Comparison
Standalone loyalty vs your POS loyalty module
If your POS offers loyalty, use it — right up until it does not do what you need. The question is not which is better in the abstract, but which constraints you are willing to accept.
POS loyalty is automatic
Points accrue at the till without staff doing anything. That is a genuine advantage and worth real money.
POS loyalty is locked in
Change your till and you usually lose the programme, the history and sometimes the customer list.
Standalone is portable
Your loyalty data outlives your hardware and your card is not a feature of someone else’s roadmap.
Standalone costs a scan
Someone has to scan the customer. Two seconds per transaction is the price of independence.
When the POS module is the right call
You are happy with your till, you plan to keep it for years, the loyalty module does what you want, and the pricing is reasonable. Automatic accrual at the point of sale is genuinely better than a manual scan, and you should not pay for a second system to avoid it.
When standalone wins
You have more than one POS across sites, you are considering changing till, your provider’s loyalty is points-only when you want a stamp card, or you want to own the customer relationship independently of whoever supplies your hardware this year.
The multi-site case
Groups often accumulate different tills at different sites through acquisition or replacement. A loyalty program tied to one POS cannot span them, which is how you end up with a customer whose card works at two branches out of four.
Common questions
- Do you integrate with POS systems?
- Not today, and we say so plainly. Cafeity runs alongside whatever till you use; staff scan the customer’s card separately. POS integrations are on the roadmap, not in the product.
- Does that mean double entry?
- It means one extra scan, not re-keying an order. The payment happens on your till exactly as it does today.
Keep reading
Digital loyalty cards vs paper punch cards
Paper punch cards are free, instant and universally understood. Here is an honest account of what they cost you, and when switching is worth it.
Wallet loyalty cards vs branded loyalty apps
A branded app gives you push notifications and a home-screen icon. It also asks every customer to install something. Here is the trade-off, honestly.
Put your loyalty card in your customers’ pockets
Publish a branded card in about five minutes. 14-day free trial, no card required.