Guide
How many stamps should a loyalty card have?
Buy nine, get the tenth free is the default because it is a clean ten per cent and it fits on a card. That does not make it right for your café.
· 5 min read
The calculation
Take the number of visits a typical regular makes per week and multiply by five. A customer who comes twice a week gets a ten-stamp card and finishes in just over a month. A customer who comes once a week gets five or six. That is the whole method, and it beats copying whatever the chain across the road prints.
Why shorter usually wins
The first reward is the moment the programme becomes real to a customer — they have experienced the payoff and now believe the second card is worth starting. Anything that delays that moment increases the number of people who abandon before it. A slightly more generous card that customers complete is worth more than a stingy one they quit.
What the discount actually costs you
A ten-stamp card is a ten per cent discount, but only on customers who complete it — and only on the visits they were going to make anyway plus the ones you gained. The true cost is lower than the headline and impossible to know precisely without measuring, which is an argument for a card that reports rather than one made of cardboard.
Changing the target later
If you shorten the card, existing customers should keep the stamps they have. If you lengthen it, the same applies. Any system that resets progress when you edit a programme will cost you the customers who were closest to a reward — precisely the ones you least want to annoy.
Questions
- Is buy 9 get 1 free too generous?
- Rarely. It is a ten per cent discount concentrated on your most frequent customers, which is usually where you want it. If it feels expensive, the problem is normally margin rather than the card.
- Can I run different targets at different branches?
- You can, but consider whether you should. Customers who visit more than one of your sites will notice, and it is a difficult conversation at the counter.
Related guides
How to start a café loyalty program
A practical guide to launching a loyalty program in a café: choosing the reward, setting the target, launching it at the counter, and knowing whether it worked.
Digital vs paper loyalty cards for cafés
An even-handed look at punch cards versus digital stamp cards, including when paper is still the better choice.
Put your loyalty card in your customers’ pockets
Publish a branded card in about five minutes. 14-day free trial, no card required.