How many stamps on a loyalty card? Working out the right threshold
It's the first question every merchant asks when launching a loyalty card: how many stamps before the reward? Too few, and the card is expensive. Too many, and customers drop off before the end. Here's a simple method to find the right balance, with examples by type of business.
The basic rule: the reward should cost 3 to 10% of what the customer spends
The principle is simple: add up what the customer spends to fill their card, then compare it with the real cost of the reward to you (its purchase price, not its selling price).
Example: a coffee sold for €2 costs about €0.40 in ingredients. With a 10-coffee card, the customer spends €20 and the reward costs you €0.40, i.e. 2%: very profitable, and very motivating for a customer who sees “1 free coffee”.
Aim for a reward whose real cost is between 3 and 10% of total spending. Below that, the reward looks meagre; above it, it eats into your margin.
Number of visits by visit frequency
A card should fill up within 4 to 8 weeks for a regular customer. Any longer and they forget the reward and lose heart.
- Daily or near-daily visit (bakery, café, newsagent): 8 to 12 visits.
- Weekly visit (butcher, greengrocer, lunchtime restaurant): 6 to 10 visits.
- Monthly visit (hairdresser, beauty salon, dry cleaner): 4 to 6 visits.
- Occasional visit (florist, wine shop, boutique): 3 to 5 visits, or a points system based on the amount spent.
The intermediate milestones trick
A 10-stamp card feels long at first. Add a small reward halfway: at 5 stamps, a free drink or accessory, and the big reward at 10.
Intermediate milestones revive motivation just when the customer risks dropping off. They cost little and significantly increase the number of completed cards.
Give the first stamp at sign-up
A card that starts at 1 out of 10 gets completed more often than one at 0 out of 10: the customer feels they've already started. It's a simple, low-cost way to start every relationship on the right foot.
Examples by type of shop
| Shop | Visits | Typical reward |
|---|---|---|
| Bakery | 10 | 1 free baguette or pastry |
| Café-bar | 10 | 1 free coffee, tier at 5: 1 cookie |
| Restaurant | 8 | 1 free dessert or drink |
| Hairdresser | 5 | 1 free treatment or 50% off a service |
| Beauty salon | 6 | 1 free express treatment |
| Butcher's | 10 | 1 free homemade product |
| Florist | 5 | 1 free small bouquet |
For more ideas, see our reward ideas.
Check profitability before launching
Before printing anything, do the maths with your own figures: average basket, margin, visit frequency. Our free calculator tells you in seconds how many extra visits you need to make your programme pay off.
And with a digital card like FidèlPro, you can adjust the number of stamps and the rewards at any time, without reprinting cards.