time. Desirability reflects the emotional and value-based reaction to the benefits being presented, beyond simple understanding. It captures whether the page reinforces a sense that being a member matters, not just that it exists. **Useful → Usefulness** At this point, users are asking a practical question: “Does this help me?” Usefulness measures whether the dashboard feels supportive of real needs, such as managing benefits or confirming status, rather than informational filler. This metric helps distinguish between a page that looks good and one that actually supports follow-through. * * * ### **Establish Hunches to Direct Your Testing** Before running this test, the team had a few open questions about how this loyalty experience would land with returning members. These hunches helped narrow where confidence might build—or quietly break down—before seeing any data. Each one shaped a focused question designed to surface clarity, value, and momentum in this moment. **Example: REI Loyalty Dashboard**

Hunches

Questions

UX Metric

The account overview clearly presents membership information, but some users may still be unsure what actions, if any, they should take next.

How well do you understand what this page is showing?

Comprehension

The benefits and rewards content may feel positive and reassuring, but not especially motivating on its own.

What impressions does this member benefits page give you?

Desirability

Users might conceptually value the membership, but hesitate to link it if the benefit feels abstract rather than concrete.

How likely would you be to link your membership on this page?

Desirability

The dashboard structure may appear clean and organized, yet still fall short of feeling practically helpful for everyday use.

How much do you agree with the following statement: “The website is easy to use.”

Usefulness

Even if users like the page, they may question whether it truly supports their ongoing needs as members.

How much do you agree with the following statement: “The website’s features meet my needs.”

Usefulness

* * * ### **Turn Hunches into Test Questions** Turning hunches into concrete questions helps ensure uncertainty is tested, not assumed. Pairing each UX metric with a specific question type creates signals the team can clearly observe and interpret without guessing at intent. - **Comprehension (Understanding prompt)** Question type: Likert-style understanding rating
 Example:
 How well do you understand what this page is showing? This question checks whether users can quickly orient themselves and interpret the purpose of the dashboard without outside explanation. Desirability (Impression selection) [Image] - **Desirability (Impression selection)** Question type: Multiple-choice impressions
 Example:
 What impressions does this member benefits page give you?
 (Select all that apply.) This format captures emotional and value-based reactions to the loyalty experience, revealing whether benefits feel appealing or flat. [Image] - **Desirability (Likelihood prompt)** Question type: Likelihood scale
Example:
 How likely would you be to link your membership on this page? This question translates perceived value into intent, showing whether positive impressions are strong enough to support action. [Image] - **Usefulness (Agreement scale)** Question type: Likert agreement scale
Example:
 How much do you agree with the following statement:
 “The website's features meet my needs.” This prompt assesses whether the dashboard structure supports smooth, low-effort interaction in practice. [Image] * * * ### **Calculate UX Metric Scores from User Feedback** This concept tested REI’s Loyalty Dashboard, a logged-in account experience designed to help members understand their benefits and manage their relationship with the brand. Participants were asked to review the account overview and reflect on clarity, value, and usefulness in that moment. The design stack included a mix of behavioral and attitudinal metrics: Comprehension, Desirability, and Usefulness. - Very Good = 90% and above - Good = 70%–89% - Average = 50%–69% - Poor = 30%–49% - Very Poor = below 30% The overall test score was 85% (Good). At a high level, this score reflects a loyalty experience that feels clear, steady, and positive for most users, with relatively little friction or confusion in how the page is understood. **Comprehension (87% — Good):**
 Most participants quickly understood what the page was showing and how it functioned as an account and membership overview. Users were able to orient themselves without hesitation, suggesting the structure and labeling supported fast interpretation. Confidence was highest at this early, sense-making stage. **Desirability (86% — Good):**
 The benefits page created positive impressions and reinforced the idea that membership has value. Users generally felt good about what they saw and expressed openness to linking their membership. While enthusiasm was present, it was calm and practical rather than emotionally charged. **Usefulness (82% — Good):**
 Participants largely agreed that the page was easy to use and met their needs. The slightly lower score reflects a softer signal: while the dashboard works and feels supportive, some users may not see it as essential to return to often. The experience helps, but it doesn’t always demand attention. [Image] Taken together, the scores describe a loyalty dashboard that is clear, trustworthy, and well received. The main tension isn’t confusion or dislike, but whether the experience moves beyond reassurance into ongoing utility. Right now, it functions as a reliable reference point—strong at orientation and value reinforcement, quieter on momentum. Click here to check out the [raw survey data and UX metric scores for REI’s member benefits page.](https://my.helio.app/report/01KCAFCFBRM1HB8HNPBQJ7VX8G) * * * ### **Draw Signals from Your Design Stack** **1\. Focus on poorly scoring metrics** [Image] REI’s loyalty dashboard achieved an overall score of 85% (Good), with Comprehension (87%), Desirability (86%), and Usefulness (82%) all performing strongly. While no metric scored poorly, the relatively lower usefulness score compared to comprehension and desirability suggests that users understand and like the loyalty program, but may not always feel compelled to act on the information immediately. The key signal: the value of membership is clear and appealing, but opportunities to translate understanding into engagement could be stronger. **2\. Use design intuition to identify patterns across metrics** [Image] The pattern shows a loyalty experience that feels trustworthy, calm, and earned rather than promotional or pushy. Users can clearly see their benefits and balances, which builds confidence and reinforces credibility. However, the experience leans informational over motivational—users understand what they have, but may not always see a strong reason to take the next step right now. This reflects a common loyalty UX tension: clarity without urgency. **3\. Determine if user needs are being met** [Image] - Valuable: Exceeded — benefits feel worth the effort of membership. - Insightful: Exceeded — rewards and balances are clearly explained. - Usable: Met — information is scannable and easy to navigate. - Empowering: Met — users feel in control, but not strongly nudged toward action. - Credible: Exceeded — rewards feel accurate, earned, and trustworthy. Overall, the dashboard succeeds at reinforcing confidence, with room to better support decision-making and next steps. **4\. Compare outcomes to your business goals** - Increase Customer Retention: Fully achieved — clarity and credibility support long-term trust. - Encourage Repeat Purchases: Partially achieved — value is visible, but motivation to use rewards could be stronger. - Strengthen Brand Trust: Fully achieved — the experience feels honest and earned. - Improve Loyalty Program Engagement: Supported — users understand rewards, but engagement depth could increase. - Gain Insight Into Member Behavior: Supported — clear structure enables future optimization. **5\. Surface signals & establish a direction** Signals derived from the data: - Loyalty feels legitimate and earned, reinforcing long-term trust. - Clarity is the experience’s strongest asset. - The dashboard explains value well, but doesn’t always activate it. **Direction based on business context:**
 To increase engagement without sacrificing trust, next steps should include: [Image] - Highlighting immediate opportunities to use rewards (“You’re $12 away from your next reward”). - Adding contextual prompts tied to shopping behavior (“Use your dividend on camping gear this season”). - Introducing lightweight progress or milestone cues to reinforce momentum. The signal is clear: ***REI’s loyalty dashboard builds confidence through clarity and credibility—adding subtle activation cues can turn understanding into action without undermining trust.***