How to Set Up a Loyalty Scheme in 5 Minutes (Step by Step)

Setting up a loyalty scheme sounds like a project. It doesn't have to be. With a browser-based digital stamp card you can go from nothing to stamping real customers' cards before your next rush. Here's how to set up a loyalty scheme step by step, with the decisions that make it work.

Before you start: two quick decisions

What will you reward?

Pick something your customers already buy and would love for free:

• Café: a free coffee or pastry
• Takeaway: a free pizza, burger or side
• Barber: a free beard trim or styling product
• Salon: money off their next treatment

How many stamps?

Most stamp cards use somewhere between 5 and 10 stamps. Fewer stamps feel achievable; more stamps suit cheaper items. "Buy 9, get the 10th free" is the classic for coffee and food. For services people buy less often, such as haircuts, five visits is common.

If you sell higher-value services, consider spend-based rewards instead (for example, "spend £50, get £5 off").

Step 1: Tell us about your business (1 minute)

Enter your business name, choose your type (takeaway, café, barber, salon and so on) and add your town. Your business type picks a sensible starting reward and stamp design, so even if you change nothing else you'll have a working card.

Step 2: Choose your reward (1 minute)

Choose a ready-made scheme and adjust the numbers:

• Buy 9, get the 10th free — one stamp per purchase
• Every 5th visit, a free extra — one stamp per visit
• Spend £50, get £5 off — stamps for each £1 spent

You can also add an optional birthday treat, which customers can claim during their birthday month.

Step 3: Make it look like your shop (1 minute)

Upload your logo (or skip it and use a themed icon), pick your brand colour, and choose a stamp that matches what you sell: pizza slices, coffee cups, scissors and more. A card that looks like your shop feels like part of the experience rather than a generic add-on.

Step 4: Set a staff PIN (30 seconds)

Give each member of staff their own 4-digit PIN. They open the scanner on their own phone (or the shop phone) from a link or QR code, type their PIN once, and stay signed in. You never share your own login, every stamp shows who gave it, and if someone leaves you remove them and only their phone signs out.

Step 5: Print your QR poster (1 minute)

Print an A4 poster for the window and an A5 one for the counter. The QR code takes customers straight to your join page. Put the A5 one where people pay. That's where most sign-ups happen. Read more in our guide to QR code loyalty cards.

Step 6: Start stamping

When a customer pays:

1. Ask: "Do you have our stamp card? Scan here and I'll add your first stamp."
2. They scan the poster and enter their email. A one-time code confirms it.
3. Their card appears with a code that changes every 30 seconds.
4. You scan it with the shop phone and tap Add stamp.

The whole join takes well under a minute, even at a busy counter.

Tips for a strong first week

• Give the first stamp on joining. An empty card is easy to forget; one stamp already feels like progress.
• Brief every member of staff. Consistency matters more than anything else.
• Mention it once per customer, not every visit, and let the poster do the rest.
• Check your dashboard at the end of the week to see members and stamps.

For more on turning first-timers into regulars, see how to get repeat customers.

Common set-up mistakes

• Making the reward too small to be worth collecting for.
• Too many stamps for a cheap item, so the card feels endless.
• Hiding the poster in the window where nobody waiting at the till can see it.
• Complicated rules, such as exclusions and expiry dates on everything.

Ready to try it?

You can set up StampOwl in about five minutes and try it free for 30 days, with no card details needed. After that it's £19 a month for unlimited members and stamps.