Small retailers should look for loyalty software that puts the card in the customer's phone wallet, works alongside the register the shop already has, limits how often customers are messaged, and measures results against a holdout group that received no promotion. The last point matters most, because it shows whether the program earns its cost.
We make loyalty software, so read this knowing that. Regulars is our product: wallet loyalty cards and lock-screen messages, built for smoke, vape, and CBD shops that are locked out of most ad platforms.
Building it meant deciding what a small shop needs from a loyalty program and what is decoration. A shop owner behind a counter does not have time to learn a marketing suite. They need customers to come back, and they need to know whether the thing they are paying for is the reason.
Here is the list we worked from. It applies to any loyalty product you look at, including ours.
What should loyalty software do for a small shop?
Loyalty software for a small shop should do four things: recognize a returning customer at the counter in seconds, hold the customer's card somewhere they will not lose it, give the owner a way to reach those customers, and report honestly whether any of it changed sales. Features beyond those four are optional.
The first one is easy to underestimate. If signing a customer up takes longer than the sale, staff will stop offering it when there is a line. Watch how enrollment works at the counter before anything else. Regulars has a counter kiosk for this.
Wallet card, app, or plastic card: which is best?
A wallet card is the best fit for most small shops. It lives in the wallet app already on the customer's phone, so there is nothing to print, nothing to carry, and no app to install. A plastic card is simpler but gets lost. A dedicated app asks too much of a casual customer.
| Format | What the customer has to do | Can the shop message them | Main drawback |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper or plastic card | Carry it and remember it | No | Lost cards, no customer data |
| Shop's own app | Find it, install it, sign in | Yes, if they keep it installed | A lot to ask of a customer for one shop |
| Phone wallet card | Tap once to add it | Yes, on the lock screen | Needs a phone with a wallet app |
Be wary of the middle row. An app is a large thing to build and a larger thing to ask for. Adding a card to a wallet the customer already uses is a much smaller request than installing and keeping an app.
The wallet card also updates. The balance shown on the card can change after each visit without the customer doing anything.
Does loyalty software have to replace your register?
No. Loyalty software should work with the register a shop already has. Replacing a point of sale system means retraining staff, moving inventory data, and often changing payment processing. That is a large project to take on for the sake of a punch card.
Some loyalty tools come bundled inside a register system, and if you are already happy with that system, using its built-in program is a reasonable choice. Be fair to that option. It is one less vendor.
The problem is when the loyalty program becomes the reason to switch registers. We built Regulars to work with the shop's existing register for that reason. The shop keeps ringing up sales the way it always has.
How do you know if a loyalty program is working?
You know a loyalty program is working when customers who received a promotion spend more than similar customers who did not. That comparison needs a holdout group: a random portion of customers who are deliberately left out of a campaign, so there is something to measure against.
Without a holdout, every report flatters the program. If you message your best customers and they come in that week, the report counts those visits as a result. Most of them were coming anyway. The honest number is the difference between the group that got the message and the group that did not.
Regulars includes holdout groups and lift reports so an owner can see whether a promotion moved sales instead of guessing. Whatever product you consider, ask how it separates the sales a campaign caused from the sales that would have happened without it. If the answer is a count of redeemed offers, that is not the same thing.
How often should a shop message its customers?
A shop should message customers only when there is a reason to come back, and the software should enforce a ceiling. A lock-screen message is an interruption. Used rarely, it is welcome. Used daily, it gets the card deleted, and the channel is gone for that customer.
This is why the campaign scheduler in Regulars has a weekly frequency cap. The cap protects the owner from their own enthusiasm on a slow Tuesday. We explain the mechanics of these messages in web push notifications explained.
For shops that cannot buy ads at all, the customer list is the whole marketing plan, which makes protecting it more important. That case is covered in how to market a business that is not allowed to advertise.
When is a paper punch card enough?
A paper punch card is enough when the shop only wants to reward repeat visits and has no plan to contact customers. It costs almost nothing and needs no training. If that is the whole goal, software adds expense without adding much.
Software earns its place when the owner wants to do something a card cannot: tell customers about a new product, bring back people who have stopped visiting, reward referrals, or find out which promotions work. If none of those matter to you yet, start with paper and revisit the question later.
Frequently asked questions
What is a wallet pass?
A wallet pass is a digital card stored in the wallet app that comes with a phone, the same place boarding passes and event tickets go. A loyalty pass can show a balance and update itself without the customer opening anything.
What information should a loyalty program collect?
As little as it needs. A way to recognize the customer and a way to reach them is enough to start. Collecting more creates an obligation to protect it, and privacy rules vary, so check the ones that apply to your business.
What kind of reward works best?
A reward the customer can explain in one sentence. Simple structures are easier for staff to describe at the counter and easier for customers to remember than tiers and multipliers.
Can a shop run referrals through loyalty software?
Yes, if the product supports it. Regulars includes referrals and tracked links. Ask any vendor how a referral is recorded and how the customer who made it is rewarded.
Is loyalty software worth it for a shop with one location?
It can be. A single location with steady repeat customers has the most to gain from getting those customers to come back sooner. If most of your trade is one-time visitors, a loyalty program has little to work with.
If you run a shop and want to see how this works at a counter, tell us about your store.