Why it's time to ditch the paper loyalty card
Published · Updated
Lost, left at home, falling apart: the paper card frustrates your customers and keeps you from knowing anything about them.
The paper loyalty card has one merit: it costs almost nothing to print. That’s about the only one, and it hides a bill far heavier than the hundred euros you pay the printer.
What it really costs you
One customer in two loses their card before filling it. They don’t tell you: they leave with a fresh card, start again from zero, and lose interest. You never see that giving-up, because a piece of card reports nothing.
- You don’t know how many customers come back
- You don’t know which ones have stopped coming
- You don’t know what your program is worth
Paper can’t win anyone back
When a customer stops coming, a paper card can do nothing about it. It’s in a drawer at their place, and you have no way to remind them they were two stamps short.
We’d had a thousand cards printed. We had no idea whether it was working. All we knew was that we were ordering more.
What digital changes, in practice
It isn’t a question of being modern, it’s a question of information. A digital loyalty card tells you who comes back, how often, and who has disappeared. From there you can decide, and a decision based on something beats a hunch.
The rest follows: the card no longer gets lost, the customer no longer starts from zero, and you finally know what your loyalty program costs you and what it brings in.
Frequently asked questions
Why switch from a paper loyalty card to a digital one?
Because a digital card can’t be lost and tells you who comes back. Paper reports nothing: you don’t know how many customers return, or which ones have stopped coming.
Can I keep paper cards at the same time?
Yes, both can run side by side during the switch. Keep paper for customers without a smartphone and offer the digital card to everyone else: nothing forces you to change everything overnight.
Do customers lose the stamps on their paper card?
No, you can carry them over. On their first visit, choose the number of stamps before scanning their new card: in stamp mode, one visit can count for several stamps, up to 50 at once.
Can a digital card bring back a customer who stopped coming?
Yes. Because the card knows when each customer came in, StampyWallet spots the regulars who are drifting away and sends them a message on their lock screen, once per absence. This win-back is included in the Growth plan.
How much does it cost to replace paper cards with a digital card?
With StampyWallet, from $29 a month plus sales tax in the US (£19 in the UK, €20 in Europe), with no setup fee and no commitment, after a thirty-day free trial. Your customers pay nothing and install no app.
