Paid membership or Shopify loyalty program: which should your store use?
A loyalty points app rewards customers after they buy: they earn points and redeem them later. A paid membership charges a recurring fee for perks customers use straight away, such as member prices and free shipping. Points cost margin on sales you might have made anyway; a membership earns revenue up front and gives members a reason to return.
How is a paid membership different from a points program?
| Paid membership | Loyalty points program | |
|---|---|---|
| Customer pays to join | Yes, monthly or yearly | No |
| When the customer benefits | From the first order: member prices, free shipping, access | Later, once enough points are earned |
| What it costs you | The perks you choose, offset by the fee | The value of every reward redeemed |
| New revenue it creates | Recurring membership fees | None directly |
| Why customers come back | To get value from a fee they've already paid | To earn or spend points |
| Who it suits | Your regulars, and customers who could become regulars | Every customer, lightly |
What do the main Shopify loyalty points apps offer?
Smile, Joy and Yotpo are loyalty apps built around points, referrals and VIP tiers that customers earn by spending. They price by monthly order volume, and each has a free plan. On the day we checked, Joy listed paid membership programs on its Advanced plan, at $129 a month; we found no paid membership on the other two.
| App | What it does | Free plan | Paid plans from | Paid recurring membership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smile: Loyalty Program Rewards | Points, rewards, referrals and VIP tiers | Yes: up to 200 orders a month | $15 / month (up to 500 orders a month) | Not listed. Its VIP tiers are earned by spend or points. |
| Joy Loyalty Program Rewards | Points, referrals and VIP tiers | Yes: 250 orders a month | $29 / month (500 orders a month) | Yes, on the Advanced plan ($129 / month) and above |
| Yotpo: Loyalty Rewards Program | Points, referrals and VIP tiers | Yes: for stores with fewer than 100 orders a month | $199 / month, plus a per-order charge above 500 orders a month | Not listed |
| InCircle Memberships | Paid memberships with perks | Yes: 30 members | $9.99 / month (75 members) | Yes, on every plan |
Can you run a membership and a points program together?
Yes, and it often works well. Points give every customer a light reason to return, while a paid membership gives your best customers something more valuable to belong to. InCircle Memberships tracks membership with customer tags, so a loyalty app that reads customer tags can recognize members and treat them differently.
A common setup is points for everyone, and a paid tier on top with the perks points can't give: a standing member price, free shipping, members-only products and early access. If you're choosing one to start with, read membership vs subscription vs loyalty program, then how to start a paid membership program on Shopify.
Your next loyal member is already shopping with you.
Launch a membership this week. InCircle is free for your first 30 members, so it can pay for itself before you pay for it.