Loyalty Apps for Restaurants: Building a Sticky Experience

Your customers live on their phones (the average American spends a whopping 4.5 hours on their phone daily). Why not put your restaurant in their hands with a top-tier loyalty app? 

Allowing your customers to make reservations, view menus, order, and pay for meals from the palm of their hands isn’t the future anymore—it's an everyday given. If you aren’t offering this to your own audience, you’re quickly falling behind. 

Not only that, restaurant loyalty apps give you additional benefits like:  

• More spending: Restaurant loyalty apps that gamify the rewards experience often get customers to spend more. This is because spending is based on specific actions to take or challenges to overcome, giving customers emotionally rewarding and memorable ways to unlock rewards. Nation’s Restaurant News reports that when given a gamified rewards option, restaurant customers spend 39% more than non-loyalty members.  
• Easy word-of-mouth marketing and advertising: Customers who actively use a restaurant’s rewards app are more likely to recommend that restaurant and its loyalty app to their friends and family.  
• Easier customer retention: It’s less costly to retain customers than it is to acquire new ones. A loyalty program and app makes more likely the customers you have will continue to do business with you.

Effective loyalty apps give customers a better experience and increase your customers’ engagement, therefore becoming “sticky.” Let's look at how to build a sticky experience with these tips.

Key Features of Effective Loyalty Apps 

For your loyalty app to be effective, it has to be usable. Ensure your loyalty app has a user-friendly design and is easy to navigate. Don’t make your text or images too small, either; customers don’t want to pinch or scroll to get the information they need.  

Integrate your app with other technology like social media or digital wallets. These integrations allow customers to easily pay for their purchases in the app and share offers and programs with their online social circles. 

Consider The Original ChopShop as an example. This salad and sandwich restaurant focused on convenience for its customers by building a way to pay ahead through its loyalty app. As a result, The Original ChopShop’s customers saved time, and the restaurant chain saw over 60,000 app downloads during a four-week holiday campaign.  

Personalization also plays a significant role in the use of loyalty apps. Consumers want offers and contests based on their individual interests. Use your loyalty data to segment your customers by behavior or interest, and don’t just do this once—make it a regular activity driven by your growing business. 

Consider this example: you’re an ice cream retailer with a segment of customers who haven’t purchased in 30 days. Use personalization like a limited-time discount based on the last item they bought to encourage this segment to come back and make a purchase.  

Don’t overlook these important loyalty app actions that can increase “stickiness” too: 

• Rewards for signing up: Offer the guest a reward for simply signing up. TGI Friday’s gives guests a free appetizer or free dessert for signing up for its loyalty program. This offer also makes it more convenient for TGI Friday’s guests to sign up while they’re in the restaurant. You could also offer a coupon they could use on their next visit for signing up. 
• Don’t forget about birthdays: Birthday rewards are a great way to offer your guests personalized experiences. When they sign up, ask your customer for their birthdate. When their birthdate rolls around, offer them a free product or a few free appetizers when they dine at your restaurant on their birthday. Not only do free appetizers get your loyalty member in the door, they also incentivize them to bring other guests with them.  
• Consider friends: Loyalty members are more likely to do word-of-mouth marketing for your restaurant, why not offer them a discount they can provide their friends? Offering a $10 reward or free appetizer or dessert for friends of loyalty program members creates an unforgettable experience, lets you create a steady stream of new program members and customers and can create a community.

Choosing the Right Loyalty App 

When evaluating your options for loyalty apps for your restaurant, it’s important to assess the key features that can impact customer retention directly. Here are the must-have capabilities you should look for: 

• User-Friendliness: The best restaurant loyalty app must be easy to use. If you have a smaller restaurant, the focus should be on simplicity—sign-up, earn rewards, and redeem offers with as few clicks as possible. Owners of larger restaurants may include more features, but ease of use is still key. User-friendliness boosts customer engagement and means customers are more likely to come back. 
• Custom Campaigns or Content: Customization is key to making rewards programs feel personal. Smaller restaurants might offer straightforward perks like birthday discounts, while bigger operations can dive into detailed and valuable customer data to tailor their offers more precisely. Customizing campaigns to give customers what they want encourages loyalty and keeps people coming through the door. 
• Seamless Integration with Existing Systems: Your loyalty app needs to work with your POS and CRM systems. If you have a smaller restaurant, this may mean connecting with third-party ordering apps. Medium and large restaurant chains need advanced integration across multiple locations to ensure everything is working correctly at all storefronts. This kind of seamless setup makes it easier to manage rewards and track customer behavior, boosting retention. 
• Rewarding Customers for More than Transactions: Your own restaurant loyalty program should offer more than just rewards for purchases. Small restaurants can give loyalty points for things like social media mentions or online reviews, while bigger brands might get creative with gamification—offering rewards for challenges or referrals. This non-transactional engagement deepens loyalty by keeping customers connected in more ways than one. 
• Omnichannel Campaigns: Your loyalty program software should support omnichannel engagement, whether it’s through email, push notifications, or geofencing. Small businesses may stick to simple SMS or email campaigns, while larger companies can take advantage of more advanced tactics to reach customers wherever they are—keeping engagement high across all platforms. 
• Real-Time Data and Analysis: Having access to real-time data lets you track customer behavior and tweak your strategies accordingly. For smaller restaurants, this means optimizing promos and spotting your most loyal customers, while bigger chains can analyze trends across locations to offer more personalized rewards and improve retention.

Choosing the best loyalty app-building platform can be overwhelming, especially if you’re new to the search. Learning from some of the most widely used loyalty apps makes it easier to choose the platform you’ll build your own loyalty app in. Here are six examples: 

1. Starbucks 

Starbucks has one of the most downloaded loyalty apps, one reason being that customers can also use it to order and pay. Users receive points for free food or drinks when making enough purchases. 

2. Panera 

Panera’s loyalty app allows users to order, pay, and pick up their favorite food seamlessly. They make it simple to pay by integrating Google and Apple Pay, or users can add a credit card to make payments easy. 

Many consider Panera’s reward structure to be even more motivating than Starbucks’, and they even give you a free pastry when you sign up for the app. Not only does Panera offer customers rewards on items they frequently buy, it also suggests similar items customers may like in addition to their usual order.  

Panera also offers MyPanera, which allows members to select their rewards from multiple options based on customer preferences instead of being offered a single-preselected reward like most reward programs. Due to its customer loyalty program, Panera found that over half of Panera transactions in 2022 were from MyPanera members. Further, Panera found that MyPanera members visit more often and spend more than those who were not members of the loyalty program.  

3. Chick-fil-A 

Chick-fil-A's app stands out because the reward structure is based on total spend. That means users rack up points faster than other loyalty programs. This restaurant chain has loyalty tiers that offer better rewards, perks, and bonuses. Chick-fil-A's app also has the unique option to skip the line and order straight to your table.   

4. Dunkin Donuts 

Dunkin Donuts knows people don’t like waiting in lines. To capitalize on this, the restaurant uses its DD Perks app to order ahead and skip the line. Dunkin Donuts DD Perks also gives members a free gift card on their birthdays and their partnership with Idle-Empire also lets customers earn points by playing games and completing surveys. 

5. Chipotle 

The Chipotle Rewards program uses gamification to keep its customers engaged and happy. Customers earn badges for completing challenges. Like Dunkin Donuts, Chipotle also offers members a surprise on their birthdays. Chipotle also offers members to redeem rewards for merchandise in addition to free food.  

6. KFC 

KFC in the UK and Ireland wanted to gamify its rewards experience. To do this, they launched a new version of KFCs Rewards Arcade. The Rewards Arcade lets customers instantly win rewards by completing games. For every certain amount spent, customers would receive an invitation to play a 3D mini game to win 12 prizes. This increased KFC’s reward redemption by 40%. 

6 Benefits of Paytronix Apps 

Paytronix puts your restaurant in the palm of your guests’ hands. Expand your customer outreach and grow your loyalty program with prompt promotions, responsive features, and an integrated all-in-one platform. 

Let’s break down the main benefits and how they can contribute to growing your business. 

1. Personalized Customer Engagement 

A major advantage of using Paytronix apps is the ability to send targeted and personalized 1:1 messages to customers. We use customer data to engage your local guests through SMS, push notifications, and geofencing.  

Whether for birthday rewards or a limited-time offer, these personalized marketing messages create meaningful connections that make customers feel like they’re valued.

2. Seamless Integration with Your Systems 

Paytronix works with your existing third-party delivery apps so your customers can order, pay, and pick up food all within one single platform. It simplifies restaurant operations and the customer experience, working with restaurants of all sizes. Paytronix makes it simple and easy to connect to your existing systems for fast, easy online ordering and payment solutions. 

3. Insights and Data Analysis Driven by AI 

To truly understand your customer’s behavior, preferences, and spending patterns, we offer real-time AI-driven insights. This data lets you create a successful personalized loyalty program that encourages repeat customers and guest engagement. Using these insights, your restaurant can fine-tune its marketing strategies and create smart campaigns that resonate with only your most valuable customers. 

4. Scalable Solutions for Restaurants of All Sizes 

Paytronix scales to accommodate growing restaurant businesses of all sizes. Whether it’s your first restaurant loyalty program or you’re looking to expand your existing one alongside your restaurant, Paytronix provides everything you need for customer engagement. Small businesses benefit from simplified loyalty features, while larger brands harness omnichannel marketing and advanced segmentation. 

5. Subscription Models to Drive Recurring Revenue 

Complementing traditional customer loyalty programs, Paytronix offers the option to create subscription models. These programs reward your most loyal customers and encourage multiple return visits. Subscriptions help normalize revenue streams and are useful for businesses looking to foster deeper engagement with existing customers and increase customer lifetime value. 

6. Integrating a Loyalty App 

Choosing an app that integrates with your existing systems and helps you meet your goals is critical. Once you’ve selected an app, plan your integration strategy. Decide how to connect your apps to your existing business systems and note that this choice may require the use of one or more application programming interfaces (APIs) or reconfiguring your entire system.  

Before you begin the integration process, test the app to ensure it does what you need it to. Once you’ve integrated your app with your existing systems, monitor it to ensure that it’s still working as intended.  

Prioritize training your staff during the integration process. You won't meet your goals if your staff doesn’t know how to use the technology.  

Properly train your staff by: 

• Giving Them Enough Time to Learn the Tech: Rushing through the loyalty software setup causes unnecessary mistakes and stress. Give your team plenty of time—ideally a few weeks—to get comfortable with the app. For example, if you run a small cafe, plan training sessions during your quieter hours so staff can explore the app before it goes live with customers. Larger businesses might roll out training in phases across different locations, making sure everyone gets a good understanding of the system. 
• Catering to Different Learning Styles: Not everyone learns the same way. Some love to read and others are more visual and like hands-on learning. Cater to everyone by providing blended learning material. For example, provide a detailed manual for those who prefer reading step-by-step instructions and back it up with video or an in-person demonstration. If you’re training staff in a multi-store or chain environment, conduct group training sessions followed by hands-on practice so every employee gets to learn the new system in a way that works for them. 
• Picking “Staff Champions” to Help Others Get Comfortable: Have staff volunteer or choose those who are genuinely excited about new customer loyalty software to fast-track their learning and then offer to get everyone else up to speed. These will be your staff’s go-to champions for asking questions on the job or training new staff. You can tap into your more tech-aware employees so they become authorities in the new technology, making them approachable and knowledgeable enough to provide peer-to-peer training. This speeds up overall success and makes sure everyone feels comfortable enough to ask questions. 
• Making Support Easy to Find: There are always going to be hiccups, especially once the app is live. To avoid any disruptions, make sure your staff knows exactly how to get help if they run into issues. In a busy restaurant, keeping a quick-reference FAQ sheet or a hotline for tech support on hand can make all the difference, minimizing downtime and keeping things running smoothly so revenue doesn’t take a hit. Give your team the time and resources they need to learn and you’ll make sure your restaurant loyalty software rollout is adopted smoothly by both employees and customers.

Promoting Your Loyalty App 

You’ve chosen your loyalty app provider, integrated it with your systems, and trained your staff. Now, it’s time to share it with your customers! These four strategies will help get the word out and get your customers engaged: 

1. Use a landing page or site for your app: Take advantage of your existing site or create a landing page to let site visitors know your loyalty app is available. Give your customers a look at what they’ll get when they download and use your app.  
2. Optimize your app in the App Store: Like SEO, app store optimization (ASO) requires using keywords to help your app rank. Including screenshots and videos of how your app works can help, too. 
3. Social media and/or influencer marketing: Most American consumers spend about two and a half hours on social media every day. Using your restaurant’s social channels can get your app in front of them. Social media marketing for restaurants is an effective way to build awareness, and you can leverage the best restaurant social media strategies to solicit feedback from users who wouldn’t otherwise have an opportunity to share their experiences. 
4. Email marketing: Tell your email subscribers about your app and allow them to download it. If you’ve created any lists or segments of people who get pre-public announcements for your brand, be sure to prioritize them. 

3 Examples of Successful App Campaigns 

Once you’ve decided on your loyalty app technology and your offers and rewards, it’s time to launch your loyalty app and program. Here are some examples of successful app campaigns to inspire you.  

1. Starbucks 

Starbucks used gamification to encourage app downloads and user-generated content (UGC). The coffee brand promoted downloads by adding an inconspicuous CTA to download the app in their social bios. 

2. Zalando 

The fashion retailer added “Use App” buttons to its social media profiles. This method is effective because their audience is already checking out the brand’s social content.  

3. Warby Parker 

The glasses retailer boosted app downloads and usage by offering a value-add—a virtual try-on feature. This strategy was so successful because it alleviated a common customer pain point—not knowing what glasses look like when wearing them without otherwise visiting a storefront. 

The Future of Digital Loyalty Programs 

Data is already driving the future of digital loyalty programs. Real-time data-driven insights will influence customer engagement strategies. Brands will increase their use of AI to customize campaigns and rewards.  

Customers expect a seamless experience regardless of where they’re interacting with your brand. As a result, more loyalty programs will begin to provide omnichannel campaigns that give customers more consistent, rewarding experiences. 

The future of digital loyalty programs will go beyond rewards and points and focus on emotional loyalty, flexible redemption options, and interactive formats.  

Incentivizing Ongoing Adoption 

Incentivize ongoing app adoption by offering discounts on meals or free items for downloading and using the app. Keep users who downloaded your app engaged by providing new features and using in-app messages to communicate the latest offers and rewards.

Frequently Asked Questions About Loyalty Apps for Restaurants 

Do loyalty programs work for restaurants? 

Yes, loyalty programs are effective for restaurants. They encourage your diners to return by rewarding them for their visits, such as offering discounts on meals or free items after a certain number of visits. This strategy increases repeat business and builds a list of loyal customers who are more likely to choose your restaurant over competitors.  

Loyalty programs also provide valuable insights into your customers’ preferences, allowing your restaurant to tailor your menu and promotions to better meet diners' needs. 

How do I set up a restaurant rewards program? 

To set up a restaurant rewards program, follow these steps: 

1. Define your goals and what you want to achieve, such as increasing repeat visits or boosting average spending.  
2. Choose a structure for your program, like a point system where customers earn points for each dollar spent or a punch card system that rewards free items after a certain number of visits.  
3. Decide on your rewards. Ensure the rewards are appealing and relevant to your customers, such as discounts, free dishes, or exclusive events.  
4. Promote your loyalty program. Promote your new program through social media, in-store signage, and email newsletters to raise awareness.  
5. Gather feedback. Regularly gather feedback from participants to improve your loyalty program and keep it fresh and engaging. 

How do you create a simple loyalty program? 

To create a simple loyalty program, follow these steps: 

1. Determine your goals. Decide what you want to achieve with the program, such as increasing customer retention or boosting sales. 
2. Decide on a structure. Point-based programs are the simplest—giving users one point for every dollar spent.  
3. Select reward types. Offer easy-to-manage rewards that customers value, such as discounts or free items.  
4. Market and champion your program. The simplest and most effective way to market your program is to place eye-catching posters at the checkout area. If you run an online business, prominently feature the loyalty program on your website. 
5. Track participation. Use basic tools, like straightforward analytical dashboards, to monitor customer engagement and adjust as needed. 

What is the average cost of a loyalty program? 

The cost of creating and running a loyalty program ranges from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands, depending on the complexity of the system.  

If you're a small business with a limited budget, consider a simple approach like a point system that rewards customers for a specific dollar value of purchases. You’ll need to cover the cost of materials, marketing, and the cost of goods sold (COGS) for any freebies you give out, but it remains an affordable option to run.  

On the other hand, if you manage a larger brand and want to invest in a more advanced program, you might consider loyalty programs with mobile apps and out-of-the-box personalization settings. These systems require a larger initial investment but can accelerate customer engagement and retention. 

What is the best example of a loyalty program? 

The best example of a successful loyalty program is Starbucks Rewards. As of 2024, the program has reached an impressive 34.3 million active members in the US, marking a 13% year-over-year growth. Members earn points on every purchase, which can be redeemed for free drinks and food items.  

Starbucks uses its Deep Brew data analytics platform to customize rewards based on customer preferences, ensuring that incentives are relevant to each member. By focusing on personalized communication, Starbucks converts casual customers into die-hard fans on a regular basis, making its loyalty program one of the most imitated in the entire restaurant/food and beverage industry.  

How do I get people to join my loyalty program? 

Here are five ways to get people to join your loyalty program: 

1. Promote the benefits: Clearly communicate the rewards, discounts, or perks that customers can earn by joining your loyalty program. 
2. Provide incentives for joining: Offer a sign up incentive, such as an immediate discount or free item.
3. Make enrollment easy: Ensure your loyalty app has a simple sign-up process that requires minimal effort.
4. Use social media: Use your social media profiles to promote the program and entice people to join.  
5. Train your staff: Train your team to actively promote the loyalty program to customers during their visits.

Ready to create a loyalty app for your restaurant that your customers will enjoy using? Book a demo now to learn more or check out our mobile app solutions.