Permission is becoming the new loyalty currency
EY’s piece argues that consumer trust is shifting from something brands simply “earn” to something they effectively “spend.” The useful phrase here is permission: permission to be present, permission to charge, permission to act on a customer’s behalf — and, crucially, permission that can be specific, conditional and revocable.
The numbers in EY’s cited Studio+ research make the mood clear. Ninety-five percent of consumers now need evidence of value before they buy. More than two-thirds say their skepticism has grown. At the same time, slightly more than half expect to actively define their future partnership with AI.
For loyalty teams, that is not a contradiction; it is the new operating environment. People are not rejecting technology wholesale. They are rejecting vague value exchanges. They may welcome a recommendation engine, a wallet-based membership pass or an automated replenishment journey — but only when the benefit is obvious, the control feels real and the brand has not confused access with entitlement.
This is where brand NFTs need to grow up. A token cannot just be a shiny proof-of-membership object. In a permission economy, it should behave more like a clear, customer-readable contract: here is what you unlock, here is what the brand learns, here is what can change, and here is how you step back if the exchange no longer works for you.
Beauty shows what “evidence of value” looks like
Revieve’s new report on beauty consumers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland gives a more tactile example of the same shift. According to the company, the report draws on hundreds of millions of AI-powered beauty consumer interactions across its global platform, which supports personalised digital experiences, skincare diagnostics and product recommendations.
The reported direction is practical, not futuristic for its own sake. Consumers in the DACH region are said to be prioritising clinical efficacy, ingredient transparency, personalised recommendations and digital-first experiences over traditional mass-market approaches. Revieve also says trust, education and personalisation are becoming primary drivers of purchase decisions, with shoppers looking for measurable results rather than marketing promises.
That is a useful warning for membership builders outside beauty, too. If a skincare customer wants diagnostics, education and transparent recommendations, a fashion, hospitality or entertainment member is likely to ask an equivalent question in their own context: “Why this offer, why now, and why should I believe it is for me?”
Revieve’s data also complicates the lazy assumption that digital-first means youth-only. The report says nearly seven in ten skincare consumers are aged 25 and above, with Gen X described as commercially valuable because of purchasing power and long-term brand loyalty. It also notes that 22% of consumers are unable to identify their own skin type — a small detail with a big CX lesson. Sometimes the most valuable membership utility is not exclusivity; it is guidance that reduces uncertainty.
For NFT membership programs, that points to a more grounded playbook: use tokens to remember preferences, unlock tailored education, connect online and in-store service, and make the customer feel more confident — not more trapped in a funnel.
What brand teams should check now
The practical move is to audit every loyalty mechanic through a permission lens. If you ask customers to connect a wallet, share preferences, accept AI-assisted recommendations or hold a membership token, the value exchange should be visible at the moment of the ask — not buried in campaign language.
We would look especially hard at three moments in the journey. First, onboarding: does the customer understand what the membership does in plain English? Second, personalisation: are recommendations helping them choose with more confidence, or merely pushing more products? Third, ongoing access: does the token keep earning its place through benefits, education, service or community building?
EY’s broader point is that future consumers are both accelerating and tightening: open to new buying behaviours, yet more selective about which brands they let in. That is the permission economy in one sentence. For teams building tokenized loyalty, the opportunity is not to collect more access. It is to become the brand customers are comfortable granting access to — again and again, because the exchange feels fair.