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Loyalty programs are everywhere – from punch cards at your local cafe, to frequent flyer miles on major airlines. With the average US household being enrolled in 18 customer loyalty programs1, they can be an effective way to keep your customer base healthy – if done properly.
Fostering customer loyalty through rewarded incentives has been an initiative undertaken by businesses for millennia – from Ancient Egyptian worker tokens, to more modern programs such as B.T Babbitt’s “trade marks"2. In modern times, it has become commonplace for many businesses to create such incentives, with an estimated 90% of companies3 offering some form of engagement or loyalty program.
Although it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when app-based loyalty programs began to emerge, there’s no denying that they have taken the digital landscape by storm, becoming the gold standard for increasing retention, diversifying monetization, and boosting LTV.
In this article, we’ll take a look at seven of the most successful loyalty program examples from across industries, with statistics and key takeaways to help you on your journey to build a top-tier program of your own.
👀 Related reading: Customer loyalty programs: The complete publisher's guide to fostering LTV through loyalty
Customer loyalty is one of the key elements to running a successful business, regardless of which industry you find yourself in. With so much competition out there, keeping a share of consumers’ wallets is an ongoing challenge that must be navigated strategically.
Building a loyal customer base begins from the very first impression. From the moment a potential user encounters your brand – be it on social media, TV, or otherwise – a relationship is established. In order to grow that relationship, every touchpoint must be optimized to build a positive image, establish trust, and increase retention.
However, loyalty is not guaranteed, and it must be properly nurtured to prove successful in the long run. This can be done through a variety of means, such as maintaining high product quality, showing strong company values, and the creation of loyalty programs – all of which contribute to the development of a strong business-customer relationship. Although it may seem daunting, many companies have already cracked the code for building long-term loyalty through rewarded incentives, and they now stand as pillars of the loyalty scene.
💡 Did you know: Around 53% of consumers4 will vocally complain if they disagree with a brand’s messaging or actions, with 47% walking away. Of those who quit supporting their once-favourite brand, 17% will never return.
👀 Related reading: What is customer loyalty and why it matters for mobile app publishers
Industry: Food and beverage
Overview:
Starbucks Rewards is an app-based mobile loyalty program that allows customers to earn points (called “Stars”) with every purchase made either in-store or online, which can be redeemed for perks such as free drinks, free food, and extra customization options. With an easy-to-use UI, the Starbucks app allows users to manage all of their benefits, order online, and even earn exclusive discounts and offers – enhancing the customer experience and boosting sales5.
Features:
The Starbucks Rewards program has a number of features aimed at encouraging repeat spend, namely:
Success in numbers:
Takeaway:
With many people choosing to get coffee and breakfast on a regular basis, the Starbucks Rewards program integrates seamlessly into customers’ daily routines to provide a number of useful benefits, without disrupting their usual habits. Finding a natural way to implement your program so that customers don’t need to go out of their way to use it is a great way to drive habitual engagement and keep retention high.
Industry: Travel
Overview:
Air France-KLM’s Flying Blue is a loyalty program that allows customers to earn miles with every dollar spent on flights and accommodations, which can be cashed in for free upgrades, future discounts on flights, and more. As customers spend, they also earn experience points (XP) to bring them towards higher tiers, which give them access to exclusive perks and benefits. Each tier must be maintained by hitting certain spend goals within the year.
The app also allows customers to manage all of their travel information, such as managing boarding passes, checking flight information, and purchasing related services. Designed to alleviate some of the common pressures of airline travel, it has been ranked consistently among the top travel programs – even winning a Freddie award for Best Elite Program in Europe/Africa9.
Features:
Like many airlines, Air France-KLM’s Flying Blue program is aimed at helping reduce the often high cost of airline travel, through features such as:
Success in numbers:
Takeaway:
As with many travel loyalty programs, Flying Blue uses a tiered structure to better reward high spenders, making them feel valued for their time and money. By instilling a sense of exclusivity with increasingly better perks, customers always have something worthwhile to work towards.
Industry: Finance
Overview:
The app-based Amex loyalty program offers customers a wide range of benefits, perks, and rewards. Customers earn points by spending with one of the 14 tiers of personal credit cards, which can be redeemed for merchandise rewards, to pay off monthly statements, or to cover travel costs. With both free and subscription-based cards, members are rewarded proportionally for the amount they spend with Amex.
Features:
Amex’s well-designed app lets users manage their account, pay statements, and take advantage of the following features:
Success in numbers*:
*All figures taken from American Express’ 2023 annual report12
Takeaway:
Amex succeeds in offering a loyalty program built on flexibility, offering a large number of cards, rewards, and benefits to give customers what they want most. With versatile earning opportunities, your users can always find a way to be rewarded for their time and spend.
Industry: Retail
Overview:
My Bath & Body Works Rewards is a digital loyalty program in which customers earn points with each purchase, which can be redeemed towards free items in-store or online. The app functions as a one-stop shop for users to view all of their benefits, place online orders, and keep up-to-date with new product releases – offering a high level of functionality and accessibility.
Features:
The My Bath & Body Works Rewards program is structured similarly to many retail loyalty programs, with features such as:
Success in numbers:
Takeaway:
Bath & Body Works has succeeded in creating an app that covers all of their customers' needs in one place – allowing them to shop directly from the app, manage gift cards and offers, and make use of a number of digital perks. By providing a centralized hub for all of your program features, you can streamline the user experience and prioritize convenience, making your app a must-have for any customer.
Industry: Mobile gaming
Overview:
Pokemon GO utilizes two different monthly loyalty programs – the spend-based Reward Road and engagement-based Go Pass. Players can make purchases in publisher Niantic’s DTC webshop to earn points, which can be used to unlock exclusive in-game items from the Reward Road battlepass. The Go Pass has both a free and paid path, where users earn XP by playing the game to reach new levels in the battle pass and unlock limited-time rewards.
Features:
Pokemon GO uses battlepass models, which are seen frequently in the gaming industry:
Success in numbers:
Takeaway:
By employing two different reward programs in their game, Pokemon GO provides earning opportunities for both spenders and non-spenders alike, making sure that no player feels alienated for their playstyle. With not everyone willing to spend in mobile games, it’s important to make sure non-spenders are also rewarded for their time, engagement, and loyalty.
👀 Related reading: The race to web: How direct-to-consumer web shops are transforming mobile game monetization
Industry: Ridesharing and food delivery
Overview:
Uber One is a brand-level loyalty program that functions across both of Uber’s main products – those being their ridesharing service, as well as Uber Eats. Costing $9.99 per month (or $4.99 for their Uber One for Students plan), members can benefit from no delivery fees, Uber One credits on select rides, and regular discounts. By saving with each purchase, customers can offset the cost of the subscription, all the while earning additional perks and benefits.
Features:
Uber One’s features work across both Uber and Uber Eats, giving members the following benefits:
Success in numbers:
Takeaway:
One of the many successes of Uber One is how seamlessly it works between both of Uber’s major apps, with users being able to reap the benefits across both products – doubling the perceived value of the program. By incorporating your loyalty program into your brand as a whole, you give users a reason to try out everything you have to offer.
Industry: Retail
Overview:
Sephora’s Beauty Insider is a tiered loyalty program where customers can earn points (called “Beauty Insider Cash”) with each purchase and redeem them towards discounts on future purchases and early access to sales events. By hitting and maintaining yearly spend goals, members can climb through three tiers to unlock increasingly better perks, such as higher discounts and better offers in limited-time events.
Sephora’s Beauty Insider program focuses on personalization and individuality, with users filling out their style preferences and appearance information in-app in order to get a custom-tailored experience that best suits them.
Features:
Sephora’s Beauty Insider program uses a tiered structure to offer customers:
Success in numbers:
Takeaway:
Personalization goes a long way in making your users feel seen, heard, and valued. By providing a customized experience for each individual and showing them offers that they will be more likely to benefit from, you can prevent user fatigue and increase the perceived value of your program.
As exemplified by the companies highlighted above, there are many key strategies that make for a successful loyalty program. From creating an easy-to-use interface, to providing a number of personalized offers, mastering these elements will make all the difference when creating your program. Consider the following components of a successful customer loyalty program:
In order to garner a loyal user base, customers need to feel as though your program integrates seamlessly into their overall interaction with your brand – without it complicating the process. Your digital program should give users easy access to all the features they may need, with a smooth onboarding process to guide them through everything your program has to offer. With 70% of users25 deleting an app within 24h of install, proper onboarding is crucial and worth investing time in – in fact, it can increase user retention by up to 50%26.
Another aspect of usability is the integration of your program into the regular habits of your users. As seen with Starbucks Rewards, users should not have to go out of their way to interact with your program – because the simple fact is, many won’t. Instead, making your app serve as a natural bridge between your customers and your brand is a great way to keep engagement high. With one easy and convenient place for users to access their perks, redeem rewards, and even make purchases, your customers will have no reason not to use your app.
Much like usability, versatility comprises a number of design choices aimed at creating a personalized and unique experience for each user. This can be achieved through a diverse reward library, personalized offers, and compatibility with all of your products.
When selecting which rewards you plan to offer your customers, it’s important to look not only at who they are, but how they interact with your brand. The relationship your customers have with your business will shape the way you build up your rewards library, and will ensure that you offer them the perks that will best benefit them.
Having a variety of both free and paid rewards keeps all users interested, and gives them the option to work towards something they perceive as valuable. Depending on the industry you’re in, you may also want to offer other opportunities for customers to be rewarded for their loyalty, such as Amex allowing clients to pay off their credit card statements with reward points.
👀 Related reading: From ideas to implementation: How to create a successful loyalty program
Personalization is a multifaceted and ongoing process in your loyalty program that is a core pillar of building success in the loyalty app space. Creating a personalized user experience requires a solid understanding of who your customers are, what they want most, and how to best deliver it to them.
The first step towards personalizing your rewards program is knowing your audience. Conducting surveys, doing industry research, and analyzing in-app user behavior are all great ways to capture valuable user data, which can then be segmented into personas – giving you a better view of your various user cohorts.
With these personas established, you can focus on delivering the most useful rewards to your users, giving them perks and benefits that are unique to their habits, routines, and behaviors.
💡 Did you know? According to Deloitte Digital27, 73% of online consumers want personalized rewards in a loyalty program, but only 45% of brands offer them.
If you have multiple core products or services, it’s important to make sure your loyalty strategies work across all of them in order to capture attention and provide customers with a reason to check out everything you have to offer.
As seen in the case of Uber, their loyalty program works seamlessly across both their standard ridesharing app and Uber Eats, giving customers a 2-for-1 when it comes to earning benefits with Uber One. By increasing the perceived value of what your loyalty program has to offer, you not only encourage users to take advantage of the many benefits, but also to try new products that they may not have otherwise been interested in.
👀 Related reading: Lessons in loyalty: Cross-industry insights for mobile game publishers
Exclusivity is another key focus that is leveraged by many companies when creating their loyalty program. It is not meant to alienate customers, but instead provide a higher level of benefits exclusive to those who are most loyal to your brand, keeping engagement high as customers work towards better and better rewards.
This is often done with tiered structures – much like those used by Flying Blue and Sephora’s Beauty Insiders – which allow customers to achieve new reward offers and exclusive deals based on their engagement and spend. Reaching a new tier instils a feeling of success, and often incorporates gamified elements such as leaderboards or XP to encourage users to work towards personal earning goals.
Another way to create an air of exclusivity is by offering unique rewards through limited-time events and promotions, which can generate an influx of engagement as users try not to miss out on exciting deals. With 93% of US consumers28 making repeat purchases with brands that offer discounts, adding limited-time sales, discounts codes, or member-only rewards to your program is a great way to garner repeat customers.
Despite being from a broad range of industries, all these loyalty programs share a few key traits – well designed and easy to use apps, a range of useful benefits tailored to their clientele, and convenience that can’t be beat. These elements all come together to create programs that lead in their respective digital spaces, standing out among the sea of competition to deliver the best of the best to their customers.
Are you a mobile game publisher looking to build long-lasting loyalty in your games? By partnering with a leading UA and engagement platform like Mistplay, you can unlock the full potential of a successful loyalty formula on both Android and iOS to better reward your users for their time and spend.
For app publishers seeking a way to integrate a loyalty-driven monetization solution into your product, look no further than LoyaltyPlay – our new gaming reward hub that puts the power of play-and-earn into your hands.
Check out how publishers like Treeplla have boosted their D30 retention by 70% with the help of Mistplay and contact us today to unlock the true power of loyalty.
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