What a rewards scheme is for
A restaurant loyalty program rewards guests for coming back. That can be points for every pound spent, a stamp card with a free coffee on the tenth visit, or tiers that give your best regulars a better table or a glass of something on the house.
A programme also tells you who your regulars are. A paper card in someone’s wallet tells you nothing. A digital programme linked to bookings and orders shows you who visits every week, who used to and has stopped, and whether the reward changed anything.
In RSM UK’s Consumer Outlook survey of 2,000 consumers, reported in July 2024, 42% said they are more likely to visit a restaurant that has a loyalty scheme. The figure was 58% for Gen Z, 48% for millennials and 66% for people earning over £80,000, falling to 38% for those earning under £20,000.
Points, stamps or tiers: which suits your restaurant
| Model | How it works | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Digital stamp card | A stamp per visit or order, a reward after a set number | Cafés, bakeries, lunch spots: frequent visits, similar spend | Rewards a £3 coffee the same as a £30 lunch |
| Points per spend | Points for every pound, swapped for rewards | Restaurants and takeaways where spend varies | Points that take too long to reach a reward go unused |
| Tiers | Guests move up (for example Silver, Gold, VIP) as they visit and spend, unlocking perks | Restaurants with a core of regulars worth recognising | Perks staff can’t deliver on a busy night |
Most restaurants should start with one model. Stamps are the easiest to explain at the counter. Points are fairer when one guest spends £15 and another spends £80. Tiers work on top of either, once you know who your best guests are.
Choosing rewards guests will use
Start with what guests say they want
When RSM UK asked which rewards people most want from restaurants and eating and drinking outlets, 50% chose price reductions, 17% chose bonus points worth a free drink or meal and 15% chose bonus points to spend. Money off is the safe choice. A free dish or drink often costs you less than the same value in money off, because you pay what it costs to make.
Make the first reward reachable
Many loyalty points never turn into anything. The Antavo Global Customer Loyalty Report 2026, covering loyalty schemes across UK sectors, found 26.2% of UK loyalty points go unused and 11.9% expire unspent. For a restaurant, the first reward should be within reach after three to five typical visits, so guests feel the programme working before they forget it.
Reward the things that help you most
Give extra points or stamps for ordering on your own website instead of a delivery app, for booking a quiet Tuesday, or for bringing a friend. Loyalty then does two jobs: it rewards regulars and it moves them towards the channels and nights that make you the most money.
Campaigns to run alongside it
A points or stamp scheme works in the background. A few targeted campaigns give guests a reason to come back at a particular time:
- A second-visit offer invites new guests back within a short window, with a clear, specific reason, while the first visit is still fresh. It’s a good first test.
- A birthday offer with a short redemption window brings a visit around the date.
- A win-back message goes to guests who haven’t visited in 30, 45 or 60 days. Keep it short, the offer useful and redemption easy.
- A bring-a-friend offer in quieter periods gives people a social reason to visit, and a referral reward thanks guests who bring someone new.
Start with one campaign rather than ten. Before you send anything, ask whether the offer would sound odd coming from a friendly member of staff. If it would, it will sound odd in a message too.
What rewards cost
There are two costs to plan for: the software, and the rewards.
The reward cost is lower than the menu price suggests. Take a points scheme that gives a £5 reward for every £100 spent. At menu price that’s 5% back. But if your food and drink cost is around 30% of menu price, the £5 dish or drink you give away costs you about £1.50 to make, or 1.5% of what that guest spent. This is an illustrative example: use your own food cost percentage.
A stamp card works the same way. “Buy nine coffees, get the tenth free” gives away one coffee in ten, and the cost to you is the coffee, milk and cup, not the £3.50 on the board.
The software cost depends on whether loyalty is a separate subscription or part of the system you already use for bookings and ordering. A separate loyalty app means another monthly fee and another place where guest data sits, cut off from what the guest books and orders.
How to set one up
- Pick one model: stamps, points or tiers.
- Set the first reward so a typical regular reaches it in three to five visits.
- Decide what earns extra: direct orders, quiet nights, referrals.
- Make joining automatic when someone books or orders online, so nobody has to fill in a form at the till.
- Brief staff on how a guest redeems a reward, so it takes seconds at the table or counter.
- Tell guests in the places they already see: confirmation emails, receipts, a card in takeaway bags and your Google Business Profile.
How to tell whether it’s working
Redemptions alone don’t prove much. A guest who would have come back anyway and redeems a reward costs you money without changing anything. Track these instead, every month:
- how often members visit compared with guests who aren’t members
- the share of new guests who make a second visit within 30 days
- average spend per visit for members, before and after they join
- how many members haven’t visited in 60 days, and how many of those come back after a win-back message
- the share of orders coming through your own ordering page rather than delivery apps
If members visit more often and spend about the same, the programme is paying for itself. If they visit at the same rate and just collect rewards, change what earns points, raise the threshold or switch the reward.
How Growtality handles loyalty
Growtality’s loyalty lets you choose points per spend, a digital stamp card or Silver, Gold and VIP tiers. Every reward sits on the guest’s profile in the restaurant CRM, linked to their bookings and direct orders, so guests earn when they order from you rather than a delivery app. Guests don’t need to download an app to join.
Loyalty is included on every plan, from £29 a month on Standard, alongside referrals, bookings and online ordering. See plans and pricing, or start a 14-day free trial with no card required.
Questions owners ask
What is a restaurant rewards scheme?
A scheme that rewards guests for coming back, usually through points per pound spent, a stamp card or tiers that unlock perks. A digital programme links each reward to the guest's profile, so the restaurant can see who is a regular, who has gone quiet and whether the rewards bring people back.
Do loyalty schemes make guests visit more?
They influence where people go. In RSM UK's survey of 2,000 consumers, 42% said they are more likely to visit a restaurant with a loyalty scheme, rising to 58% of Gen Z and 48% of millennials. Whether a scheme raises visits for your restaurant is something to measure: compare how often members and non-members return.
Which is better for a restaurant: points, stamps or tiers?
Stamp cards suit cafés and quick, frequent visits with a similar spend. Points suit restaurants where spend varies a lot between visits. Tiers suit restaurants that want to recognise their best regulars with perks rather than discounts. Many restaurants start with one and add tiers later.
What rewards do UK diners want most?
Money off. In RSM UK's survey, 50% picked price reductions as the reward they most wanted from restaurants and eating and drinking outlets, 17% bonus points worth a free drink or meal and 15% bonus points to spend.
How much does a rewards scheme cost to run?
There are two costs: the software and the rewards you give away. Rewards cost you what the food and drink cost to make, not the menu price. Many restaurant platforms include loyalty in the plan; Growtality includes points, stamps and tiers on its Standard plan at £29 a month.
