How do I get customers to join my loyalty program?
Published · Updated
Ask every customer at the till, in one sentence, with a QR they can scan while they wait. Make joining quick (no app, no password), keep the card short enough that progress shows early, and offer the join page in their language. Then put the same link wherever people find you online.
1. Ask, in one sentence, at the moment they pay
A poster on its own is easy to walk past. A person asking takes three seconds and is hard to forget. Pick one sentence and have everyone use it:
- Café: "Want your 10th coffee free? Scan this; it goes straight in your phone's wallet."
- Barber: "Every 10th cut's on us. Scan that and you've got your card."
- Salon: "Scan this while you wait, and your card goes in your phone."
2. Put the QR where people wait
Put it where customers stand still with their phone already out:
- Cafés and bakeries: beside the till and on the coffee machine, where the queue waits.
- Barbers and salons: at reception and on the waiting bench.
- Restaurants: at the pay point, or a sticker on each table.
- Car washes and juice bars: where people pay and wait.
On Rewardtree, your owner page makes a free A4 QR poster to print, with a second page of four stickers. The QR never changes, even when you change your reward.
3. Let progress show early
A card that already shows progress is more likely to be finished. Nunes and Drèze (2006, Journal of Consumer Research) gave car-wash customers either a blank 8-stamp card or a 10-stamp card with 2 stamps already filled in; both needed 8 washes. 34% of the partly filled cards were redeemed, against 19% of the blank ones (the study).
The lesson: a card that already looks underway gets finished, even a longer one. On Rewardtree the visit a customer joins on already counts as their first stamp. Separately, customers come back sooner as a reward gets closer (Kivetz, Urminsky and Zheng, 2006), so keep the reward within reach: buy 9, get the 10th free works for a daily coffee; 5 or 6 suits visits weeks apart.
4. Make joining take seconds, with no app
Every extra step at the counter is a place to say "next time". On Rewardtree, the customer:
- Scans the QR with their phone camera.
- Types their first name and mobile number.
- Enters the code we text them.
- Taps Add to Apple Wallet or Add to Google Wallet.
Nothing to download and no password, for them or for you. Each later visit, they scan the same QR for their stamp.
5. Offer the join page in their language
The 2021 Census counted more than 5.5 million people (5,663,709) who used a language other than English at home. The most common were Mandarin, used by 685,274 people, and Arabic, by 367,159 (ABS).
Rewardtree's shop page works in eight languages (English, Arabic, Vietnamese, Chinese, Italian, Spanish, Serbian and Croatian), opens in the language the customer's phone uses, and reads right to left in Arabic.
6. Put the link where people find you online
Your shop's link, rewardtree.com.au/your-shop, is the same page your QR opens. Put it:
- In your Instagram bio.
- On your Google Business Profile.
- On your website and in your email signature.
Someone who finds you online can join before their first visit, and their card is waiting in their wallet when they walk in.
7. Let paper-card regulars finish their old card
Your best customers may already carry your paper card. Put your Rewardtree QR by the till. Let regulars finish their old card; from today they collect on Rewardtree. "Finish that one, then scan this for your next card" is all it takes.
How customers join different kinds of program
| How a customer joins | What they need | |
|---|---|---|
| Wallet card (Rewardtree, Loopy Loyalty, Loyally) | Scan a QR, add the card to their phone's wallet | A phone with a camera |
| Square Loyalty | Enter their phone number at your Square checkout | A phone number; points come from Square sales |
| Stamp Me | Download the Stamp Me app, then join | The app |
| Paper card | You hand them a card | Nothing, until they lose it |
Square's joining is from its Australian help centre, Stamp Me's from its home page, and Loopy Loyalty's and Loyally's from their own pages, all read on 29 September 2026. Each suits a different shop; we compare them in the best Square Loyalty alternatives.
Check it's working
Look at your Customers page after the first week. If it's short, check two things first: is the QR somewhere people stand still, and are staff asking? Move the QR, practise the sentence, and look again the next week.
We make Rewardtree, so weigh our advice with that in mind.
More questions, answered#
What should staff say to get customers to join?#
One sentence, at the moment they pay, pointing at the QR: "Want your 10th coffee free? Scan this and it goes in your phone's wallet." Then stop talking. If they say no, serve them exactly the same.
What's a good reason to give customers to join?#
A reward they can see coming, and progress from day one. In Nunes and Drèze's 2006 car-wash study, 34% of cards that started with 2 stamps already on them were redeemed, against 19% of blank cards needing the same 8 washes. On Rewardtree the visit they join on is their first stamp.
How long does it take a customer to join?#
On Rewardtree it's quick: scan the QR, type a first name and mobile, enter the code we text them, and tap Add to Apple Wallet or Add to Google Wallet. There's no app to download and no password.
Do customers have to give their phone number?#
On Rewardtree, yes: a mobile number, confirmed with a texted code, is what keeps the card theirs, so a lost or new phone gets it back. The box for offers starts unticked, so joining never signs anyone up for marketing.
Where should I put the loyalty QR code?#
Where people stand still with their phone in hand: beside the till, on the coffee machine, at reception or on the waiting bench. Rewardtree makes you a free A4 QR poster to print, with a page of four stickers.
