For most businesses today, a successful loyalty rewards app is a vital part of their overall sales and usage. Certain services, things like Lyft and Uber, have started and exploded in success as apps alone. A powerful force in many apps’ success today is how they reward customers for their use.
The easiest example today comes in the form of restaurant apps. Ordering food online has become incredibly common as of late, and apps are a big reason behind that. DoorDash, Postmates, and restaurant specific apps will all offer rewards of some variety. DoorDash will offer deals and temporary discounts, which can be effective for getting people to buy while on the app.
More interestingly though are apps like Chick-fil-a’s. Chick-fil-a is currently the top rated restaurant app on the App Store. Its success is due, in no small part, to the points system held within the app. Points are rewarded to customers for buying from the app, and gathering enough points means free food. It’s a simple system but it not only gets people to buy, but more importantly gets them to come back.
Other unique systems which have been utilized are app specific features. Sam’s Club, for example, has a feature called Scan and Go which has become very popular. It allows customers, through the use of the app, to scan their products and to buy them right there. It’s small perks like these which save consumers time and more importantly keep them on the app.
Even businesses which are hard to gamify and reward customers within will find some way to keep people coming back. Shein, for example, is an online fashion retailer which will give points simply for logging in and reviewing products. It doesn’t just have to involve the purchase of a product, anything that keeps someone on the app is a plus.
This is the ultimate power of rewards, it keeps people coming back. Looking at games there is no clearer example, reward people for playing, they’ll play more. Apps in particular have really mastered this model of consumption all across the board. As a consumer it’s important to be aware of these methods. As a business, it’s impossible to avoid their use, now it’s just the cost of staying competitive.
