Digital marketing
How to add a digital loyalty card to your e-commerce website
How do you integrate a digital loyalty card with your e-commerce website? The answer depends on a prior question: do your customers buy online, in store, or both? Here are the three possible levels of integration, from a simple sign-up link to a points program connected to checkout.
Key takeaways
- Level 1: a sign-up link on the website that adds the card to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. No development needed.
- Level 2: points earned online, which requires a loyalty app connected to the store’s checkout (Shopify, WooCommerce…).
- Level 3: one balance online and in store, the most useful for mixed businesses and the most demanding technically.
How do I integrate a digital loyalty card with my e-commerce website?
There are three levels. The simplest: a sign-up link or button on the website that adds the card to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. Next: a loyalty app connected to checkout, to earn points online. Finally: a single balance shared between store and website.
| Level | What the customer sees | What it takes |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sign-up link | A “Get my card” button; the card goes onto the phone | The link provided by your loyalty solution |
| 2. Online points | Points credited after each online order | A loyalty app connected to the store platform |
| 3. Single balance | The same balance online and in store | A solution connecting the POS and the online store |
Level 1: turn your website into a door to the card
An e-commerce website is first a recruitment channel: a “Get my loyalty card” button leads to the sign-up form, and the card goes into the phone’s wallet. This suits any business that sells mostly in store, and requires no development.
With ARSOM, every program has a sign-up page and a shareable link: put it on your website, in your email signature, in your Instagram bio and in your newsletter. The customer fills in a short form, one question per screen, then adds the card to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet.
Level 2: earn points on the online store
To credit points on every online order, you need a loyalty app connected to checkout, installed from your platform’s app store. On Shopify, Smile.io (built in Waterloo, Ontario) offers a free plan up to 200 orders a month.
These apps know every order, so they can reward purchases, sign-ups or referrals. They are built for the web: a card in the phone’s wallet is not their strength, and the physical store is often secondary.
If your business sells mostly online, that is the right family of tools. Our article on the best loyalty card software in Canada compares the options.
Level 3: a mixed business, store and website
For a business that sells both in store and online, the ideal is a single balance. That requires the POS and online store to share the same program: integrated ecosystems such as Square do this, with loyalty covering the Square POS and Square Online.
Without an integrated ecosystem, a pragmatic approach works well: the website recruits (level 1), the store builds loyalty. Customers sign up online, get their card on their phone and earn stamps at the counter. Card notifications then bring them back to the store, where the average basket is often higher.
ARSOM does not credit online purchases today, and its POS integrations are in development. If most of your revenue comes from the counter, that is not an obstacle; if it comes from online, choose an e-commerce loyalty app.
Frequently asked questions
Can customers earn loyalty points on online purchases with ARSOM?
Not today: ARSOM awards points and stamps at the counter, by scanning the card. The website is used to recruit members through the sign-up link and bring them into the store. For points earned on an online store, you need a loyalty app built into checkout.
Where should the loyalty sign-up link go on my website?
Where visitors decide to come back: in the footer of every page, on the order confirmation page, in the confirmation email and in the newsletter. A dedicated “Loyalty card” page that explains the reward in one sentence also helps search rankings.
Sources
- Smile.io. Pricing.
- Square. Square Loyalty (Canada).
- Google. Google Wallet loyalty cards (developer documentation).