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Implementing Shopify Loyalty Programs: Best Practices & Tools

As we know, the ecommerce market is highly competitive. Customers can easily choose to shop with a competitor of yours if they encounter any hiccups with the shopping experience you’re delivering to them. 

Customer loyalty programs may offer the best solution for this. McKinsey research found that customers subscribed to a loyalty program are 60% more likely to spend more on the brand. 

Incorporating a loyalty program working in tandem with a subscription tool like, Upscribe can help you grow and scale your entire business to ensure that you get the sales you deserve. Let’s look at how you can leverage loyalty programs for your business. 

What is a Loyalty Program?

A loyalty program is a strategy ecommerce businesses use, that provides customers with attractive rewards and special incentives to retain their loyalty. It’s a way to encourage them to keep purchasing products from your store. Fortunately, customer satisfaction also comes from incentivizing loyalty because they can feel good about continuously doing business with you. 

When your customers are part of your loyalty program, they’ll be less likely to look at your competitors to purchase similar products. Even if they encounter issues with your store, they’ll be more patient while providing you with the valuable feedback you need to grow your business. 

Loyalty programs don’t just ensure you retain your Shopify customers, but they also help make your customers willing advocates for your brand. With more people vouching for your online store, your sales are set to bloom.

Customer Loyalty vs. Customer Retention

Before getting ahead, we should clarify that customer loyalty and retention are not the same. 

Customer retention means your customers come back to shop but aren’t committed. They’ll still be looking for alternatives and aren’t as likely to recommend your brand to others. 

Customer loyalty encourages customer retention but goes beyond just bringing customers back. It produces a unique relationship between customer and brand that ensures your customers vouch for your value.

Different Types of Ecommerce Loyalty Programs

Loyalty programs come in different forms. We’ve laid out the best ones you can include in your ecommerce business:

Point-based loyalty programs

This is the most widely known customer reward system and the most used because it’s quite simple to implement. It works by allowing customers to acquire points, either through purchasing, reviewing, or referring products, to gain benefits. The benefits can come in the form of high discounts, free products, or free shipping. The higher the points, the higher the benefits.

Tiered loyalty programs

With tiered loyalty programs, your customers can progressively reach higher levels which entail bigger and better privileges. Combining a points-based loyalty program with this one is common because it helps track how much your customers are spending. 

A tiered loyalty program encourages your customers to become active members of your brand because it requires more engagement. The most well-known ecommerce tiered loyalty program is Sephora’s Beauty Insider, which has over 17 million American members. The brand makes 80% of its sales through this program alone.

Paid loyalty programs

Your customers need to pay for this type of loyalty program, so they have to get high value for their money. You can consider this strategy once your customer base is relatively large and you’ve gained credibility. 

Paid loyalty programs are definitely something to work towards. Research from McKinsey has discovered that since COVID-19 influenced new shopping habits, customers subscribed to paid loyalty programs are 60% more likely to increase spending on the brand. This is compared to only 30% regarding free loyalty programs.  

You can gain higher brand value and revenue from paid loyalty programs because your customers will be attracted to your high-value, exclusive rewards. Your rewards could include brand events, sponsored activities, or even subscription packs that come with the first pick of new products.

Value-based loyalty programs 

This type of loyalty program helps you connect more intimately with your customers because it integrates with a cause that matters. Value-based loyalty programs include donating a portion of a customer’s purchases to a charity or a cause that aligns with their values. 

Customers don’t necessarily get the reward themselves, but they’ll have done a good deed by purchasing from your store. The fulfillment that comes from this can encourage them to be advocates of your brand because you care about the greater community. 

Value-based loyalty programs can also be integrated with a point-based program where customers can simply donate their acquired points to a cause of their choice.

Why You Should Consider a Shopify Loyalty App

It’s pretty simple: 

  • Over time, loyalty programs boost familiarity and appreciation for your product. Customer engagement is what helps boost your brand’s overall sustainability. 
  • A good loyalty program plays a huge role in retaining and acquiring customers to increase your revenue. Rare Consulting discovered that 83% of customers established that loyalty programs make them more likely to continue purchasing from a brand. 
  • Believe it or not, customers love loyalty programs. According to BigCommerce, 50% of customers say they would change their behaviour to attain a higher tier of the customer loyalty program. Ultimately, it’s a surefire way of improving the overall customer experience from pre-sale to post-sale. 
  • Using reward systems can give your customers a higher sense of satisfaction with your brand, encouraging them to keep purchasing. With that, you get a higher customer lifetime value, pushing your brand’s longevity. 

Our Top 5 Picks for Shopify Loyalty Program Apps

We’ve selected the Shopify loyalty program apps that offer the building blocks you need to implement your loyalty program. These ones are easy to use, include social sharing, and offer personalized and promotional offers.

1. Joy: Rewards, Loyalty Program 

Joy is an app you can download free from the Shopify store to help create your loyalty program and boost your influx of customers. It’s a seller favorite because, for a free app, it allows you to access the necessary functions you need to build your customer loyalty program. 

Highlights

  • It includes a rewards point system, brand customizations, and customer management. 
  • To encourage off-site engagement, you can sync your data with social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
  • You can include your brand customization
  • Did we mention it’s free?

2. AiTrillion

AiTrillion is an ecommerce marketing platform that aids you all the way through the customer life cycle. It has over 11 apps to help you grow your store, including loyalty programs, email marketing, reviews, pop-ups, and push notifications. AiTrillions star feature is its detailed interface to help you visualize customer purchase data. The app subscription costs $49 to $199 monthly, and a 30-day free trial is offered. 

Highlights 

  • You get complete customization of all features of your chosen loyalty program.
  • Helps you boost engagement by offering rewards to customers who perform over 18 activities like purchasing, sharing on social media, reviewing, and rating products.
  • It can easily be integrated with other marketing apps, like Upscribe, so that you can create more personalized interactions as soon as they subscribe to encourage them to shop.
  • Integrates with Shopify POS, making viewing your customer actions in your online store easier. Assigning and redeeming awards can also be done seamlessly. 
  • You can create various types of loyalty programs, including; point-based, tier, price, and product discounts.

3. Growave

Growave is an all-inclusive marketing app that helps you create attractive loyalty programs for your customers. It mainly allows you to build point-based and tier loyalty programs to reward your customers for any action that results in conversion for your store. Growave’s pricing ranges from $9 to $300 monthly, depending on your store’s purchase scale. 

Highlights

  • You can collect customer reviews that match specific products and display them directly on your website.
  • It includes a wishlist feature, immediate social logins, and an Instagram gallery widget to help you integrate your Instagram product photos on your store page.
  • Customers can redeem their rewards through cash, gift cards, free shipping, and purchase discounts.
  • You can activate an automatic invite for customers to join your loyalty program right after processing a purchase.
  • Personalized emails can be sent to customers about getting more rewards and reminders on expiring points.

4. Stamped

Stamped is an app made specifically for creating loyalty programs with your Shopify store to help generate higher sales. You can create 3 types of loyalty programs with this app; point-based, tier, and integration of the two. It includes 3 pricing plans ranging from $39 to $479 monthly. 

Highlights

  • You have flexibility in choosing which actions your customers can receive points and awards for.
  • Fully customizable.
  • Create a separate rewards page so your customers know exactly what the loyalty program entails.
  • Optimized for mobile to help you track your loyalty program interface while on the go.
  • It can be integrated with social media platforms like Facebook, Omnisend, and Gorgias to help encourage more engagement.
  • Available in over 15 languages.

5. LoyaltyLion 

LoyaltyLion is a loyalty program app that is dedicated to Shopify stores. Its unique selling point is that it gives you real-time insights on improving your loyalty programs for your customers. If you’re just starting with your Shopify store, LoyaltyLion offers a free subscription if you have up to 400 orders per month. The paid plans start at $159 monthly with the option of a 14-day free trial.

Highlights

  • It allows you to run A/B tests for your loyalty programs so that you can attempt different ideas to find out which one works best for your customers.
  • Your customers can earn rewards for any activity they perform on your site.
  • Customers can seamlessly exchange their points for free products, gift cards, and vouchers.
  • Tiered reward options are available to help boost engagement with your customers.
  • Easily update your customers with loyalty program emails and on-site popup notifications on how best to use their acquired points.

6. Appstle

Appstle is a comprehensive loyalty solution designed to fortify and expand your customer base while cultivating brand loyalty and increasing Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV). The platform empowers businesses to establish innovative and engaging loyalty programs that reward customer activities, fostering a deeper connection with their audience.

With Appstle, merchants have the flexibility to set intelligent and detailed rules governing shopper activities that earn loyalty points and rewards. This customization allows businesses to tailor loyalty programs to their specific needs, ensuring that the most loyal customers receive personalized incentives, enhancing their overall experience.

Highlights

  • Appstle allows you to tailor your loyalty programs by selecting from various types, ensuring that your approach aligns perfectly with your business objectives, maximizing both customer engagement and revenue.
  • Easily gamify the process of awarding and redeeming rewards intelligently.
  • It can iteratively scale your loyalty initiatives with the support of in-depth performance analytics.
  • Easily reach knowledgeable support engineers within minutes to assist you in building and optimizing your membership experience.
  • Appstle seamlessly integrates across various points of sale and social media platforms, offering a true omnichannel experience for your customers.

7. Rise

Rise offers a versatile platform that enables businesses to elevate their customer engagement through a comprehensive set of features, including Store Credit, Gift Cards, and Cashback – all consolidated in one place. The platform aims to reimagine the rewards experience for customers, maximizing their spending and fostering loyalty. By placing customers at the center, Rise provides a unique mix of store credit offerings that are fully automated, streamlining the rewards process and encouraging repeat business.

Its flexibility allows businesses to make any engagement workflow come to life by utilizing Store Credit triggers for various apps or events. This adaptability empowers businesses to shape and customize their rewards programs according to their unique needs, ensuring a personalized and engaging experience for their customers.

Highlights

  • Easily navigate your business’s financial landscape with real-time insights for efficient management of Gift Card and Store Credit liabilities, ensuring financial transparency and control.
  • It enables seamless integration across your brand’s sales channels, ensuring cohesive issuance and redemption management.
  • Customize the user experience and interface effortlessly to meet your brand’s specific requirements.
  • Instantly generate up to 10,000 gift card codes, facilitating targeted campaigns.
  • Automate your rewards system with Rise by setting triggers from any source to issue Store Credit based on various user events.

8. Smile.io

Smile.io is a widely trusted loyalty app designed to transform first-time customers into enduring patrons. With over 125 million shoppers earning points through Smile, the platform is committed to providing a rewarding experience that resonates with customers. Tailored for over 100,000 small businesses, Smile.io allows customization of the rewards program’s appearance to align with the brand identity.

One notable feature is its accessibility, enabling businesses to effortlessly build and manage their rewards program without the need for coding skills. This emphasis on simplicity and personalization makes Smile.io a valuable tool for businesses looking to foster customer loyalty through a tailored and engaging rewards experience.

Highlights

  • Easily integrate your rewards program with your preferred tools.
  • It facilitates smooth connections to take your rewards program to the next level.
  • Enhance the user experience by customizing the appearance of your rewards program.
  • Create a rewards panel that aligns with your brand, providing customers with a visually cohesive and easily navigable interface.
  • Smile.io’s admin dashboard allows you to effortlessly build and manage your rewards program according to your preferences.

9. BON Loyalty Rewards

BON Loyalty is a platform designed to convert one-time buyers into repeat purchasers, emphasizing customer retention and satisfaction. The platform offers a fully customizable widget, allowing businesses to tailor the color, banner image, icon, text, and widget placement to align with their brand identity.

One of the key features of BON Loyalty Rewards is its Points & Rewards system, which employs over 18 reward rules for both online and point-of-sale (POS) customers. This system is strategically designed to motivate and incentivize repeat purchases, encouraging customer loyalty through a versatile range of reward options.

Highlights

  • Remind customers about their rewards in over 250 languages.
  • Motivate your customers to make repeat purchases by offering over 18 reward rules for both online and point-of-sale (POS) transactions.
  • Foster customer loyalty and expand your customer base to reward customers for inviting friends to your store through referrals.
  • Maximize customer retention and convert visitors into satisfied customers.
  • Easily customize the color scheme, banner image, icon, text, and widget placement to ensure a seamless integration that aligns perfectly with your brand identity.

10. Rivo

Rivo is a platform designed to significantly boost your brand’s repeat purchase rate by 20% or more, with a focus on driving repeat purchases, increasing Customer Lifetime Value (LTV), and reducing the cost of acquisition. The platform is specifically tailored to turn one-time buyers into loyal, repeat customers by assisting businesses in designing unique programs that cater to the preferences and needs of their customer base.

One of Rivo’s standout features is its Referral Program, which empowers businesses to leverage brand advocates as a cost-effective acquisition channel. By acquiring new customers below the blended Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and rewarding brand advocates, Rivo helps businesses expand their customer base while maintaining cost efficiency.

Highlights

  • Acquire new customers efficiently by leveraging Rivo’s Referral Program, which operates below your blended Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC).
  • Rewards brand advocates, turning them into powerful advocates for your brand.
  • Enhance customer loyalty and increase Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) by offering exclusive benefits to paid members.
  • Tailor your rewards and referrals program seamlessly to drive repeat sales and attract new customers.
  • Implement a points program with Rivo to reduce advertising costs by keeping customers engaged and returning to your store.
  • Easily initiate a points program to cater to different customer behaviors.
  • Customize your loyalty program to fit your specific business needs effortlessly.

Choose the Right Shopify Loyalty Program For You

Loyalty programs are the way to go if you want to keep your customers interested in your store and prove your overall value. Choosing the right program for your business can boost your revenue and get people talking about your store. 

At Upscribe, we’re always looking out for the best ways you can improve your customer relationships and scale your Shopify business. It all starts with a simple subscription to your store. When paired with a loyalty app, our easy-to-integrate subscription solution will help you get to the place you deserve to be.