Points, cashback or tiers?
Points reward every purchase and give customers a reason to come back to spend them. Cashback is points with the math done for the customer. Tiers (Bronze, Silver, Gold) reward your best customers with a better earn rate. Most stores start with points and add tiers once they know who their regulars are.
Pick your "back" percentage first
The number that matters is how much value a customer gets back per dollar spent. If customers earn 1 point per $1 and 100 points are worth $1, that's 1% back. Most stores choose between 1% and 5%. Start lower than you think: you can raise it later as a promotion, but lowering it annoys customers.
Remember that not every point is spent. Unredeemed points cost nothing, so the real cost is lower than the headline rate. Our calculator shows the effect.
Set guardrails on redeeming
- Award points when orders are completed, not when they are placed, so cancelled orders never earn.
- Cap the discount per order (for example 50% of the order) if your margins are thin.
- Exclude sale items if stacking a sale with points would sell at a loss.
- Make sure refunds take points back proportionally. Wren Loyalty does this automatically.
Give customers more than one way to earn
A welcome bonus turns guests into account holders, which makes every later purchase trackable. Points for reviews build social proof. Referral rewards and birthday points (Wren Loyalty Pro) bring in new customers and give old ones a reason to return.
Launch to the customers you already have
- Email your list: what the program is, how many points they will earn on their next order, and where to see their balance.
- Consider giving existing customers points for past orders, so the program starts with a balance they can use.
- Show points on product pages and in the cart. People respond to "Earn 58 points with this order" more than to a rules page.
Measure what matters
Watch three numbers: how many customers have points, how many points are outstanding (your future discounts), and how much revenue comes from orders that used points. If repeat orders grow faster than discounts, the program is paying for itself.