Branded loyalty points: choose a name and rewards customers understand

Start with the reward before choosing the name

Write down what a customer will be able to redeem first. A discount on a later order or a shipping reward gives you something concrete to explain. Decide how many points it requires and any conditions, such as a minimum purchase, before designing a clever name around it.

Then ask whether a typical returning customer could realistically reach that reward. Look at your own order values and how often people reorder. A threshold that suits a weekly coffee purchase may be a poor fit for a store selling furniture. There is no universal points total that makes a programme attractive.

RewardMe lets merchants choose their points name and value, earning rules, maturity and expiry. Treat these as separate decisions. The name is the label customers see; the rules determine when points become available and what they can be redeemed for.

Choose a name that works in everyday sentences

A short name is easier to explain in a balance, a help reply and a reward description. Stars, Gold and Gems are simple starting points. A store-specific name can work too, provided a first-time customer does not need a brand dictionary to understand it.

Try each candidate in three sentences: “Earn 50 ___”, “Your balance is 200 ___” and “Redeem 500 ___ for a reward.” Read them aloud. This catches awkward plurals and names that sound like a membership tier rather than something a customer collects.

Use these as naming directions, not claims that a particular name improves sales:

• A tea shop could use Tea Leaves, with a short introduction explaining that these are its reward points.
• A pet store could use Paw Points, connecting the name to its products while keeping the meaning obvious.
• A jewellery brand could use Gems, as long as the copy makes clear these are reward points rather than physical gemstones.
• A broader lifestyle store could use Stars, which does not tie the programme to one product category.

Make the value visible with one worked example

Imagine a store sets a rule of 1 Star per £1 of eligible spending and offers a £5 discount for 100 Stars. Under those example rules, £100 of eligible spending earns enough for that reward. That is a £5 discount on a later qualifying purchase, not £5 paid automatically to the customer.

The face value of that example reward is 5% of the eligible spending needed to earn it: £5 divided by £100. This calculation helps you compare offers, but it is not a profit forecast. Your actual cost depends on redemption, product margin, fulfilment, other discounts and app fees. Use your own numbers before setting a rate.

Customer-facing copy could read: “Collect 1 Star for every £1 of eligible spending. Redeem 100 Stars for £5 off a qualifying order.” Add the relevant exclusions, availability timing and expiry rules nearby. Avoid showing a large balance without explaining what it can unlock.

Explain who earns points and why

A branded name can be used across your reward experience, but it should not hide the difference between customer loyalty and affiliate rewards. A shopper earns loyalty points for their own eligible purchase. An affiliate earns points when someone they refer makes an eligible tracked purchase.

For example, a customer buying tea for themselves might earn Tea Leaves under your loyalty rules. A creator sharing an affiliate link to the same tea might earn points under a different referral rule. Explain each journey where the person joins it, including where they can see their balance and redeem rewards.

RewardMe also supports product review rewards through its Judge.me integration. If you enable that route, explain the eligible review action and reward separately. Customers do not need to make creator videos to participate in ordinary customer loyalty.

Launch with a reward you can explain in one line

Keep the first offer focused. A clear discount or shipping reward is easier to test than a long menu of choices with different conditions. Pick an option that is useful for the products you sell and affordable for your store.

For a replenishment product such as shampoo, a reward towards the next order connects naturally to the buying routine. For a gift shop with less frequent purchases, check whether the earning threshold and expiry window leave customers a realistic opportunity to return.

Before launch, write down how your programme handles returned or cancelled purchases, point availability, expiry and redemption conditions. Verify the actual behaviour in your configuration and document it accurately. A name such as Gold should never be used to imply a cash balance or an automatic payout.

Test the explanation from a customer’s point of view

Set your chosen name in RewardMe, then review the member experience with your actual reward rules. Check the wording on a phone, where long names and complicated conditions are harder to scan. Also check any storefront copy or emails you maintain yourself so they use the same name.

Ask someone unfamiliar with the programme to explain it back to you. If they can tell you what earns points, what their balance is worth towards a reward and where to redeem it, the explanation is doing its job. If they cannot, simplify the copy before adding more offers.

• Use the same spelling and capitalisation in your balance labels, reward descriptions and help content.
• Keep “points” in the first explanation, for example: “Tea Leaves are our reward points.”
• Show a concrete redemption example rather than relying on a slogan.
• Make point availability and expiry conditions easy to find.
• Confirm that the earning and redemption behaviour matches the wording in an appropriate test setup.

Review usefulness, not just the size of the balances

After launch, look at how many members reach a reward and how many redeem it. Review repeat orders and the cost of redeemed rewards alongside customer questions. A high points balance alone does not show that customers understand or value the programme.

If people earn points but rarely redeem them, investigate the threshold, the reward and the explanation. If rewards are used but the orders are unprofitable, revisit the economics. Change one element at a time where practical so you can understand what happened.

Keep the name stable while you learn, unless it is causing confusion. RewardMe is free to test on your store; check the current Shopify App Store listing for plan allowances and usage charges. Start with rules you can explain confidently, then expand once the experience works for your customers.

Common questions