· 7 min
Paper punch cards do not work for online orders. Here is what actually does.
Most ecommerce stores spend their entire marketing budget on acquisition. They run ads, optimise landing pages, and obsess over cart abandonment — then do nothing with the customer once an order ships. The result: a buyer who purchased once and never returned.
Why online stores lose customers after the first order
5–7× The cost of acquiring a new customer compared to retaining an existing one — Harvard Business Review
The problem is not product quality. Most customers who do not return simply forgot the store existed. There was no reason to come back before a competitor's ad appeared in their feed. A loyalty program gives customers a reason to think of your store first, before they search.
The two moments to enrol an online buyer
Ecommerce has a structural disadvantage compared to physical retail: no face-to-face moment to explain the programme. You have to create those moments deliberately.
- Order confirmation page — the buyer is at peak satisfaction. A single line reading 'You just earned 50 points towards your next order' converts far better here than any pop-up.
- Post-purchase email — sent 30 minutes after the order confirmation. Include the points balance, what the customer can earn next, and a single call to action to create an account.
- QR code on packaging — physical insert inside the parcel linking to the loyalty enrolment page. Particularly effective for brands where unboxing is part of the experience.
Keep the enrolment form to email and name only. Every extra field you add reduces sign-ups by roughly 10%. You can collect birthday and preferences later inside the member portal.
Points or cashback: which works better online
Points create a psychological balance that customers are reluctant to abandon. Seeing '350 points' in an account is stickier than '€3.50 cashback' — even though the monetary value is identical. For most ecommerce brands, a points-based system drives higher repeat purchase rates than straight cashback because it delays the perceived reward and keeps customers returning to check their balance.
The exception is high-ticket categories like furniture or electronics, where purchase cycles are long and cashback feels more tangible. If your average order value is above €150 and customers buy once a year at most, cashback or discount vouchers work better than points.
Why most ecommerce loyalty programs fail
- Forgotten points balance — customers earn points but receive no reminders. Without a 'your points are expiring' email or a balance visible at checkout, redemption rates stay below 5%.
- Undervalued reward — if 500 points earns a €1 discount on a €60 order, customers feel the programme is not worth their attention. A reward worth 5–10% of the average order value is the minimum to drive behaviour change.
- Friction at checkout — requiring customers to log in before applying points adds enough friction to abandon the redemption. Autofill the discount at checkout the moment a logged-in customer reaches the payment step.
What to track after launch
44% Higher repeat purchase frequency among loyalty programme members — Accenture 2024
Three numbers tell you whether your programme is working: repeat purchase rate (what share of first-time buyers make a second order within 90 days), average order value among members versus non-members, and redemption rate (what percentage of earned points are actually spent). A redemption rate below 10% signals that customers do not find the reward worth the effort.
- Repeat purchase rate: target 30% or above within 90 days for members
- Average order value: members should spend 15–25% more per order than non-members
- Redemption rate: 20–40% is a healthy range; below 10% means the reward needs re-evaluating
Start your ecommerce loyalty program free
The programme that earns repeat orders is not the most complex one. It is the one customers actually remember when they are ready to buy again.