Before you compare apps, decide what you will reward. That decision narrows the list more than any feature does, and it saves you from demos of products that don’t fit. Then use the free trial to test the app in your store, with real customers, before you sign anything.
Stamps, points or coupons
Stamps suit businesses where customers come often and spend about the same each time: coffee, a bakery, a barber. One visit, one stamp, and the customer gets the rule at once.
Points suit businesses where the basket changes a lot from one purchase to the next: a mini market, a cosmetics shop, an e-shop. With points per euro, the customer who spends €80 earns more than the one who spends €5, and you don’t hand both the same reward.
Coupons complement the other two. You use them for specific purposes: a birthday gift, an offer for customers you haven’t seen for two months, a discount on a quiet day. The app you choose should send coupons alongside stamps or points. If you haven’t decided yet, read the comparison of points and stamps.
What to test during the free trial
If the platform offers a trial, run the checks below in your store. If it only offers a demo, ask to see them done live.
How long sign-up takes at the till
Ask a member of staff who has never seen the app to sign up a customer at a busy time, and time it with a stopwatch. If it takes more than half a minute, the queue will feel it, and at busy times staff will skip it.
What the customer has to download
Ask whether the customer can start by giving only their mobile number. In the app they see their card and receive push notifications. If installing the app is a condition for the first stamp, though, you will lose people in a hurry. For the difference between a native app and a web app, see what to look for in a loyalty app.
How staff give a stamp or points
Count the taps from the moment the customer says “I have a card” until they get the stamp. Also test what happens when the store loses its internet connection. If the app stops working, you need a plan for that day.
Which messaging channels it has and what they cost
Push notifications reach only customers who have the app. Email and SMS reach everyone who gave consent. Ask which channels are charged per message, on top of the subscription.
With SMS, watch out for Greek. A message in Latin characters fits 160 characters. In Greek lowercase the limit drops to 70, and a longer message splits into segments of 67 characters, each charged separately. An SMS of 150 Greek characters is billed as three messages.
Who keeps the customer data
Ask for an export of your customers during the trial, in a file that opens in Excel. Check that it contains the phone number, the stamp or points balance, and the date consent to messages was given.
The GDPR (Article 28) requires a processing agreement between you and the provider. The same article obliges the provider, when the contract ends, to return or delete your customers’ data, whichever you choose. Ask to see that agreement before you start.
How consent is recorded
For promotional SMS and email you need the customer’s prior consent (Greek Law 3471/2006, Article 11, and the GDPR). The app should ask for it separately from the program terms and record when it was given. Every message must include a way to unsubscribe.
E-shop and POS connection
If you also sell online, the customer should see one balance, whether they buy in store or on the e-shop. Ask whether there is a ready-made plugin for your e-shop platform. For the POS or ERP, ask whether staff will enter every purchase twice, once at the till and once in the app. If so, measure how much time it adds to each receipt. There is more in the guide to connecting loyalty to your e-shop.
What you see in the statistics
You judge a loyalty program by how many customers come back. Check that you can see new and returning customers per month and who has stopped coming. You also need to see how many came in after each message you sent.
The real monthly cost
The subscription is one part of the cost. To compare two options, add:
- VAT at 24%, if the price is quoted before VAT.
- Installation or training costs.
- Hardware, if needed (tablet, terminal, reader).
- Per-message charges for SMS or Viber.
- The difference between monthly and annual billing.
An example with hypothetical numbers: a €25 monthly subscription plus VAT comes to €31. If you send one SMS of 120 Greek characters (two segments) to 400 customers each month, you pay for 800 segments. At €0.04 a segment, the SMS costs €32, about as much as the subscription. The same message in 70 characters costs half.
Questions to ask before you sign
- How long is the contract, does it auto-renew, and how much notice do I need to give to end it?
- If I leave, what happens to the stamps and points my customers have collected?
- In what format do I get my data, and within how many days?
- What is charged on top of the subscription?
- Who answers when something breaks on a Saturday morning, and in which language?
- Can I talk to a shop that uses it?
Warning signs
- You can’t see the app working before you pay.
- The price goes up with every new member, with no cap. Ask for the price at 500 and at 2,000 members.
- Data export costs extra or doesn’t exist.
- The hardware is sold only by the same supplier and is no use for anything else.
- They can’t show you where each customer’s consent is recorded.
- Sign-up asks for email, address and date of birth before the first stamp.
For more questions and criteria, see the criteria for assessing loyalty software.
Checklist
- I decided whether to give stamps, points or both.
- I timed a customer sign-up at a busy time.
- I sent a test message on every channel.
- I downloaded a customer export and opened it.
- I saw where consent is recorded.
- I worked out the first year’s cost, with VAT and messages.
- I read the contract’s termination terms.
Rubik is one of the platforms you can test this way. It has stamps and points, coupons, push notifications, email and SMS, automatic messages for birthdays and for points about to expire, and a plugin for WooCommerce and PrestaShop. The first month is free. See what each plan includes on the pricing page.