Ice cream shop loyalty program: stamps, seasons and rewards
In short: an ice cream shop does best with a short stamp card, 6 to 8 visits, a reward the customer already buys (a cone or a small cup) and a one-stamp-per-visit rule. Handle the off-season with double stamps in the slowest months and a message to members who stopped coming.
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An ice cream shop has two traits that change how you design the program: sales rise and fall with the weather, and many purchases are made by groups or families. This guide covers the format, the number of stamps, the reward, the off-season, the launch and the numbers worth watching.
Which format to choose
| Format | Advantage in an ice cream shop | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Stamps per visit | Explained in one sentence while people wait in line | Rewards a small cone the same as a take-home kilo |
| Stamps per product | Rewards the customer who buys more | A family order fills the card in one visit |
| Points by amount | Fair with very different tickets | Hard to explain with a line at the register |
For most neighborhood ice cream shops, a stamp per visit is the starting point. If you sell a lot of ice cream by the kilo to take home, you can add a separate rule: for example, an extra stamp when buying a kilo.
How many stamps to ask for
Ask yourself how often your regular customer comes back in high season. If they come once a week, an 8-stamp card fills up in two months, and in the off-season that stretches out a lot.
An example with hypothetical numbers: a customer who comes in every 7 days in summer completes 6 stamps in 6 weeks. If they come every 20 days in winter, those same 6 stamps take 4 months. That's why an ice cream shop needs a shorter card than a coffee shop, where the customer may come several times a week.
The Kivetz, Urminsky and Zheng study of a coffee card showed that customers speed up when they see the reward close (Journal of Marketing Research, 2006). With long cards, the customer spends a lot of time far from the goal, which is the stretch where most people drop off.
What reward to give
The best reward is one the customer already buys and that costs you little to make. Work it out by cost, not by menu price.
An example with hypothetical numbers: a single cone sells for 60 pesos and costs you 20. With 6 stamps, the customer spent 360 pesos and you give back something that costs you 20. A quarter kilo to take home can cost you three times as much with a similar perceived value.
Other options that tend to work:
- A free premium flavor instead of the regular one.
- The next size up at no charge.
- A topping or a dip for whoever completes the card.
The off-season
This is when a digital program pays off more than paper, because you have the member list and know who stopped coming.
- Double stamps in the slow months. A temporary rule, announced on the sign and on the card.
- An invitation to come back. For members who agreed to receive messages and haven't come in for weeks, a message with a concrete reason: a seasonal flavor, new hours.
- Winter products. If you sell coffee, hot chocolate or desserts, have those earn stamps too.
Nunes and Drèze showed that a card with free stamps at the start gets completed more often and faster than a short card with no head start (Journal of Consumer Research, 2006). In the off-season, giving new members their first stamps helps them get going.
Group purchases
A family of four paying together is one visit, not four. Set the rule before launching and write it on the sign:
- One stamp per visit and per card. Each adult can have their own card, but each card earns once per day.
- The reward doesn't earn a stamp. The free cone closes the card and the next one starts with the next purchase.
- Expiration, if any. If stamps expire, say so when you hand out the card.
How to launch it
An ice cream shop line in summer leaves little time to explain. So:
- Put the QR where the line can see it, not just at the register, so customers join while they wait.
- Give the staff a short line: "Scan the QR and get your first stamp today."
- Launch in high season, when the most people come through, so you reach the off-season with a solid member list.
Reviews: what you can't do
Asking for reviews is fine. Offering something in return isn't: Google Maps' content policy prohibits giving incentives, like discounts or free products, for posting reviews (Google Maps Help). If you want more reviews, ask for them with no reward, for example with a QR to the business profile.
What to measure
- New members per week, comparing high and low season.
- Members who return within 30 days of their first visit.
- Dormant members, those who haven't come in for two months or more.
- Completed cards over cards started.
How Club Card handles it
Club Card builds your ice cream shop's stamp card with your logo and colors. The customer scans the QR, joins with Google or email and saves it to Google Wallet on Android; on iPhone it works in the browser; it is not saved to Apple Wallet yet. Staff add the stamp by scanning the code with the shop's phone, and the dashboard shows active members, dormant members and who comes back within 30 days. We do the setup. See how it works or pricing.
Frequently asked questions
How many stamps should an ice cream shop card have?
Between 6 and 8 is usually reasonable, because customers come less often than to a coffee shop and visits spread out more in the off-season. Work it out from your regular customer's real frequency.
What do I do with the card in winter?
Double stamps for a limited time, winter products that also earn stamps and an invitation to come back for members who agreed to receive messages.
Can I give a free ice cream for a Google review?
No. Google Maps prohibits offering incentives in exchange for reviews. You can ask for the review, with no reward.
Sources
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