How to set up a loyalty program in Australia (2026)

Published 19 August 2026 · Updated 28 September 2026 · Reviewed quarterly

To set up a loyalty program in Australia: choose stamps or points (stamps suit most small shops), choose one certain reward, put the card in Apple/Google Wallet instead of paper, collect marketing consent as an unticked checkbox, and launch with a counter QR. With Rewardtree this takes about 5 minutes and costs A$0.

The steps#

1. Choose stamps or points. Stamp cards (buy 9, get the 10th free) suit businesses customers visit often, like cafés and barbers; points per dollar suit spends that vary a lot, like restaurants and retail. Pick one. You can change it later and existing balances carry over.
2. Pick one certain reward. A free coffee, a free cut, a free wash. Keep it certain ("free coffee after 9", not "a chance to win") and keep it reachable (within weeks for a daily or weekly regular, and within 6 to 9 months for a monthly client like a barber's).
3. Put the card in the phone's wallet, not on paper or in an app. Cards in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet can't be lost or photocopied, update on the customer's phone after every stamp, and need nothing downloaded. Joining should take about 20 seconds from a printed counter QR.
4. Get consent right. Under the Spam Act 2003, marketing messages need consent. Use an unticked "send me offers" box at join, keep a record of who ticked it, and honour every unsubscribe. Under the Privacy Act, tell customers plainly who receives their details.
5. Launch at the counter. Put the free Rewardtree Merchant app on the counter phone (your staff scan with it; your customers never need an app). Print the tent card and stickers with your join QR, show staff how to scan, and give new members head-start stamps so their card starts 2 stamps in.
6. Check your numbers, then decide what's worth paying for. Your dashboard shows your member list and simple stats. If you later want to send your members messages yourself, that's the only paid part on Rewardtree (Growth). Everything that happens by itself stays free.

Why loyalty programs work (and when they don't)#

The idea is old because it works: a visible goal, visible progress, and a reward customers know they'll get bring the third visit forward and make the tenth a habit. It works best where visits are frequent and similar (coffee, cuts, washes, juice), because the reward arrives soon enough to feel real.

There's research behind it. Kivetz, Urminsky and Zheng (2006, Journal of Marketing Research) found café customers bought coffee more often as they got closer to a free one. Nunes and Drèze (2006, Journal of Consumer Research) found car-wash customers finished their card more often when it started with 2 stamps already filled in.

Programs fail in two predictable ways. First, effort: if joining takes more than about 20 seconds, or means downloading an app, many customers will politely say no and never think about it again. Second, being out of sight: a paper card in a drawer reminds nobody of anything. Both are design choices you can fix.

The Australian consent and privacy bit, in plain words#

Two laws matter, and neither is scary. This is general information, not legal advice.

• Spam Act 2003: you need consent to send marketing (email or text). The safe way is a real opt-in: an unticked box at join, a record of when it was ticked, and an unsubscribe that always works. Messages about the program itself (your card was stamped, your reward is ready) are not marketing.
• Privacy Act 1988: collect only what you need (a first name and a mobile number are enough to run a whole program), and tell people plainly who receives their details.

On Rewardtree, the join page's "send me offers" box starts unticked, and every customer list download includes each customer's consent status. You're still the one sending any marketing, so the rules above are yours to follow. If any tool ticks that box for customers, walk away: it's your business's name on the fine.

What it costs#

Paper cards cost printing. Paid loyalty apps start at US$12 to US$25 a month (billed in US dollars) and go up to A$199 a month + GST for one location (Loyally, Loopy Loyalty and Stamp Me, each on its own pricing page, checked 27 September 2026). Square Loyalty is A$49 to A$149 a month per location, checked 27 September 2026. Rewardtree's loyalty program is A$0 forever. There's a full breakdown in how much a loyalty program costs in Australia.

The worked example: live in 5 minutes#

Here is the whole setup on Rewardtree, timed generously:

1. Claim your link (1 minute): rewardtr.ee/your-shop becomes your join link and QR code.
2. Answer the setup questions (3 minutes): stamps or points; the reward your customers will read; your logo and colour on the card. You can add head-start stamps too.
3. Print the counter kit (1 minute): a ready-made PDF with a tent card, a countertop card, stickers and a one-page cheat-sheet for your staff.
4. Get the free Rewardtree Merchant app on the phone at your counter. Your staff scan cards with it. Your customers never need an app.
5. Your first member (about 20 seconds of their time): they scan the QR, type their name and mobile, enter the code from one text message, and your card lands in their Apple Wallet or Google Wallet.

No credit card, no sales call, no trial clock: the loyalty program is free forever. We make Rewardtree, so weigh our advice with that in mind.

Questions, answered#