10 Top eCommerce Loyalty & Rewards Program Types to Consider (2025)

💬 Rewards/loyalty programs can really catapult a brand's growth when done right (and drive consistent and scalable revenue).

I'm a big believer that more than ever that reward/loyalty programs can really be a point of difference and be a win-win for brands/customers - and there are numerous key reasons why I state this:

• It can help encourage more purchases from existing customer base - i.e. help with LTV, repeat purchases and retention - and ultimately, lower churn rates (and losing customers to competitors)
• The more you can recoup revenue from your customers, the more you can spend on acquisition efforts (which you need to fuel scale)
• When it's really humming, it in many ways can be a serious key competitive advantage pillar (it's a 'sticky' initiative - i.e. customers will keep coming around)
• Great way to angle in as part of acquisition efforts and even with CRO (for first-time customers)

Many other reasons why rewards/loyalty programs are awesome for brands, but these are four items I often share with other eComm marketers and founders.

And the good news is that there are numerous software vendors that make the setup and management process easy (especially with Shopify).

Some of my recommended types of rewards/perks for eCommerce loyalty programs (to drive more LTV and retention)

💬 Whether you have a rewards/loyalty system in place or not, these are some experiments/tests and strategies to think about and consider that can engage and retain customers/visitors.

Tiered rewards are when you set various offers at different stages, with the aim of motivating customers/visitors to spend an amount to unlock perks.

This is a great strategy program type to build longer term LTV.

As a minimum in my opinion if you're going to do a loyalty/rewards program, you should be focusing on a points-based system.

This is my personal favourite program type due to the nature that you can satisfy motivation for different levels of customers - plus, you can provide various types of mechanisms that can help motivate customers/visitors to buy, but also share on the likes of social media, etc.

Check out some of the ideas for rewards/perks in this checklist.

Something to consider is running a special rewards system (like discounts and personalised offers) based on a certain timeframe.

For instance as part of your rewards system, you can encourage customers to purchase more in X amount of days, to unlock more perks, special offers, or even the likes of prizes/gifts.

I'm a big believer in referral programs, and it can even become more effective when combining with rewards/loyalty programs.

Whilst this is not a specific 'type', I wanted to include it in this as it is an initiative that does require thought to setup, but can pay off for longer-term customer engagement.

Incorporating elements like challenges, leaderboards, etc can add a great dynamic to your existing strategy.

An incentive initiative that's worth testing are "instant" cash back rewards - like special rewards customers can unlock instantly after purchase. For instance, like store credits, discounts, and more.

The goal here is to provide 'immediate' value and have a way to communicate an offer faster for encouraging another purchase (or upsell).

One of the most important customer segments are your top-tier customers, so running a special VIP program tier (or isolated program that customers have to meet a certain criteria to access) can work really well for top customers to keep buying, and also become advocates for your brand.

A great strategy type that I've seen a few brands incorporate are purchase benefits where customers can choose (or know they are helping) charities/non-profits.

For example - "when you spend $X amount, we will donate $Y to a specific charity/non-profit."

If you're looking for other ways to encourage repeat purchasers without monetary exchange, well you can certainly do so through providing personalised experiences or special access to things like events, content, etc.

This isn't a specific type, but this just a reminder that's worth noting - you can combine multiple reward/loyalty type programs into one main engine.