As the e-commerce landscape continues to evolve, Shopify business owners are being forced to adapt the latest tools and techniques in order to remain competitive. One popular and effective technique to increase sales is through reward programs; be it by running a Shopify loyalty program or utilizing Shopify reward apps.

Unfortunately, many store owners lack knowledge on how to evaluate these third-party applications and create the best Shopify reward program for their stores.

But don’t worry, if you’re just starting out or looking to tweak your existing loyalty program, we’re here to help you make the most of it. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll see why a Shopify loyalty program works, and how to create one that drives customer engagement; plus, evaluate which of the best Shopify loyalty apps are suited for meeting your individual needs.

What does a Shopify loyalty program mean?

A Shopify loyalty program is an incentive-based system used to encourage customers to purchase more products and remain loyal to your Shopify store at any cost.

Typically, these programs offer rewards in the form of points, discounts, or freebies for each purchase a customer makes. By providing rewards that are tailored towards their individual needs, store owners can create a personalized shopping experience and drive engagement with your store.

Why a Shopify loyalty program is important for your online stores? (with an example)

Running a customer loyalty program in your B2C or B2B Shopify store helps you in many ways such as – retaining customer relationships, increasing repeat sales, attracting new customers, and also helps you stay ahead of your competitors.

Here are a few more reasons:

#1. Helps you increase customer engagement

Shopify loyalty programs are an effective way to increase and retain customer interaction with your brand which leads to more engagement. By providing rewards for customers’ purchases, you can create an emotional connection with your customers and encourage them to return to your Shopify store in the future for more purchases.

#2. Gives you the option to provide personalized shopping experiences

With Shopify loyalty programs, you can personalize your customer’s shopping experience by offering rewards that are tailored to their individual needs. You can also have a separate section on your store that lists products that can be only purchased with the earned reward points.

#3. Improves your customer retention rate

In addition to keeping customers engaged, Shopify loyalty programs also help you with improving your customer retention rate. By providing rewards for regular purchases in your store, you can create an incentive for your customers to keep coming back.

#4. Helps you increase customer lifetime value (LTV)

Offering reward/loyalty programs also encourages your customers to spend more in your store, thus increasing their lifetime value (LTV) and boosting your sales.

#5. Provides you insights into buying patterns

By tracking customers’ purchases and reward points, you can get valuable insights on their buying patterns. This helps you make informed decisions while creating Shopify marketing campaigns or launching or adding new products to your Shopify store.

#6. Helps you generate brand awareness without any efforts

Running a Shopify reward program gives you an easy way to generate brand awareness. Every time a customer is satisfied with your service, they may share their experience and refer your store to others like friends or family. This directly boosts your brand awareness without any extra effort from your side.

#7. Of course! Boost profits

Ultimately, Shopify loyalty programs help you boost your profits in every way. By providing rewards and incentives, you create a win-win situation for both you and the customer that results in happy customers and more sales.

A real example of a Shopify loyalty program

We looked at the reward program of one of our customers named dip. The dip is a personal care company that offers a wide range of soap bars, dips, and other different kinds of accessories. 

Dip runs a reward program called “dip dollars” which is designed to reward customers for their loyalty and encourage them to return to the store. The program offers points for every action completed on their store such as signing up, placing an order, following them on socials, and more.

Now that we’ve learned why loyalty programs are important for Shopify stores let’s go ahead and discuss how to set up a loyalty program on your Shopify store.

How to create a loyalty program on Shopify? (4 simple steps)

Creating an effective Shopify loyalty program requires research and planning, but the reward is worth the effort. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get started:

#Step 1: Define objectives to run a Shopify reward program

Before doing anything, you need to identify what goals you want to achieve with the reward/loyalty program.

For example(s) –
(a) do you want to increase customer retention or boost sales?
(b) do you want your customers to share your products on their social media?
(c) do you want to attract new signups to your Shopify store?

Establishing key objectives upfront will help you create an appropriate reward system later on.

#Step 2: Determine the level and type of rewards

After deciding the objective of the Shopify loyalty program that you want to run on your Shopify store, it’s now time to select which type of rewards are best suited for your Shopify store (financial or non-financial rewards).

Here are the different types of rewards you can offer in your loyalty program:

(a) Point-based rewards
Spend ‘X’ dollars to earn ‘Y’ points.

(b) Discount rewards
Spend ‘X’ dollars to get a ‘Z’ percent of discount on your next purchase.

(c) Tier-based rewards
Spend ‘X’ dollars in ‘A’ number of months to move to ‘Q’ level, where you’ll receive ‘Y’ number of points after each purchase.

(d) Hybrid rewards
This type of rewards system is a mix of point-based & tier-based rewards.

#Step 3: Set up the Shopify loyalty program on your store

After determining the rewards level and type of your loyalty program, it’s now time to implement a loyalty program in your store.

• To do this, go to the Shopify app store
• Type ‘rewards‘ in the search-box
• Choose a third-party Shopify loyalty app (we recommend you to carefully go through the app’s description to look for your best-suited requirements)
• Click on Add app button
• Set up the added app and follow the instructions given by the app’s documentation to create a loyalty program.

Don’t worry. If you’re unsure about which app to select, we’ve mentioned the best Shopify loyalty apps down below in this article.

#Step 4: Promote your loyalty program

Once you have activated your loyalty program and customers are enjoying its rewards, it is essential to promote the program further in order to achieve increased involvement from your existing and new customer base.

To do this, you can use different marketing channels like email, social media, paid ads, etc., to create awareness about your loyalty programs.

You can also share customer reviews or feedback on your Shopify store as well as social pages which will help other shoppers know about the advantages of joining your reward program.

Also, don’t forget to include a link for signup on every page of your store – preferably at the top & bottom of all website pages. This will make it easier for visitors to find and join your loyalty program.

Follow these above-mentioned four easy steps and create and manage a successful loyalty program on your Shopify store.

How much do loyalty programs increase sales of your Shopify store?

Research has discovered that customers who are enrolled in loyalty programs not only make more purchases, but they also spend substantially more than those who do not. On average, businesses see an increase in sales of 6-30% after implementing a loyalty program, depending on the structure of their program. Additionally, many studies also show that loyalty programs are one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies available to eCommerce stores as they require little effort or resources to set up and manage.

7 best Shopify loyalty apps to increase customer loyalty and lifetime value

With these Shopify loyalty program apps, you’ll be able to reward customers with points or discounts when they purchase items in your store, offer membership tiers with exclusive benefits, and more – all while boosting customer engagement and increasing sales.

Here are seven of the best Shopify loyalty program apps for your e-commerce store (apps are mentioned rating-wise):

1. BON Loyalty Rewards Referrals

(4.9 Rating from 1360+ Reviews)

BON app is a complete Shopify loyalty program app that offers both reward points and referral programs. The app allows customers to earn, track, and redeem points while providing them with unique VIP perks for referrals in 18 ways.

2. Growave

(4.8 Rating from 2050+ Reviews)

Growave is an all-in-one Shopify marketing app that offers a loyalty program, rewards, reviews, gift cards and much more. This app has been specifically designed to incorporate the best features from other apps, in order to provide an unparalleled user experience.

3. Rivo: Loyalty & Referrals

(4.9 Rating from 1900+ Reviews)

Rivo is a fully-customizable Shopify reward program that provides customers with points for their purchases and rewards them with exclusive discounts. The app also offers a developer toolkit for store owners to create their own features and customizations on the Rivo platform.

4. Joy: Rewards, Loyalty Program

(4.9 Rating from 1400+ Reviews)

Joy is an advanced Shopify loyalty program app that allows you to set up automatic points earning and customize rewards, discount codes, and commission programs.

5. Loloyal Loyalty Referral

(4.9 Rating from 880+ Reviews)

Loloyal is an easy-to-use & one-click loyalty + referral program app that offers a wide range of features to increase customer loyalty and repeat purchases. It also helps in community building and marketing.

6. Smile

(4.9 Rating from 5800+ Reviews)

Smile is a most-added Shopify loyalty app available in the Shopify app store that offers you to reward customers for engaging with your brand. It allows you to set up loyalty, referrals, and VIP reward programs with customization and easy integration with other third-party Shopify apps.

7. Yotpo: Loyalty & Rewards

(4.7 Rating from 2490+ Reviews)

Yotpo is a retention-driving loyalty program app made for Shopify stores that not only just focuses on offering rewards but also It offers you 20+ out-of-box campaigns to offer referral and reward points to your customers. Also, it helps you with understanding customer behaviours with multiple provided insights.

How do I choose the best Shopify loyalty app?

When evaluating different Shopify loyalty programs apps, there are several factors you should consider in order to make an educated decision about which app will be most suitable for your business needs:

Check for:

• Ease of Use – How simple is it for customers to sign up and redeem rewards on the platform?
• Integrations – Does the loyalty program integrate with other Shopify apps and systems?
• Features & Functionality – Does it offer features such as tiered rewards, referral programs, etc.?
• Price & Cost – How much does the app cost and what value does it return to your business?
• Customer Support – Is customer support offered by the app available with the shortest response time?
  

Ultimately, you should pick a Shopify loyalty app that meets all of your desired features and requirements while remaining cost-effective.

Summing up…

Offering Shopify loyalty programs in your store can provide many benefits for businesses and help them increase their sales. A loyalty program with rewards points or discounts is a great way to encourage customers to come back for repeat orders and keep them loyal longer. Signing up for one of the Shopify loyalty apps can take away most of the effort from business owners, leaving them with more time to focus solely on their businesses. All in all, a loyalty program on your Shopify store is a wise investment that’s sure to pay off in the end.

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