Loyalty
The Merchant Loyalty Playbook
Designing a programme that protects your margins.
👋 Welcome
A great loyalty programme isn't about giving products away. It's about gently managing how much a customer spends before they earn a reward.
This playbook walks you through the simple economics of points, margins and redemptions, so you can build something customers genuinely love coming back for that also stays comfortably profitable. The most reliable starting point is also the simplest, and it's where every programme should begin.
The golden baseline
One point for every euro. Every worked example in this guide builds from here.
Start here
How to use this guide
Read it start to finish for the why, or skip straight to your trade for a ready-made reward menu. Either way, every reward here comes with a built-in guardrail.
Learn the why
Start with the economics to see how points, margins and the discount rate fit together.
Find your trade
Jump to your industry for sample rewards, point values and member deals tuned to your margins.
Keep it safe
Every reward pairs with a guardrail, a simple rule that protects your busy hours and your cash.
1 · The Economics
Retail price vs. what it really costs you
Every reward has a retail price (what you charge) and a production cost (what you pay in ingredients, stock or materials). A coffee that sells for €4.00 might only cost you 60c in beans, milk and a cup.
That gap is what powers your whole programme. When a customer redeems, you don't lose the €4.00, you only lose the 60c it cost to make.
Where a €4.00 coffee reward really lands
High-margin items cost very little to give away, which makes them ideal rewards. Low-margin items cost close to their full retail value, there's no cushion to soften the giveaway.
The Effective Discount Rate
The Effective Discount Rate (EDR) is the true percentage of sales you give up to reward a customer. They see the retail value of what they get; EDR measures the hard cost of the reward against the total they spent to earn it.
Worked example · a free coffee at 40 points
- Set the reward. A free coffee costs 40 points, about 10 coffees bought before it's claimed.
- The spend target. Because €1 = 1 point, the customer must spend €40.00 to earn it.
- The real cost. The coffee retails at €4.00 but costs you just 60c to make.
To secure €40.00 in sales, you gave up just 1.5% of it in product cost. It also tells you your cost per point: those 40 points bought a reward that cost you 60c, so a single point is worth about 1.5 cents to you. Because every point has a known, tiny cost, your total programme cost becomes easy to predict. Take the number of points customers actually redeem, multiply by that figure, and you have your bill.
Inside Joyal, every euro spent and point earned is tracked in real time.
Turning points into visits
Points are abstract; visits aren't. Before you lock in a milestone, translate it into the number of times a real customer walks through your door, using your average sale. The same 40-point reward feels completely different depending on how much people usually spend.
Reaching the 40-point (€40.00) milestone
a daily coffee
coffee & a pastry
Industry EDR targets
Different trades run on different margins, so they can afford different EDR targets. A café living on cheap, high-margin coffee can be generous; a shop paying wholesale for every item has to be tighter. Find your sector below. If your EDR lands above its range, the reward is too generous or the milestone too low, so switch to a higher-margin reward, or raise the points needed.
Typical EDR target by sector
2 · Choosing Rewards
Picking rewards that feel generous
The best rewards feel like a treat to your customer while costing you almost nothing. Others are still worth offering, they just need a rule attached so they never cost you a paying booking. Here's the line.
✓ Great to offer
- High-margin physical items, like a filter coffee, a pastry, a side, a soft drink, or basic retail with minimal wholesale cost.
- Off-peak or unused capacity, like a quiet afternoon class slot, a spare sauna seat on a Tuesday morning, or weekday appointments where one more person costs almost nothing.
- Low-labour add-ons, quick extras that fit an existing booking, like a conditioning mask during a wash or a nail buff during a manicure.
! Offer with care
- Core one-to-one labour, like a full haircut or an hour-long massage. Fine to reward, but make it redeemable only outside your busy hours, so you never turn away a paying booking.
- High-cost retail stock, like styling tools or premium bottles. Save these for higher point tiers, or pair them with a minimum spend so you don't lose cash on the wholesale cost.
- Uncapped cash discounts. Always attach a minimum spend, so a "€5 off" can't pull a small basket below profit.
3 · Your Industry
Built for your business
Knowing the numbers is half the job; the programme also has to fit the day-to-day reality of your trade, whether that's limited appointment times, high upfront stock costs, or quiet hours you would love to fill. Find your category below for target rates, the friction to watch for, and sample rewards you can lift straight into Joyal.
Class-Based & Facility Services
High fixed costs like rent, utilities and labour, but the cost of serving one extra person is almost nothing. Once the sauna is hot or the class is running, an unbooked space costs you nothing to fill.
With margins this high you can afford a generous 5% reward rate. Focus on rewards that fill empty slots or bring in friends, a free customer-acquisition tool that costs no cash.
Saunas & Plunge Pools
Low cost and quick to fulfil; a practical item for the customer with a high emotional payoff.
No additional cost to fulfil; fills an empty slot and acts as a powerful tool for customer acquisition.
A high-value milestone designed to encourage long-term retention; costs nothing to fulfil with a massive emotional payoff.
A 1-hour public session for €15 cash (normally €25). Strictly Mon–Wed, 9:00–16:00. Points can't be used to pay for or discount this deal.
Pilates, Yoga & Fitness Studios
Low wholesale cost and quick to fulfil; a practical item for the customer with a high emotional payoff.
No additional cost to fulfil; fills an empty slot and acts as a powerful tool for customer acquisition.
A high-value milestone designed to encourage long-term retention; costs nothing to fulfil with a massive emotional payoff.
Any off-peak class (weekdays 10:00–16:00) at a flat €10 cash (normally €18). Points can't be used to purchase this deal.
High-Volume Food & Drink
Hospitality margins are hit hard by food inflation. Give away high-cost items like mains and bottles of alcohol and you're flushing away cash.
Keep your reward rate at 3–4%, but stick strictly to high-margin items like coffees and soft drinks. A €4.20 flat white only costs about €0.55 in milk and beans.
Cafés & Speciality Coffee Shops
Low cost and quick to fulfil; a fast, low-barrier win to get customers engaging with the app.
Low cost and quick to fulfil; encourages regular spending habits by rewarding daily consistency.
Low wholesale cost and quick to fulfil; encourages customers to bump up their spend to hit a quick milestone.
Any hot drink & pastry combo for €5 cash (normally €8.50). Strictly 15:00–17:00, Mon–Wed. Cash/card only; points can't be used.
Restaurants & Casual Dining / QSR
A high-margin upgrade with a low wholesale cost; quick to fulfil with a high emotional payoff.
A high-margin item with a low cost to prepare; quick to fulfil with a high emotional payoff.
An excellent spend-and-save driver; a massive emotional payoff while pushing up overall spend.
Two mains and a shared starter for €30 cash (normally €45). Dine-in only, Sun–Wed. No points can be applied.
Time-Constrained Services
Time is money, a staff member can only see one client at a time. Giving away a core service, like a full haircut or a full set of nails, blocks a profitable slot for zero revenue.
Keep the rate tight at 1.5–2%. Never give away core billable time. Rewards must be quick, low-labour add-ons done inside the booked slot, or take-home products where you only lose the wholesale cost.
Barbershops
Low product cost and quick to fulfil; easily turns a standard service into a premium experience with a high emotional payoff.
A predictable wholesale cost that can clear dead stock; highly motivating with a great retail emotional payoff.
A high-value milestone designed to encourage long-term retention; a massive emotional payoff for dedicated customers.
Haircut & beard-trim combo for €25 cash (normally €38). Strictly Mondays and Tuesdays. Points can't pay for or discount this deal.
Hair Salons & Colour Specialists
Low material cost and quick to fulfil; a practical add-on with high perceived value and a high emotional payoff.
Low cost and quick to fulfil; a physical refresh that encourages customers to return between main appointments.
Strongly encourages a high-ticket service booking to redeem; a massive emotional payoff through a complete visual transformation.
A standard wash & blow-dry for €25 cash (normally €40). Tuesday and Wednesday only. Promotional cash rate; points can't be redeemed.
Beauticians
Low material cost and no extra time required; an immediate visual upgrade with a high emotional payoff.
Low cost and quick to fulfil; a highly practical maintenance touch to an existing appointment for an easy win.
A high-value milestone designed to encourage long-term retention; rewards regular consistency with a massive emotional payoff.
Brow shape & tint combo for €15 cash (normally €25). Strictly Thursdays, 10:00–14:00. Points can't pay for or discount this deal.
Nail Techs
Low material cost and quick to fulfil; an immediate visual upgrade with a fast emotional payoff.
Low cost and quick to fulfil; an easily attainable milestone that drives consistent bookings.
A highly motivating milestone that introduces customers to a secondary service to increase overall spend and retention.
Add an express dry-pedicure to any gel manicure for €15 cash (normally €30). Strictly Tuesday mornings. Points can't be used.
Dog Groomers
An achievable milestone that's quick to fulfil with no product cost; highly practical for the customer.
Very low fulfilment cost and quick to perform; handles a practical chore that customers hate doing themselves.
Quick to fulfil with high perceived value; encourages long-term retention with a great visual emotional payoff.
Full bath, blow-dry & nail clip for €30 cash (normally €45–50). Mondays only. Points can't be applied to this package.
Dog Daycare & Boarding Kennels
Boarding and daycare carry high fixed costs, staff, insurance and space, but once the doors are open, one more happy dog barely adds to the bill. Your quiet weekday slots and small convenience touches are where the value is.
With margins this healthy you can afford a generous 5% reward rate. Lean on rewards that fill quiet weekday slots or solve a genuine convenience headache for busy owners; both cost you almost nothing while building serious loyalty.
Dog Daycare & Boarding
Low cost and quick to fulfil; a practical touch for the customer with an easy emotional payoff.
A high emotional payoff that solves a practical convenience headache without adding any operational overhead.
A high-value milestone designed to encourage long-term retention; costs nothing to fulfil with a massive emotional payoff.
A full day of daycare for €20 cash (normally €28). Strictly Monday to Thursday. Points can't be used to pay for or discount this deal.
Inventory-Heavy Retail
Every item on the shelf is hard cash you paid a wholesaler upfront. Giving away product means losing that exact cash investment.
Keep your rate at 1.5% and mimic the classic Spend & Save model. Never offer straight cash discounts across the board, force a minimum spend to protect your margin.
Boutique Retail Shops
Low wholesale cost that encourages shoppers to hit a quick milestone; doubles as a marketing tool.
Drives steady sales volume while structurally guaranteeing a profitable minimum basket size.
A high-value milestone designed to clear seasonal inventory, push up basket sizes and deliver a massive emotional payoff.
Entry to our private autumn launch night, plus €15 cash off any purchase over €50 that evening. Exclusive promotional deal; points can't be used to offset or discount it.
Reward loyalty, protect your margins.
You now have the numbers, the guardrails and a ready-made reward menu for your trade. Build your programme with care, keep an eye on what your customers respond to, and you'll have something that brings people back again and again, all while staying comfortably profitable.
Joyal Loyalty · Merchant Playbook