How to win Gen Z Loyalty: Fast Food Rewards vs Supermarket Prices

Ask any 16-24 year-old in the UK whether they’d rather save money or feel rewarded, and you’ll get a split answer. According to our PION100 data, young consumers are running two completely different value calculations at one: chasing low prices at the supermarkets, and chasing guilty pleasures at the fast food chains. 

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Both are working. Neither is winning outright. The difference in how each sector earns loyalty says a lot about where Gen Z’s food spend is actually going. 

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Two sectors, two very different scores

The gap starts with how much these categories are loved in the first place. Food and Drink ranks #2 overall in the PION100 love-to-spend rankings, which means 59% of Gen Zers “love to spend” on this category.  That’s nearly double the 32% score Everyday Essentials manages at #6. 

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Groceries might be where the weekly budget goes, but fast food is where the emotional attachment is. 

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So, what does it take to be a top Gen Z brand in these categories?

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The Rewards Edge: Fast Food Wins on Loyalty and Excitement

Greggs is #1 of all Pion 100 UK brands, 92%. Greggs wins less on price than on being a genuine cultural fixture, the kind of brand that’s on nearly every high street and works just as well for a sausage roll as a vegan lunch. 

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Greggs Rewards backs that up with mechanics built for a generation on their phone. Instead of point-per-pound, it’s buy-a-set-number-get-the-next-free, and plus a free drink just for signing up. 

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McDonalds is #7 with a 88% score. MyMcDonald’s Rewards runs a more traditional point model, with a one point per penny spent, redeemable for food or donated to charity. The rewards lean hard into gamification and frequent app-only drops that keep the app open even between orders. 

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Subway is #9, with a 85% score. Subway Rewards recently ditched a tiered points system for a flat 10% back in Subway Cash. which strips out the kind of complexity that a demographic with no patience for loyalty-tier maths tends to abandon. 

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The common thread: none of these three are the cheapest option in their category. They win by being quick to access, easy to stay loyal to, and unmistakably themselves. 

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The Price Edge: Supermarkets Win on Everyday Reassurance

Supermarkets play a different game entirely. One built less on emotional pull and more on making sure nobody feels like they’re wasting money. 

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Sainsbury’s is #1 of Everyday Essentials, with a 84% score. Nectar does more than bank points. For 16-24 year-olds on tight budgets, it creates a sense of value that outlasts the transaction. Younger shoppers increasingly time purchases around when they’ll earn the most points or land the best deal. Sainsbury’s also tiers its offer, pairing Taste the Difference for occasional treats with own-brand essentials. 

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Tesco is #2, with a 80% score. As Britain’s biggest grocer, Clubcard does much the same reassurance work as Nectar, at an even bigger scale. 

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Lidl is #3, with a 78% score. Lidl wins with no points scheme at all. Proof that straightforward, visibility low prices can still earn real loyalty, even against competitors gamifying the experience. 

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The pattern here is fixed pricing, price-matching, and tiered ranges. All of these are designed to remove doubt, not create excitement. 

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What Does This Tell Us About Gen Z’s Food Spend?

Put side by side, the two sectors aren’t competing for the same job. Fast food earns frequency. Young consumers come back because the brand feels like theirs, and the reward is part of the fun. Supermarkets earn trust. The reward is knowing the money wasn’t wasted. That’s why Food and Drink can score nearly double Everyday Essentials on love-to-spend while supermarkets still win the “better value” argument on paper. 

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Gen Z isn’t picking a side. They’re running both calculations every week, and the brands winning are the ones that understand exactly which one they’re being judged on. 

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Want to build a rewards strategy young consumers actually stick with? Get in touch with Pion to see how your loyalty programme stacks up against the brands Gen Z can’t stop talking about.

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