Choose stamps if your customers often buy the same product at about the same price, like a coffee or a sandwich. Take points if the basket varies, cashback if purchases are bigger and irregular, and a prepaid card if you want the customer to pay upfront.
What follows shows how to reach that choice for your shop: a decision table, worked examples in euros, a list of questions and the most common pitfalls.
What types of cards are there?
In a small Belgian shop, you will mostly come across five formulas.
- Stamp card. One stamp per visit or per purchase, a reward when the card is full. The classic “tenth coffee free”.
- Points. The customer earns points per euro spent, for example 1 point per euro, and exchanges them for one or more rewards.
- Cashback. A percentage of the purchase is credited to the card, and the customer pays with that balance next time.
- Prepaid card. The customer pays upfront, for example 10 sandwiches or 10 sessions, and one unit is deducted at each visit. Or they top up a balance, sometimes with a bonus.
- Membership card. The customer is a member for a period and gets a fixed discount or a perk, such as 10% off all haircuts.
Each formula solves a different problem. The table helps you find your way.
Which card for which shop?
| Card type | Suits when | Typical shops | Understood at once? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stamps | One star product, often, similar prices | Café, chip shop, ice cream parlour, car wash | Yes |
| Points | Varying basket and amount | Bakery, butcher, delicatessen, boutique | Yes, if few rules |
| Cashback | Bigger and irregular purchases | Florist, boutique, beauty | Yes, “5% back” |
| Prepaid | Same service bought in series, paid upfront | Gym, sandwich shop, café | Yes |
| Topped-up balance with bonus | Regular purchases of different amounts | Café, bakery | Yes |
| Membership card | Lasting relationship, discount or perk | Hairdresser, gym, beauty | Yes |
Golden rule: the more regular the price and the more often the customer comes, the better stamps fit. The more the amounts vary, the more unfair a stamp becomes, and the more sense points or cashback make.
How do you work out what a card costs?
The key figure is the effective discount. In words: the value of the reward divided by what the customer pays to earn it. To be stricter, count the reward in the total the customer receives: its value divided by the sum of what they paid and the reward.
This discount is calculated at selling price. What you really lose is the purchase cost of the reward, generally much lower.
Notice that a 10-stamp card and a prepaid card “ten for the price of nine” give almost the same discount. The difference is when the money comes in: with the prepaid card, you collect today for services that will be used later.
To test your own figures, redo the calculations above with your prices and purchase costs.
Which questions decide the choice?
Go through this list before you decide.
- Do most customers buy the same main product at each visit?
- Do purchases stay within a narrow price range, for example €2 to €6?
- Do your regulars come at least once a week, or a few times a year?
- Does the basket vary between €5 and €50?
- Do you want to reward the visit or the amount?
- Do you have a service sold in series that could be sold as a pack?
- Do you want to collect upfront, accepting that you track what you owe the customer?
- Can your team explain the rule in one sentence at the counter?
- What effective discount can your margin bear?
If you answer yes to the first two, stamps are almost always the right choice. A yes to “the basket varies” points to points or cashback. A yes to packs and collecting upfront points to the prepaid card.
Can you combine several card types?
Yes, and it is often smart.
- Café: a stamp card on coffee for everyone, plus a prepaid card of ten coffees for office customers who want to pay upfront.
- Hairdresser: membership card with a discount on the cut, plus stamps on products.
- Bakery: points across the whole counter, plus a separate stamp card for the seasonal galette or the weekend rolls.
- Gym: prepaid card for day visitors, membership card for regular members.
Keep the number of cards low. Two cards with clear goals work; five cards lose customers and team.
At Fidelia, a stamp card is included in Essential (€29 per month, excl. VAT). Points, cashback, membership card, prepaid balance, and several cards in parallel are in Pro (€59 per month, excl. VAT). For points, cashback and balance, the team enters the purchase amount on a till-style keypad, and the card in the customer’s phone updates within a few seconds.
How do VIP tiers work?
VIP tiers rank customers by what they spend or how many visits they make, and give the best ones a little extra: higher cashback, a bigger reward or a simple perk such as a free extra. Read more in VIP tiers in a loyalty program.
Three tiers are enough, and Fidelia Pro lets you have up to three.
Count the VIP perk in the effective discount: if the Gold tier gives 8% cashback instead of 5%, 8% applies to your best customers, and they account for a large share of your revenue.
Which pitfalls should you avoid?
The reward is too far away. A 20-stamp card for one coffee is a 5% discount, and it takes months to fill. Many give up. If you want more boxes, raise the reward in the same proportion.
Stamps on varying amounts. One stamp per purchase whatever the amount teaches customers to split their purchases or take the cheapest item. Switch to points or cashback, or set a minimum amount.
Cashback that is too low. 1% on a €30 bouquet is €0.30. It is fair, but it goes unnoticed. Better fewer rewards, but more visible ones.
Too many rules. “Double points on Tuesdays except public holidays” is hard for the team and a source of errors. A rule that fits in one sentence works better.
Everyone does it their own way. Decide whether it is one stamp per visit or per item, and whether group purchases count. Write it on a sheet at the till.
Do not change the rules along the way. A customer with seven stamps out of ten does not like hearing that the card now needs twelve. Let cards in progress finish under the old terms.
How do you get started?
- Choose a card type with the table and the list above.
- Work out the effective discount and compare it with your margin.
- Write the rule in one sentence and explain it to the team.
- Start with one card and review after a few months.
- Add a second card only when the need is clear.
If in doubt, a stamp card is almost always a good start: easy to understand, easy to calculate, and customers know it. To find out what it costs, read the price of a digital loyalty card. If you collect customer data, also see the loyalty card and GDPR. Plans are on the pricing page.