Strategy

Loyalty Program Mistakes Shopify Brands Keep Making (And How to Avoid Them)

Loyalty programs are one of the best ways to increase LTV—but only when they’re done right.

After analyzing hundreds of Shopify stores, here are the most common mistakes we see brands make with loyalty—and how you can avoid them.

1. Making It Too Hard to Earn or Redeem

Your customers shouldn’t need a calculator to understand how many points they need.

Fix it:

  • Use round numbers (e.g. 100 points = $5)
  • Let users redeem at checkout or in 1–2 clicks
  • Show points balances clearly

Make it simple and obvious.

2. Hiding the Program

A loyalty program nobody knows about won’t do anything.

Fix it:

  • Add it to your header or footer nav
  • Mention it in product pages and checkout
  • Include loyalty benefits in your welcome and post-purchase emails

Promote it like a product.

3. Offering Boring Rewards

“$5 off” after 10 purchases isn’t going to excite anyone.

Fix it:

  • Offer non-discount rewards (early access, gifts, merch)
  • Let customers choose from multiple reward types
  • Mix emotional and transactional incentives

Make rewards worth the effort.

4. Ignoring Referrals

Loyalty programs often forget their best growth lever: referrals.

Fix it:

  • Give customers a reason to share your brand
  • Offer dual-sided incentives (e.g. 10% off for friend + 500 points for sender)
  • Track and reward automatically

Word-of-mouth scales when it’s easy and rewarding.

5. Not Segmenting or Personalizing

Not all customers are the same—so why treat their rewards the same?

Fix it:

  • Create VIP tiers based on spend or engagement
  • Send different offers to members vs. non-members
  • Use loyalty data in Klaviyo/SMS flows

Personalization = performance.

6. Choosing the Wrong App Stack

Running separate tools for rewards, referrals, memberships, and affiliates? That’s a mess.

Fix it: Use a platform like Toki that handles all of it in one clean system.

You’ll save time, reduce confusion, and make the customer experience seamless.

Final Thoughts

If your loyalty program isn’t driving real revenue or engagement, odds are you’ve made one of these mistakes.

The good news? They’re all fixable. Start by making your program simpler, more visible, more rewarding—and more aligned with your brand’s best customers.

Fix your loyalty engine, and your retention will take care of itself.