stamp card vs points: which suits a NZ café?
Short answer: if most of your regulars buy the same thing (a coffee), use a stamp card. It's simple, fast at the counter and everyone understands it. If your customers spend very different amounts (coffee one day, lunch for four the next), use points, so bigger spenders are rewarded fairly.
how a stamp card works
One stamp per qualifying item, usually a coffee. Fill the card, get the reward. "Buy 9, get the 10th free" is the classic.
- Strengths: instantly understood, quick for staff, works well for a single hero product.
- Weaknesses: treats a $5 flat white and a $45 brunch the same, and does nothing for customers who don't buy the stamped item.
how points work
Points per dollar spent, for example 1 point per NZ$1. Rewards unlock at set totals.
- Strengths: rewards big spenders properly, works across your whole menu, and lets you offer a ladder of rewards.
- Weaknesses: slightly harder to explain at the counter, and guests need to see their balance to stay interested.
what each one costs you
Work out the real give-away before you choose. Two simple examples:
| scheme | how it works | value given back |
|---|---|---|
| Stamp card | Buy 9 coffees, the 10th is free | 1 free coffee in every 10, roughly 10% of coffee sales to card holders |
| Points | 1 point per NZ$1, a NZ$5 reward at 100 points | NZ$5 back on NZ$100 spent, or 5% |
Neither number is right or wrong. A 10% coffee reward can pay for itself if it moves someone from three visits a week to five. Just decide the number on purpose, and remember the reward costs you the cost of the item, not its menu price.
which suits your café?
choose a stamp card if…
- Most transactions are a single coffee or drink.
- Speed at the counter matters more than anything.
- You want something every staff member can explain in five words.
choose points if…
- You do a real food trade alongside coffee.
- Groups and families make up a lot of your takings.
- You want to reward your best customers more than your occasional ones.
or run both
Plenty of cafés use a coffee stamp card and points on food. It only works if the guest can see both in one place. Two separate cards in a wallet is where schemes go to die.
three mistakes to avoid
- A reward that's too far away. If it takes three months to earn anything, people stop trying. Aim for a first reward within two to four weeks for a regular.
- Rewards nobody wants. A free coffee works. "10% off your next purchase" rarely excites anyone.
- No way to reach regulars. A paper card can't tell you who your best customers are, or bring back the ones who stopped coming.
looopoi Loyal is digital stamp cards and points, so you can run either, or both for NZ cafés. Guests join in twenty seconds from a table QR, with no app to download. NZ$79 a month, and the first 10 New Zealand cafés pay NZ$49.
see how Loyal works →