How to create a loyalty, points, and rewards program on Shopify
Advice
26th February 2024
If your Shopify store struggles to find loyal customers and increase loyalty from existing ones, it’s time to consider setting up a robust loyalty program. Implementing a successful Shopify rewards program can help boost customer engagement and improve their buying experience by providing exclusive perks, VIP experiences or something even more creative.
With the right strategies in place, your Shopify loyalty program has tremendous potential to generate significant revenue for your shop.
In this post, we’ll explore how you can craft an effective Shopify rewards program for your store that will reap long-term results.
What is a rewards program?
Many businesses offer loyalty programs to reward and incentivize their customers for repeat custom. In essence, loyalty programs are designed to give customers something extra for the time and money they invest in a brand, making them more likely to return again and again.
Shopify rewards programs have seen a significant surge in popularity over the last few years. They are becoming increasingly attractive for customers and brands, as loyal customers often spend more money per purchase and shop with the same store more often than non-loyal ones.
And the stats from LoyaltyLion’s Shopify stores back these claims up. Some of the successes our users have seen include:
3x higher repeat purchase rate from loyalty program members (first to second purchase)
1.5x higher average spend from loyalty program members than non-members
67% increase in member spending by loyalty program members compared to guest visitors
Why your Shopify store can’t thrive without a rewards program
A Shopify store can’t thrive without a loyalty program because it is the fundamental key to acquiring and keeping customers, boosting customer engagement, and growing revenue. We might sound like a broken record, but acquiring new customers is increasingly expensive. However, you can use loyalty to offset rising customer acquisition costs.
With acquisition costs becoming increasingly expensive and growth potential limited with “one and done” customers, establishing a loyalty program can help you gain an edge over your competitors. Loyalty programs offer added benefits for customers who keep coming back; this incentive encourages them to shop more often and build long-term relationships with your brand.
Not only does this increase the chance of repeat sales, but it also encourages higher spending with each purchase. Studies have found that loyal customers spend anywhere from two to ten times more than new customers over the course of the year. As such, having a loyalty program helps maximize revenue generation over time by rewarding shoppers for continuing to shop at your store instead of going elsewhere.
Additionally, seasonal and social trends can significantly impact the annual performance of Shopify stores. With a loyalty program, you can ensure that your store remains competitive throughout the year by providing a steady and evenly-spread flow of personalized rewards alongside the bigger occasions, such as birthdays, holidays, or anniversaries.
This helps boost engagement among current and potential customers while also helping your business capture more revenue during the slower shopping periods.
How to set up your rewards program on Shopify
Setting up a loyalty program for your Shopify store doesn’t have to be a hassle. Here’s how to get started.
Identify goals, objectives & timeframes
Before setting up a loyalty program, you need to identify what you want to accomplish. Do you want customers to purchase more frequently? Increase their average order value? Refer more customers? Understanding your goals will help guide the design of your loyalty program and ensure it meets those objectives—as well as driving results for your store.
Decide on your rewards structure & the value of loyalty points
Once you clearly understand what goals you’d like your loyalty program to achieve, it’s time to decide which type of rewards program will best meet those objectives. There are generally four ways of designing reward programs: points-based rewards programs, tiered rewards programs, tiered discounts programs, and referral programs.
Points-based programs allow customers to earn points each time they engage with a brand, which can be redeemed for prizes, discounts or other rewards
Tiered rewards give progressively impressive perks and prizes as customers reach different levels; tiered discount programs offer discounts based on how much customers spend
Referral programs reward customers when they refer other people who then make purchases from your store
A loyalty program can contain one or all of the above approaches depending on complexity.
Choose the right Shopify rewards platform
Next, merchants must choose a platform where customers can enroll in the loyalty program for Shopify. And there are lots of apps dedicated to loyalty and rewards. There are many providers out there that offer both free and paid options, so merchants should research these before making a decision.
Once the platform has been chosen, brands must design their loyalty program and create all necessary graphics and copywriting materials for promotion. Brands should pay attention to detail when creating a loyalty program to ensure that customers easily understand how it works and what benefits they can receive from participating.
Get the word out about your new rewards program
Promoting a loyalty program for Shopify stores can effectively increase program enrollment, engagement and participation. However, loyalty programs are prevalent; research shows that the average shopper is enrolled in 16.7 loyalty programs worldwide. This means it’s important to ensure yours stands out. Here are some tips on promoting a standout loyalty reward program on your Shopify store:
Social media platforms: One of the best ways to get your loyalty program out there is to create posts and content about it on social media. You can use unique hashtags related to your program and content, such as images, videos, and stories from customer loyalty. Additionally, you should try creating Instagram Ads or paid campaigns on various social platforms.
Sign-up page: Make sure you have a post-purchase sign-up page where customers can quickly join your loyalty program. This should be linked from your checkout page or other places on your site so that customers know about it and can quickly sign up. You can also include this in post-purchase emails.
Product descriptions and landing pages: Include information about the loyalty program in product descriptions and create a dedicated landing page, so customers can learn more about it. This page should include details such as how they earn reward points, what kind of rewards they can get, and how they can redeem them.
Email & SMS Marketing: Email marketing is another excellent way to promote your loyalty program. Let current customers know about the benefits of joining by including information at the bottom of each email or sending out monthly newsletters with updates on new offers and rewards. You could also consider using SMS marketing strategies like automated “welcome” messages when someone joins or promotional messages when customers reach certain milestones in the program.
Influencers and cross-promotion: Get influencers involved with your loyalty program by having them share stories, photos, or videos showcasing their experience with it. Consider partnering with other brands to do cross-promotions where both companies benefit from having shared customers enter their stores or websites.
Onsite signposting: Finally, make sure you signpost your loyalty reward program throughout different areas of your website so people are aware of it when they arrive at different pages during their shopping journey. For example, include it in your top navigation, or add banners promoting the program across crucial pages such as product pages and homepages. You could also use pop-ups appearing when customers land on specific pages, or take certain actions like adding items to their cart.
Track results and improve your rewards program over time
A loyalty program is never complete – you have to optimize things over time as you gain more insights into your customers’ behaviors and preferences. Regularly review performance metrics such as customer engagement levels and redemption rates to ensure that your program runs smoothly and provides value to customers and your business. Adjust points values or reward offers as needed to increase participation in the rewards program for Shopify.
Additionally, consider introducing new offerings such as exclusive content or special promotions for your loyalty program members to differentiate from competitors and foster continued customer engagement. Exclusive content and special promotions can play a large part in creating an ongoing emotional connection and increasing lifetime value.
Finally, once your Shopify store’s loyalty reward program is set up and running smoothly, don’t forget about measuring its performance over time so that you can make sure it is performing as expected—and optimize its performance if needed.
Use analytics data such as reward points earned per transaction or the total number of referrals generated by existing members—as well as qualitative feedback from participants—to gauge whether the overall objectives are being met and fine-tune things if necessary (or introduce new elements). Doing this regularly will help ensure that your Shopify store’s loyalty efforts consistently deliver maximum return on investment over time!
To learn more about how LoyaltyLion can grow your Shopify store, request a demo to book a call with our team and start building customer loyalty today.
About the author
Georgie Walsh
Georgie is the Content Marketing Manager at LoyaltyLion. Georgie has spent most of her 6+ years marketing in B2B companies, and has developed a huge passion for bringing B2B voices alive through engaging copy and memorable storytelling.
Managing your program
