Azbuka Vkusa Loyalty Program Audience Grows 7.7% to 1.5 Million

Azbuka Vkusa counted 1.5 million customers buying with its Vkusomaniya loyalty card in the first nine months of 2026 — up 7.7% year on year, the chain's press service reported.

First-time card users grew faster still, by 16.4%. New members accounted for a quarter of the program's active audience between January and September. The engine behind that growth: subscription vouchers, which customers redeem for accumulated points.

What changed in the voucher offer?

In 2026 the chain widened the voucher assortment along three lines:

• weekly coffee and beverage subscriptions;
• offers on own-production ready meals;
• offers on cosmetics from the chain's own imports.

The effect was immediate. In September, voucher users were 2.1 times more numerous than in the same month last year.

Coffee and drink vouchers led demand. Each one grants a free beverage every day over its validity period. In the third quarter, 32,000 customers used them — double the figure a year earlier.

Darina Starshinova, vice president for marketing at Azbuka Vkusa, said: the launch of weekly subscriptions helped attract new and irregular shoppers. She added that the company had also simplified the use of accumulated points, both in stores and in the mobile app.

What does this change for the chain?

Loyalty economics matter most at the frequency margin. Weekly vouchers convert occasional visitors into daily buyers of at least one item — coffee — raising store traffic (the number of shopping visits) without proportional acquisition spend. One in four active cardholders this year joined the program for the first time, so the subscriber mechanic is functioning as a recruitment channel, not just a retention tool.

The average basket (the typical spend per checkout) gets a secondary lift: a customer entering for a free drink is a proven cross-sell opportunity for the deli and own-import categories the chain is now attaching to the voucher menu.

What comes in 2027?

Azbuka Vkusa will mark its 30th anniversary in 2027, and the chain plans to present an updated Vkusomaniya program timed to the date. The redesign will place greater weight on individual shopping habits and preferences, the company said.

The trajectory is set: 7.7% audience growth, 16.4% growth in first-time users, and a 2.1x jump in voucher uptake give the relaunched program a substantially larger, more habitual base to personalize.