Top 5 Shopify Loyalty/Rewards Apps

Transform first-time buyers into forever customers

Did you know that it’s five times more expensive to attract new customers than it is to retain existing ones? Or that returning customers spend an average of 33% more per order than first-timers? Therefore, it makes sense to focus on keeping your existing customers happy and engaged, right?

If you manage an eCommerce business, rolling out a loyalty and rewards program is an excellent strategy for building customer loyalty and incentivising repeat business. Why? Because loyalty programs help keep existing customers engaged, add value, improve the customer experience, and boost customer satisfaction.

Want to find out more? In this article, we’ll explore more about the benefits of launching a customer loyalty program and reveal the five top Shopify loyalty apps. 

What is a Shopify loyalty/rewards app?

So, how does a loyalty program work? It’s pretty straightforward: businesses allow customers to earn and collect points for various actions – like making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or referring friends. These points can then be redeemed for discounts, free products, early or exclusive access, free shipping, or other rewards. The goal? To encourage customers to shop with you again and stay engaged with and loyal to your brand.

Shopify loyalty and rewards apps make setting up and managing a customer loyalty program quick and easy. There are numerous free and premium loyalty and rewards apps available from the Shopify app store. These apps can be seamlessly integrated with your Shopify store and customised to reflect your brand identity, enabling you to start rewarding loyal customers. 

The best Shopify loyalty and rewards apps also allow store owners to track and analyse the effectiveness of their loyalty program. They provide valuable insights into customer behaviour through detailed analytics and reporting tools. This insight can be used to fine-tune your strategy to maximise customer retention and engagement.

What are the benefits of integrating a Shopify loyalty/rewards app on your eCommerce website?

If you’re still on the fence about whether to install a Shopify loyalty app, consider some of the potential benefits of loyalty programs and how launching one could enhance your eCommerce strategy.

Build a loyal customer base

First and foremost, an effective customer loyalty program encourages customers to make repeat purchases and helps your business grow a loyal customer base.

Engage customers

Loyalty programs help to keep existing customers engaged with your brand by rewarding them for continued interactions. Whether that’s making a purchase, leaving a review, or referring a friend, each action strengthens their relationship with your brand.

Improve customer retention rates

Offering rewards for customer loyalty makes customers feel more valued and incentivises them to keep returning. This loyalty can significantly boost your business’s customer retention rate. 

Personalise the user experience

Some Shopify loyalty apps allow you to personalise the customer experience by offering rewards tailored to customers’ preferences and shopping behaviour. Personalisation can increase customer engagement and satisfaction.

Increase customer lifetime value

Loyal and returning customers are likely to spend more in your store over time. Incentivising repeat purchases helps to increase your overall customer lifetime value.

Leverage customer data

Loyalty programs and apps can be used to gather data about customers’ buying habits and preferences. These insights can then be used to offer a more personalised shopping experience and inform future business decisions.

Gain a competitive advantage

A well-managed loyalty program can help differentiate your store from competitors and help you win more business.

Boost overall profits

A customer loyalty program could help your business to increase profits in a variety of ways. As well as driving sales, it also increases customer satisfaction, loyalty, and lifetime value – all of which can help boost your bottom line.

Implement a cost-effective strategy

Retaining existing customers through a loyalty program is usually much more cost-effective than acquiring new customers. Integrating a Shopify rewards program can help your business reduce its reliance on expensive advertising campaigns and help it instead start getting more value from its existing customers.

What are the top-rated loyalty/rewards apps available for Shopify stores?

We’ve gathered essential information about the best loyalty apps for Shopify to help you identify the right app for your business.

Yotpo Loyalty and Rewards

“Build a customisable, retention-driving loyalty program that offers more than just rewards.”

Top 5 key features of Yotpo Loyalty and Rewards

• No-code customisation and management – Features a user-friendly interface that makes it fast and easy to customise, launch, and manage your loyalty program without any coding knowledge.
• Diverse rewards – Offer customers a variety of different reward types.
• Supports tiered programs – Create a tiered loyalty program based on criteria like points earned, money spent, number of purchases, or referrals made.
• Integrates with other Yotpo apps – Integrates seamlessly with other Yotpo products to create a holistic loyalty experience.
• Detailed analytics – Provides detailed analytics to help your business monitor and evaluate key metrics like ROI, average order value, and customer lifetime value. These insights can then be used to optimise your loyalty program’s performance and inform important business decisions.

Pricing

• Free (Up to 100 orders/month)
• Gold ($199/month, plus $0.20 per order after 500 total orders/month)

Loyalty Lion

“Turn one-time buyers into returning customers with your own loyalty program.”

Top 5 key features of Loyalty Lion

• Customisable – Customise your loyalty program to fit your brand’s aesthetic and create a cohesive customer experience.
• Reward repeat business – Offer customers rewards to drive repeat purchases and incentivise customers to join the loyalty program.
• A variety of reward types – Including coupons, custom rewards, discounts, donations, early access to events, exclusive access, free products, free shipping, gift cards, gifts, membership perks, points, POS rewards, and store credit.
• Engage customers – Send targeted loyalty emails and notifications to boost customer engagement.
• Boost customer retention rate—Use the app’s analytics and ROI dashboard to gain valuable insight into returning customer behaviour.

Pricing

14-day free trial.

• Free (Up to 400 orders/month)
• Paid plans (from $249/month)

ReferralCandy

“The premier referral marketing partner for growing brands.”

Top 5 key features of ReferralCandy

• Fast setup and results – Launch your referral and rewards program in just 30 minutes.
• Engage customers post-purchase – Enable post-purchase pop-ups, emails, and pages to encourage customers to join the program.
• Automated rewards – Offer automated rewards, including cash and coupons, for both one-off and subscription-based sales.
• Customisable – Customise your rewards and referral program with your brand colours, logo, and images to maintain a cohesive brand experience.
• Seamless integration – Integrates seamlessly with major platforms like Klaviyo, ReCharge, Skio, Bold, Loop, and Appstle to enhance functionality and streamline operations.

Pricing

14-day free trial.

• Premium ($59/month, plus 3.5% commission on referral sales)
• Plus ($299/month, plus 1.5% commission on referral sales)
• Enterprise ($24,000/year – additional fees may apply)

Smile: Loyalty & Rewards

“Create your own loyalty and rewards program to turn first-time customers into forever customers.”

Top 5 key features of Smile

• Brand customisation – Tailor the rewards launcher, panel, and emails to reflect your brand identity and provide customers with a cohesive brand experience.
• Incentives for repeat purchases – Allow customers to earn points through repeat purchases and incentivise loyal customers with rewards of your choice. Choose from coupons, custom rewards, discounts, early access, exclusive access, free shipping, and more.
• Broad integration capabilities – Seamlessly integrate the Smile rewards program with all your favourite apps, including Shopify Flow, Shopify POS, Judge.me, Klaviyo, Gorgias, MailChimp, and more.
• Engagement nudges – Use Nudges to remind customers about their points or referral links and boost engagement with the loyalty program.
• Multilingual support – Automatically translate your loyalty program into one of six preset languages.

Pricing

• Free (Up to 200 orders/month)
• Starter ($49/month, up to 500 orders/month)
• Growth ($199/month, up to 2,500 orders/month)
• Plus ($999/month, up to 7,500 orders/month)

Growave: Loyalty & Wishlist

“Growave replaces several apps: loyalty, referrals, rewards, gift cards,  VIP tiers, reviews, wishlist.”

Top 5 key features of GroWave

• User-friendly – Fast and easy to set up and manage. The GroWave app has a user-friendly dashboard, and doesn’t require any coding.
• Extensive customisation options – Offers extensive customisation options, allowing you to tailor your loyalty program’s aesthetics to reflect your brand identity.
• Wishlist and trigger emails – Send automated emails to customers to alert them about sales or when previously out-of-stock items are available again to boost sales and improve the shopping experience.
• Automated reviews collection – Automatically collect customer reviews and photos to enhance your store’s credibility and leverage the benefits of social proof.
• Social proof through Instagram Showcase Instagram photos and user-generated content on your website to build social proof and enhance your store’s authenticity.

Pricing

14-day free trial.

• Free (up to 100 orders/month (500 total orders)
• Entry ($49/month, up to 500 orders/month)
• Growth ($149/month, up to 1,500 orders/month)
• Plus ($399/month, up to 3000 orders/month)

How to integrate a Shopify loyalty app

Shopify apps make it simple and hassle-free for eCommerce businesses to add additional features and functionality to their stores as they scale up and grow. Launching a Shopify loyalty program using a Shopify app from the app store is a straightforward process, but it’s important to approach the project with a clear strategy and knowledge of all the different tools available and features of loyalty apps. 

Launching a loyalty program using a Shopify app can be divided into seven simple steps.

• Choose your platform

Every loyalty app offers different features, integration capabilities, and pricing plans, so it’s important to do your research and choose an app that can meet your business’s needs both now and as it grows. 

• Install the app

Once you’ve found your perfect app match, it’s time to install the app on your Shopify store. To do this, navigate to the app’s page on the Shopify App Store and click ‘Add app’ to install it. You might need to approve certain permissions to complete the Shopify app integration.

• Configure the app

Once installed, you’ll need to configure the app’s settings from your Shopify admin dashboard. During this step, you will decide important information like how customers earn points, what rewards are available to them, and the conditions for redeeming their rewards.

• Customise your loyalty program

Once you’ve got the program’s functionality set up, it’s time to customise how it looks and feels to reflect your brand. Tailor the aesthetics to provide a cohesive brand experience, adding your business logo, imagery, colour scheme, and messaging.

• Integrate with other platforms

Most Shopify loyalty apps can be seamlessly integrated with other tools and platforms like email marketing services, social media platforms, and customer management systems. Setting up these integrations will help enhance the functionality of your loyalty program and streamline your business operations.

• Launch and promote your loyalty program

Now for the exciting bit – it’s time to launch your new loyalty program and hype it up to your customers. We’ll explore some marketing strategies for spreading the word and creating a buzz around your new loyalty program next.

• Monitor performance and make necessary changes

After you’ve launched your new loyalty program, you should carefully monitor how it is received by customers and listen to their feedback. The app’s analytics tools can also provide insight into how it is performing. Key metrics to track include enrollment numbers, engagement rates, and the impact on sales and customer retention. Use insights and data to make informed adjustments to your program.

Marketing strategies for promoting your new loyalty program

Before you launch your new loyalty program, it’s important to develop a marketing strategy to promote it. We’ve put together our top tips for promoting your Shopify loyalty and rewards program. These strategies will help grow your loyalty program’s reach, spark excitement, and drive a surge in sign-ups.

Announce the launch across all channels

First off, it’s important to announce the launch of your new loyalty program across every available channel, including your website, mailing list, and social media channels. Make the announcement fun and engaging, and consider offering customers an incentive to sign up.

Promote it prominently on your website

The easier it is for your customers to discover and learn more about your loyalty program, the more likely they are to sign up. Consider promoting the program in a prominent banner above the fold, a pop-up, and within the main navigation to ensure it gets noticed.

Create and share educational content

Create engaging content about how your new loyalty program works and the benefits of signing up. This could be in the form of blog posts, FAQs, or videos. Use whatever format you think will engage your target audience best.

Offer an incentive for signing up

Entice customers to sign up by offering them an incentive for doing so during the launch period, something like a discount code, bonus points, or exclusive access to a sale.

Incentivise customers to refer each other

Leverage the power of word-of-mouth by offering existing members rewards for referring their friends. 

Run social media campaigns

Create a buzz around your new loyalty program by creating dynamic and engaging promotional posts, stories, and ads on social media. Engage directly with followers who comment or ask questions to boost visibility and interest.

Partner with Create8 to launch a loyalty and rewards program for your Shopify store

Are you ready to launch a loyalty and rewards program for your Shopify store?

At Create8, we are a specialist Shopify agency and partner. Our Shopify web design team know the platform inside out and can assist with any aspect of launching your new loyalty program – from identifying the most suitable app to installing and integrating it with your existing platforms and tools. 

Contact us today to learn more about our work or to kickstart your project and start building a base of loyal customers.