Introduction
A points program is an essential part of any great customer loyalty program. It's a proven way to reward customers for their loyalty and incentivize them to keep coming back to your business.
Why Run a Points Program?
A points program is a really effective way to increase customer loyalty and drive sales for your store. By offering rewards and incentives, you're creating a positive customer experience and always building a strong base of loyal customers.
Here's 4 reasons why a points program is so important:
It makes customers feel valued - When you offer points for purchases or other actions, customers feel like they're getting something in return for their loyalty. This makes them feel appreciated and encourages them to continue doing business with you.
It encourages repeat business - The promise of earning points that can be redeemed for rewards encourages customers to come back to your business again and again. This is a great way to build customer loyalty and increase sales.
It creates a sense of excitement - Customers enjoy the thrill of accumulating points and working towards a reward. This creates a positive association with your business and makes customers more likely to recommend you to others.
It sets you apart from competitors - A well-designed points program can be a key differentiator for your business. Customers are more likely to choose a business that offers rewards over one that doesn't, especially if the rewards are valuable and easy to earn.
Setting up an effective Points Program straight out of the box with Rivo is a cinch! And we've got tons of options for further customizations to suit your store's needs. Read on to get the scoop.
An Overview of Rivo's Points Program
The Points Program centers around earning and redeeming points in your store. Customers earn points by doing things like placing orders, following you on social media, leaving product reviews, etc. When they have accumulated enough, customers can redeem those points for coupons that they can apply on future orders. Here's an overview of the Points Programs subsections.
The Points Program appears to customers as a floating widget on your storefront, allowing them to view their points balance, see available rewards, check their points history, and learn about ways to earn more points. This creates an engaging and interactive experience that encourages ongoing participation.
Points Program Status
This toggle switch at the top of the page turns the program ON or OFF. Customers will not be able to access the features of the program or redeem any of its associated rewards if this switch is toggled off.
Earning Points - Ways to Earn
These are the actions through which your customers earn points. Each Way to Earn's points value is customizable. There are three default ways to earn:
Sign up - Earn a one-time, fixed amount of points by becoming a member of the Loyalty Program. This encourages new customer acquisition and account creation.
Place an Order - Earn points by placing an order. This can be set as a fixed amount or in increments e.g. 1 point per $1. This rewards customers for their purchases and encourages larger order values.
Celebrate a Birthday - Earn a fixed amount of points each year on your birthday. This personal touch helps customers feel valued and creates an annual engagement opportunity.
You can also add many additional points earning methods to your program by clicking Add Another Way to Earn. Here are all the available earning options:
Social Actions
Follow on Instagram - Reward customers for following your brand on Instagram. This increases your social media presence and creates more touchpoints with customers.
Like page on Facebook - Customers earn points by liking your Facebook page, helping expand your social media reach.
Share link on Facebook - Incentivize customers to share your store with their network, creating a powerful word-of-mouth marketing effect.
Follow on Twitter - Reward customers for connecting with your brand on Twitter.
Share link on Twitter - Encourage customers to spread the word about your store on Twitter.
Follow on TikTok - Connect with customers on this popular platform and reward them for following your brand.
Engagement and Growth Actions
Complete a Referral - Earn extra points for completing a successful referral. This powerful acquisition tool rewards your existing customers for bringing in new ones. See our guide here.
Post a product review - Earn points by reviewing products. This helps build social proof for your products and influences future purchase decisions. See our guide here.
Customer Anniversary - Reward customers on the anniversary of their account creation, celebrating their loyalty to your brand year after year.
Visit URL - Encourage customers to visit specific pages on your website by rewarding them with points. This is great for promoting new collections, blog posts, or important information.
Email Subscribe - Reward customers for subscribing to your email list, helping you build your marketing database.
SMS Subscribe - Give points to customers who opt-in to your SMS messaging, expanding your direct communication channels.
Upload Receipt - Allow customers to earn points by uploading receipts from qualifying purchases, perfect for offline-to-online engagement.
Product Purchase - Award bonus points for purchasing specific featured products, helping promote new items or clear inventory.
Custom Action - Create your own custom actions to award points for any behavior that matters to your business. See our guide here.
Redeeming Points - Ways to Redeem
These are the coupons that customers receive by redeeming their points. You can add as many Rewards as you like. There are multiple reward types available to suit different customer preferences and business goals:
Online Store
Amount Discount - A fixed amount off the entire order (e.g., $10 off).
Percentage Off - A percentage amount off the entire order (e.g., 15% off).
Free Shipping - Free Shipping off the entire order. This is a highly desirable reward that can help reduce cart abandonment. See our guide here.
Free Product - A full-price discount usable on a specific product. This is great for introducing customers to new products or clearing inventory. See our guide here.
POS (In-store)
Amount Discount - A fixed amount off the entire order. (usable on POS system only)
Percentage Off - A percentage amount off the entire order. (usable on POS system only)
Gift Cards
Gift Card Rewards - Allow customers to redeem points for store gift cards that can be used on future purchases. This provides maximum flexibility for customers and encourages return visits.
Point Redemption Types
Fixed Point Rewards - Customers redeem a set number of points for specific rewards (e.g., 500 points = $5 off).
Flexible Point Rewards - Customers can choose how many points to spend with variable discount amounts, giving them more control over their redemptions.
Points Expiry
Create urgency and increase engagement by setting customer points balances to expire after a certain period of time. When enabled, customers will receive notifications about their expiring points, encouraging them to make a purchase before they lose their points. This feature helps maintain an active customer base and can boost sales during quieter periods.
The Customer Experience
Customers interact with your points program through a user-friendly widget that appears on your storefront. This widget allows them to:
View their points balance - See how many points they've accumulated
Check available rewards - Browse rewards they can redeem with their points
Discover ways to earn - Learn about all the different ways they can earn more points
View points history - See a record of how they've earned and spent points
Redeem points - Exchange points for reward coupon codes that can be used at checkout
The widget creates an interactive and engaging loyalty experience that keeps customers coming back to earn and redeem more points. Customers can also access their loyalty account through their customer dashboard for a more detailed view of their activity and history.
VIP Tiers and Enhanced Benefits
Many loyalty programs include VIP tier systems that provide enhanced benefits as customers reach higher spending thresholds:
How VIP Tiers Work
Spending Thresholds - VIP tiers are unlocked based on total spending, points earned, or other qualifying criteria set by the merchant.
Tier Progression - Customers advance through multiple tiers (such as Bronze, Silver, Gold) as they reach higher thresholds.
Enhanced Earning Rates - Higher tier members often earn more points per dollar spent, accelerating their rewards accumulation.
Exclusive Rewards - VIP members may have access to tier-specific rewards not available to other customers.
Special Perks - Benefits can include early access to sales, exclusive customer service, or bonus point multipliers.
Points Balance and Tracking
Your loyalty program provides comprehensive tracking of points activity:
Balance Management
Current Balance - View available points that can be redeemed for rewards.
Points vs Credits - Some programs use both points and store credits systems - check which your program uses.
Real-time Updates - Your balance updates immediately as you earn and spend points.
Transaction History - See a complete record of all points earned and spent, including dates and sources.
Email Notifications
Points Earned - Get notified when you earn points from various activities.
Rewards Redeemed - Receive confirmation when you redeem rewards.
VIP Tier Updates - Be notified when you unlock new tier levels.
Special Occasions - Receive birthday and anniversary greetings with bonus points.
Expiration Warnings - Get alerts before points expire (if expiration is enabled).
Common questions
Is the app compatible with multiple currencies?
Rivo Loyalty is compatible with your store's default currency only. The points that are awarded on completed orders will always correspond to the value of the order in your store's default currency. Even if you are using Shopify's Advanced plan, or Geolocation app to allow customers to checkout in their own currency, the points will be based on the order's value in your store's default currency.
Are taxes and shipping charges included when customers earn points?
By default, points are calculated based on the order total including taxes and shipping charges. However, this can be customized in your program settings to exclude discounts, taxes, or shipping from points calculations depending on your business preferences.
Can customers earn points on guest checkout orders?
No, customers must be logged into their account to earn points. Points are only awarded when customers are signed in during checkout, not for guest purchases.
How do points work with referrals?
When a customer refers a friend using their unique referral link, both the referrer and the new customer can earn points. The referrer typically earns points when their friend makes their first qualifying purchase, while the new customer may receive welcome points for joining through the referral.
What happens to points if a customer returns an order?
If a customer returns an order for which they earned points, those points are typically deducted from their account balance. Similarly, if they used points to redeem a reward on a returned order, those points may be restored to their account.
Can customers combine multiple rewards on a single order?
This depends on your program configuration. Some programs allow customers to stack multiple rewards, while others limit customers to one reward per order. Check your specific program rules for details.
How do social media points work?
Social media points are typically awarded once per customer per platform. For example, a customer can earn points once for following on Instagram, once for liking on Facebook, etc. The system tracks which actions have been completed to prevent duplicate point awards.
This is the default behavior of the app but you can change this in Settings. Check out this guide for more.
Does the app work with draft order invoices?
If you have sent a customer a draft order invoice via email, this customer will earn points on this order when they checkout using the checkout link. The customer will need to have an account on your store. However, customers are not able to redeem their rewards on these types of orders. This is due to Shopify's own limitations, as Shopify does not allow discount codes to be used on orders created as draft order invoices. This is noted in Shopify's guide to draft orders here.
Can customers earn points retroactively for past orders?
No, points are only awarded for actions taken after the points program is set up and enabled. Past orders will not automatically generate points unless manually added by a store administrator.
How are points displayed to customers?
Customers can see their points balance in the loyalty widget on your storefront. The widget shows their current balance, points history, and available rewards they can redeem.