Loyalty programs for restaurants, breakfast spots and bars
In short: a restaurant or bar does best with a stamp card per visit and a low-cost, high-perceived-value reward (a dessert, a coffee, an appetizer), stamped when the check is paid. If tickets vary a lot between tables, points by amount are fairer, though harder to explain. In bars, the reward should never push people to drink more.
Club Card's card, counter app, dashboard and signup are in Spanish only.
A restaurant has things a coffee shop doesn't: tables with several people, split checks, tips and very different tickets between breakfast and dinner. This guide covers the format, the reward, table rules, the case of bars and what to measure.
Stamps or points
| Format | When it fits | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Stamps per visit | Breakfast, set lunch menus, places with similar tickets | Rewards one person the same as a table of six |
| Points by amount | Dinners, very different tickets between tables | The customer doesn't always know how far they have to go |
| Tiered perks | Very frequent customers, like nearby offices | More rules to explain at the table |
For a breakfast or set-menu spot, a stamp per visit works the same as in a coffee shop. The guide how to set up a coffee shop loyalty program explains how to pick the number of stamps from your customers' real frequency.
What reward to give
The reward is calculated by what it costs you, not by what you charge.
An example with hypothetical numbers: an average breakfast costs 180 pesos. After 8 visits, the customer has spent 1,440 pesos. A dessert you sell for 90 and that costs you 30 gives back about 2% of what they spent. A full free breakfast costs you several times more.
Rewards that tend to work at the table:
- A dessert or a coffee at the end of the meal.
- An appetizer to share, which also adds to the table.
- The dish of the day for set-menu customers.
At the café in the Kivetz, Urminsky and Zheng study, most members chose as their reward the same product they always bought (Journal of Marketing Research, 2006). A reward that's already part of the customer's habit usually means more than a new one.
Table rules
Write them down before launching and make sure the whole team says them the same way:
- One card, one stamp per visit. If four members come in, each one earns on their own card, once per day.
- Stamp at payment, not when ordering. This avoids stamps for tables that leave without ordering.
- Split checks. Each member who pays earns their stamp.
- The reward doesn't earn. The visit where the reward is redeemed gives no stamp if you decide so; say it on the sign.
Bars: careful with alcohol
In a bar, the reward shouldn't push people to drink more. Some jurisdictions regulate alcohol promotions, so check the local rules before launching. Options that avoid the problem:
- Rewards that aren't alcohol: a sharing board, an appetizer, a non-alcoholic drink.
- A stamp per visit, never per drink.
- No rewards for drinking fast or in quantity.
How to launch it in the dining room
- QR on the table and on the check. The customer has time to join while they wait.
- The server mentions it once, when bringing the check: "Want me to add you to the card? After 8 visits, dessert is on the house."
- Welcome stamps. A card with 2 free stamps gets completed more than a short card with no head start, according to Nunes and Drèze (Journal of Consumer Research, 2006).
- A phone or tablet at the register to scan the customer's code at checkout.
Reviews without rewards
Asking a happy customer for a review is good practice. Giving them something in return isn't: Google Maps policy prohibits incentives for posting reviews (Google Maps Help). Business Profile help suggests asking with a short link or a QR (Business Profile Help).
What to measure each month
- Members who return within 30 days of their first visit.
- Frequency of active members, compared with the previous month.
- Dormant members, with no visits in 60 days.
- Rewards redeemed over cards started.
If almost nobody completes the card, revisit the number of stamps. If many complete it in a few days, the reward may be costing you too much.
How Club Card handles it
Club Card builds your restaurant's stamp card with your brand. 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. The server or the register adds the stamp by scanning the code with the shop's phone, and the database guarantees one stamp per member per day. The dashboard shows who comes back and who stopped coming, and we do the setup. It's in Spanish. See how it works and pricing.
Frequently asked questions
What loyalty program works best in a restaurant?
In breakfast or set-menu spots, a stamp card per visit. For dinners with very different tickets, points by amount are fairer.
How do I keep one table from filling the card in a single visit?
With a rule of one stamp per member per day. In Club Card the system enforces that rule.
Can I run a loyalty program in a bar?
Yes, with rewards that don't push people to drink more and after checking local rules on alcohol promotions.
Sources
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