A digital punch card is a stamp-style loyalty card that lives on the customer’s phone instead of in their wallet. Staff add a stamp by scanning a code on the customer’s phone at checkout, and the reward appears on the phone automatically when the card is full.
How a digital punch card works
- The business sets up the card. It picks how many stamps earn a reward and what the reward is: ten stamps for a free coffee, say.
- Customers join once. They scan the business’s QR code with their phone camera. On The Usual the card opens in the phone’s browser, so there’s nothing to install.
- Staff stamp at checkout. The customer opens the card and staff scan the code on it. One scan, one stamp.
- The reward appears by itself. When the card is full the reward shows up on the customer’s phone, and staff scan it again to redeem it.
Digital vs. paper punch cards
| Paper punch card | Digital punch card | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to run | A few cents a card to print, plus a hole punch or stamp | A monthly subscription (The Usual is $30 a month) |
| Lost cards | Common, and the progress goes with the card | The card is on the customer’s phone |
| Fraud | Punches and stamps are easy to copy | Codes can expire, and only staff can add stamps |
| What you learn | Nothing | Who your regulars are and when they last came in |
| Setup | Design, print and hand out cards | Set up the card and print one QR code |
Punch cards vs. points programs
A punch card counts visits. A points program counts dollars. Punch cards are simpler: staff don’t have to explain a points rate, and customers can see exactly how close they are to the reward. Points suit businesses where one visit can be $15 or $300, like a hardware store. For coffee, haircuts, oil changes and lunches, where each visit costs about the same, a punch card is usually the better fit.
What a digital punch card costs
Standalone punch card apps usually charge a monthly fee per location. Loyalty built into a point-of-sale system is usually an add-on to that POS, so it only works if you use that POS, or switch to it. The Usual is $30 a month for one location or $50 for up to five, runs beside any POS, and is free for customers. See pricing.
The bigger cost is the rewards themselves. A ten-stamp card with a free item worth an average visit gives back about 10% of what a regular spends. How many stamps should a card have? covers how to set that.
How digital punch cards prevent fraud
Paper cards invite a handful of problems: customers stamping their own cards, staff stamping for friends, and one visit getting stamped twice. A well-built digital card closes each one. On The Usual:
- Codes expire. The code on the customer’s phone changes every 60 seconds and works once, so a screenshot is useless.
- Only staff add stamps. The QR code on the counter only lets people join. Stamps come from a signed-in staff member, and nobody can stamp their own card.
- Every stamp is on record. Each stamp records who gave it, where and when. A mistake is fixed with a correction, not deleted.
- Each card has limits. A minimum time between stamps and a daily limit stop one visit from earning three stamps.
What to look for when choosing one
- It works beside your current POS, so you don’t have to replace anything.
- Customers don’t need a different app for every shop.
- The customer’s code expires, so screenshots don’t work.
- Each staff member has their own login, with a record of who stamped.
- A flat monthly price, not a percentage of your sales.
- You can see who your regulars are and when they last came in.