The 7 best rewards apps for your Shopify store

Loyalty programs help to increase customer retention, their average order value, their purchase frequency and therefore their lifetime value. 

But that's not all.

The best programs also turn these customers into your best sales reps. They talk about your brand to their friends and family, share your posts, like them, share them... 

The result: more visibility, more credibility, more conversions, and lower acquisition costs. 

Doesn't that sound dreamy?

But the burning question is how to set up the best loyalty program on Shopify. 

Well, the answer lies in these top Shopify rewards apps.

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What are loyalty and rewards apps for Shopify?

Shopify loyalty and rewards apps are specialized applications that enable you to create and manage a loyalty program that rewards shoppers for every purchase, referral or pre-defined interactions they make with your brand.

These apps are all about turning one-time shoppers into die-hard enthusiasts as they encourage them to share your brand with their friends and family or on social networks.

Setting up a rewards program in Shopify is really easy as these applications integrate natively with Shopify POS, providing customers with a super-smooth user experience.

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What are the best Shopify loyalty and rewards apps?

Here are the current top 7 Shopify rewards apps:

1. Loyoly
2. Yotpo
3. Growave
4. LoyaltyLion
5. Lootly
6. BON Loyalty
7. Joy

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Loyoly

Loyoly is a loyalty and rewards application 100% designed for Shopify.

It lets you create points-based or tiered loyalty programs in just a few minutes, to reward customers who interact with your e-commerce brand.

+30 pre-designed missions are available to encourage them to buy more, recommend your brand, create UGC, leave a review, and many more.

Then the points earned can be redeemed super-easily for custom rewards directly connected to Shopify POS.

Its ease of use (both on the brand side and the consumer side, by the way) and gamified, customizable interface effectively engages customers and transforms them into true spokespeople for the company.

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Key features

• Personalization: the program's landing page and automatic e-mails are fully customizable to deliver a consistent customer experience from start to finish.
• Referrals: Referral incentives can be added to the loyalty program to encourage customers to recommend your brand, through a personalized link.
• Point options: Loyoly offers the widest range of point-rewarding options on the market (account creation, purchases, UGC, reviews on all platforms, follow, like, post sharing, subscription...).
• Rewards: Brands can choose to reward their customers via pre-designed incentives linked to their Shopify store, or can easily create new ones from scratch.
• Analytics: A comprehensive dashboard enables you to track the performance of your loyalty program, the success of the various rewards, the KPIs of the UGCs created, the profiles of registered customers, etc.

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Pros and cons

✅ Unlike most of its competitors, Loyoly's loyalty programs encourage customers to create and share royalty-free UGCs, which the brand can then reuse as it sees fit.

✅ Loyoly's loyalty and rewards programs are ultra-simple to set up and integrate into your Shopify.

✅ Customer support is available 24/7 and takes great care of customers.

✅ A 14-day free trial

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❌ Loyoly currently focuses only on e-commerce brands

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Yotpo

Yotpo is a loyalty, referral and rewards Shopify app that enhances customer engagement by providing a rewarding shopping experience.

It integrates seamlessly with Shopify POS and allows to collect and showcase customer reviews, ratings and user-generated content.

Yotpo helps build trust and credibility by highlighting social proof, which can lead to increased conversion rates and customer engagement. 

The app also offers features such as customizable widgets, visual marketing tools and advanced analytics to help better understand customers and make data-driven decisions.

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Key features

• Personalized promotions: You can create customized discounts and promotions based on each consumer's purchase history.
• Intuitive redemption: Yotpo's intuitive checkout system lets customers spend their points on future purchases.
• Earn points: More than 20 actions enable customers to earn points, such as creating an account, placing an order, sending a review, etc.
• VIP programs: Yotpo lets you create VIP programs based on points, spending, purchases or referrals.
• Code-free management: Customize, launch and manage your program with ease, without the need for extensive coding.

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Pros and cons

✅ A free version lets you set up a basic referral program, and allows customers to earn loyalty points for purchases and account creation.

✅ A widget lets you display customer reviews directly on your Shopify site.

✅ Yotpo is an official Shopify Plus Technology Partner.

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❌ Yotpo can face technical challenges when it comes to handling large order volumes

❌ The application's price breakdown can be slightly confusing and less transparent than desired.

❌ Yotpo's reporting tools may not be as robust as those offered by other Shopify loyalty programs.

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Growave

Growave is an all-in-one marketing application that offers Shopify stores a holistic approach to loyalty programs. 

It lets you create loyalty systems based on points and VIP tiers, to which customers are automatically invited by e-mail after each purchase.

Growave's VIP tiers and automated e-mail reminders encourage customer engagement and loyalty. 

The app also enhances the reputation and credibility of the Shopify store by encouraging the creation of reviews and user-generated content. 

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Key features

• Automated invitation: Growave automatically invites existing and new customers to join your loyalty program after every purchase. 
• VIP tiers: The app lets you create as many tiers as you like. 
• Reminders: Automated e-mail reminders can be programmed to keep customers engaged.
• Reviews and UGC: Users can encourage their customers to leave reviews and generate UGC on social media.
• Wish list: Customers can save their favorite products for later and receive notifications about them.

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Pros and cons

✅ Comprehensive platform merging loyalty, reviews, and wishlists.

✅ Built-in analytics for tracking crucial performance metrics (abandoned cart rate, average order value, conversion rates…)

✅ 30-day free trial

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❌ Limited support for lower-tier plans.

❌ Setup may require technical proficiency.

❌ Cancellation terms involve retaining 20% of unused plan

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LoyaltyLion

LoyaltyLion is a customer loyalty and engagement app designed to help e-commerce brands build lasting relationships with their customers. 

Integrating natively with Shopify, LoyaltyLion offers a suite of tools to incentivize and reward customer actions such as purchases, referrals, social media interactions, and more. 

Through personalized experiences, points, tiers and rewards, the app encourages customers to return, drives customer loyalty and promotes brand advocacy.

With a wealth of data on display, LoyaltyLion enables Shopify stores to better understand their customers' behavior, so they can adapt their strategies and improve their overall brand experience.

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Key features

• Points and rewards system: LoyaltyLion lets you set up a points-based loyalty system. These points can then be redeemed for discounts, free products or other incentives.
• Tiered programs: The application lets you create tiered loyalty programs that offer increasing rewards as customers reach higher spending or commitment thresholds. 
• Referral programs: LoyaltyLion features a referral marketing function that encourages customers to recommend the Shopify store to friends and family. 
• Personalization: The application lets you customize the appearance of your loyalty program, rewards, point values and other parameters. 

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Pros and cons

✅ Comprehensive analytics dashboard that displays customer engagement levels, point redemption activity, total points earned…

✅ Seamless integration with Shopify's checkout process

✅ 14-day free trial

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❌ Some users have reported slower technical support response times.

❌ Some customization options are chargeable on lower plans

❌ UX can be confusing due to the abundance of options and features

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Lootly

Loolty is is a loyalty marketing platform software that helps e-commerce brands to acquire new customers, increase loyalty and drive DTC subscriptions.

Their application enables the creation of points-based, multi-tiered loyalty programs that shoppers can access via a dedicated landing page.

What's more, Loolty lets you add a referral program and offers 7 sharing methods for recommending your brand.

Finally, Lootly lets you create an affiliate marketing program with tiered and incentive-based commission rates.

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Key features

• Bonus points: You can set up marketing campaigns during which points are doubled.
• Multi-store point sharing: If you have several Shopify stores, Loolty automatically synchronizes your customers' points.
• Audience targeting and display logic: You can condition the display of your loyalty and rewards program to specific groups of customers or on specific pages of your website.
• Points expiration: You can add an expiry date to points earned by your customers, to encourage them to redeem them for rewards.

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Pros and cons

✅ Personalized referral links might enhance engagement and encourage participation.

✅ Lootly integrates with 40+ e-commerce apps (Klaviyo, Gorgias, PowerReviews…)

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❌ The free trial period is restricted to just 7 days, potentially limiting the exploration of the app's capabilities.

❌ While the lowest plan might become insufficient quickly, higher-tier plans can escalate in cost.

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BON Loyalty

The BON Loyalty application is a comprehensive customer loyalty and engagement solution tailored to Shopify Store. 

It aims to encourage brand loyalty by prompting customers to act and interact with the brand to encourage repeat purchases and improve customer lifetime value (LTV). 

With its seamless integration into Shopify, BON Loyalty offers a range of features designed to create personalized experiences and reward customer loyalty.

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Key features

• Actions: BON Loyalty provides 18 actions customers can perform to earn points, from subscribing to newsletters to following on social media.
• Widgets: A widget can be displayed on strategic pages of your Shopify store to attract visitors to your program.
• Notifications: You can set up automated e-mail reminders to keep your customers up to date on their rewards and activities.
• Customizable loyalty page: You can customize your loyalty program page to fit your Shopify store.

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Pros and cons

✅ The application offers a free version for stores with up to 250 orders per month.

✅ BON Loyalty is available in over 250 languages.

✅ You can set expiration dates for points and rewards.

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❌ Personalizing the BON Loyalty program can be challenging

❌ The application offers only six types of rewards.

❌ Brands with more than 250 monthly orders do not have access to a free trial.

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Joy

The Joy Loyalty app is a versatile, user-friendly customer engagement platform designed to help e-commerce brands cultivate strong customer relationships and build loyalty. 

Through its seamless integration with Shopify POS, Joy Loyalty offers a suite of tools to encourage and reward customer behaviors such as purchases, referrals, social media interactions and more. 

Thanks to personalized experiences, point accumulation, tiered systems and customizable rewards, the application encourages customer loyalty, retention and advocacy. 

Finally, Joy Loyalty data provides valuable analytics that enable brands to understand and optimize customer engagement.

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Key features

• Customization: You can fully customize the branding of your loyalty program, so that it integrates seamlessly with your Shopify store.
• Engagement-focused emails: Users can set up marketing emails to encourage continued participation and automated notifications to keep customers informed.
• Referral program: You can add an integrated referral program to BON Loyalty to encourage your customers to recommend you to their friends and family.
• Commissions: You can set up commissions to reward customers who have successfully referred you.

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Pros and cons

✅ The interface allows points to be imported or exported as required.

✅ BON Loyalty is optimized not to compromise the loading speed of your Shopify store.

✅ A free version is available for stores receiving up to 250 orders per month.

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❌ Some reviewers point out that the design of the loyalty program points display could be improved.

❌ Brands with more than 250 orders per month do not have access to a free trial.

❌ The application does not encourage customers to create user-generated content.

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Why should you use loyalty and rewards apps for Shopify?

Shopify loyalty and rewards applications offer 7 main benefits : 

1. Increase customer retention
2. Boost engagement
3. Make the most of word-of-mouth
4. Gain data-driven insights
5. Maximize upselling opportunities
6. Collect first-hand feedback
7. Stand tall in the crowd

1. Increase customer retention

Loyalty and rewards Shopify apps let you turn passing buyers into devoted long-term fans. 

Offer attractive incentives and you'll not only close the sale, you'll also nurture a long-term relationship that will lead to greater Customer Lifetime Value (LTV).

It's like keeping a close friend by sharing a secret stash of goodies.

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2. Boost engagement

These applications are not just about loyalty points and gift cards. They are all about captivating your audience. 

Attractive rewards programs create an interactive shopping experience that keeps customers invested and engaged, eager to unlock the next level of benefits.

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3. Make the most of word-of-mouth

Satisfied customers easily become brand spokespeople.

They are capable of spreading your message faster than wildfire. 

Thanks to loyalty and reward Shopify applications, your customers are singing your praises to their family, friends and digital social circle.

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3. Gain data-driven insights

Beneath the surface, these applications are data powerhouses. 

You'll get information on customer behavior, preferences and buying habits, which will help you tailor your offers to their desires.

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4. Maximize upselling opportunities

With well-designed reward tiers, you can entice customers to spend a little more on your Shopify store for bigger and better rewards. 

Their innate need for status and recognition will encourage them to unlock these extra benefits, even if they require an additional cost.

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5. Collect first-hand feedback

Shopify loyalty programs provide a direct channel of communication with your most loyal customers. 

Their feedback is extremely valuable, as it helps to improve offers, products and overall experience.

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6. Stand tall in the crowd

In today's fiercely competitive e-commerce environment, loyalty and reward applications give your store a significant competitive edge. 

They exude a sense of exclusivity and give customers the feeling of being part of a VIP club that visitors are also keen to join.

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How to select the best loyalty app for Shopify?

Here are 6 points to watch out for when choosing the best loyalty and rewards app for Shopify:

• Plenty of customization
• Variety of rewards
• A user-friendly experience
• Data insights
• Reviews and recommandations
• Trial period
• Cost considerations

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1. Plenty of customization

Your Shopify store is very unique, and your loyalty program should reflect that.

Look for an application that lets you tailor rewards, points systems and visuals to your brand's image.

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2. Variety of rewards

Gamify your customers' experience by offering them a wide range of rewards. 

Whether it's gift cards, freebies or exclusive access, a variety of options helps maintain enthusiasm.

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3. A user-friendly experience

Navigating your loyalty program, understanding the rules, completing a mission, redeeming points for rewards... it all has to be as easy as 1-2-3.

Choose an application with an intuitive interface that guarantees a seamless experience for both you and your customers.

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4. Data insights

Remember data-driven insights? 

A good loyalty application doesn't just hand out rewards. 

It also offers information on customer behavior, the rewards that appeal most, the reach gained through all customer interactions, the sales generated, and so on.

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5. Reviews and recommendations

Don't just take the app's word for it. 

Consult the reviews and recommendations of your e-commerce peers. 

Real-world experience is worth 100 times more than just words.

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6. Trial period

Opt for applications that offer a trial period.

This lets you evaluate whether they're right for your Shopify store before signing up for a full commitment.

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7. Cost considerations

Loyalty and rewards programs should increase your ROI, not reduce it. 

Consider the app's pricing structure, and make sure it fits the value it delivers.

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