A digital loyalty card for your ice-cream parlour

An ice-cream parlour has the most compressed year of any shop on the high street: a few hot weeks when the line reaches the pavement, and months when nobody is thinking about glass. A loyalty card cannot change the weather, but it can make your parlour the one people head for when the sun comes out, and it can bring them back when the season starts again.

What to reward, and after how many stamps?

Ice cream has a low ingredient cost compared with its price, so a free scoop is a generous-looking reward that costs little.

• 8A free single scoopThe classic. Simple to explain and easy to hand over.
• 4A free topping or waffle upgradeA cheap early reward that gets new customers to come back.
• 6A free kids' scoop for a family regularRewards the parent who brings the family every weekend.
• 12A take-home pint of the flavour of the weekA bigger goal for your most loyal summer regulars.

Example calculation: a double scoop sells for 55 kr and the ingredients cost you around 12 kr. Eight purchases bring in 440 kr, and a free single scoop costing 7 kr is under 2 % of that. These are example figures, so use your own prices; the reward cost tool can do the sums.

Cards can have between 3 and 30 stamps. Changing the number affects only new cards.

Which card type fits an ice-cream parlour?

The stamp card (Essential) is the right base: one stamp per visit, a free scoop at the end. Keep it short, because a customer may only visit a handful of times in a season.

On Pro:

• Push messages. The main reason a parlour upgrades: a reminder before opening day and a note when the weather turns.
• Pack card. A prepaid set of scoops, for example for a family or a school class outing. The card shows “Not active yet” until staff tap Activate, then staff tap Use 1 per scoop. You hold the money in advance, so check prepaid rules with your accountant.

How does stamping work during the summer rush?

Scan when the scoop is paid, whether by Swish, card or cash. The scanner shows “+1” and a first name with progress, for example “Maja · 5/8”.

• Phone on a stand: one phone by the card terminal, so whoever is serving can scan. Each staff member logs in with a PIN, and every stamp records who scanned it and where.
• One stamp per purchase: the cooldown is 5 minutes by default, so a family buying five cones gets one stamp per card, not five. Change it if you prefer.
• Mistakes: the owner or a manager corrects the card in the dashboard with Adjust stamps; the reason and who made the change are logged.
• Reward ready: the pass shows it, and the customer gets a lock-screen notification. Staff tap the claim button and hand over the free scoop.

The scanner needs internet, so keep it on a stable connection, especially if the parlour is in a kiosk or on a seafront.

Seasonal and occasion ideas

• Opening day (April to May): the one message every customer is waiting for.
• Valborg and Kristi himmelsfärd: the first warm long weekends of the year.
• Nationaldagen (6 June) and midsommar: crowds, visitors and family outings.
• School holidays (sommarlov): more families, more afternoons with nothing to do.
• Hot spells: a same-day push message works better than any planned campaign.
• Late summer: a “last weeks of the season” reminder to use rewards before you close.
• Autumn and winter: hot waffles, chocolate and takeaway tubs for parlours that stay open.

What to send by push or e-mail

Push messages (Pro) show on the lock screen and only reach customers who opted in to news. Keep them to a few per season and tie each to a real reason. Examples:

• Example · title: “We open on Friday” · message: “First scoops of the season from 12:00. Bring your card.”
• Example · title: “It is 28 degrees” · message: “New mango sorbet today. We are open until 21:00.”
• Example · title: “One scoop to go” · message: “You are one stamp from a free scoop. We close for the season on 15 September.”

E-mail idea: a short note in early spring from your parlour’s own address, with the opening date and the new flavours. Replies land in an inbox in your dashboard.

Common objections

“My customers only come on hot days.” That is exactly when the card pays off: it is cheap to scan and the free scoop is a reason to choose you over the next place. The reminder before opening day does the rest.

“It will slow the line.” One scan takes a couple of seconds, and joining happens at the QR stand, not at the till.

“Customers will not download an app.” They do not have to. The card goes into Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, or opens as a web card if they have neither.

“I am only open a few months.” A card has no running cost to the customer and it stays in their Wallet. Your plan is monthly, so check the billing terms in your dashboard for how you handle the closed months.

What does it cost?

Essential costs 299 kr a month excl. VAT: one location, one stamp card, unlimited customers and scans, the scanner for your whole team and your first QR stand. Pro, at 599 kr a month, adds push messages, e-mails, pack cards and several cards at once, with a 14-day free trial.