Customers cost more to acquire than to keep, yet many brands still treat loyalty like an afterthought. A well-designed loyalty campaign turns one-time buyers into lifetime advocates, boosting repeat purchase rates and brand affinity along the way.
The most successful brands understand that loyalty campaigns aren't just about points and discounts—they're strategic tools for building lasting customer relationships.
Below you’ll find nine standout loyalty campaign examples (Sephora, Starbucks, Amazon, and more), plus takeaways you can steal for your next initiative.
Effective loyalty campaigns leverage psychological principles and data-driven personalization to create emotional connections with customers.
According to research from the Harvard Business Review, emotionally connected customers have a higher lifetime value and are 71% more likely to recommend a brand.
Key Success Factors for Customer Loyalty Campaigns
Campaign Structure: Three tiers based on annual spending (Insider, VIB, Rouge)
Perks: Birthday gifts, exclusive events, free shipping, point redemption for products or experiences.
Key Innovation: Experiential rewards and beauty community building
Business Impact: 34 million members; loyalty members account for 80% of sales
What Makes It Work:
Actionable Takeaway: Design tier benefits that create genuine excitement about reaching the next level, not just incremental improvements.
Campaign Structure: Free membership with Stars earned per dollar spent
Perks: Free drinks, refills, birthday treat, tiered star redemptions.
Key Innovation: Mobile-first approach with gamified earning mechanics
Business Impact: 40% of U.S. store sales come from loyalty members; 31 million active members globally
What Makes It Work:
Actionable Takeaway: Implement micro-rewards that provide immediate gratification while building toward larger goals. Starbucks' success shows that frequent, small rewards can be more engaging than infrequent, large ones.
Campaign Structure: Annual subscription ($139/year) with comprehensive benefits
Perks: Free express shipping, Prime Video, Prime Music, exclusive deals, 5% cashback with Prime Card, Whole Foods discounts, and more.
Key Innovation: Bundling shipping, entertainment, and exclusive access
Business Impact: 200M+ global members; Prime members spend 2x more than non-members
What Makes It Work:
Actionable Takeaway: Consider how your loyalty program can extend beyond your core product to become an integral part of customers' daily lives.
Campaign Structure: Free membership with activity-based rewards
Key Innovation: Combining commerce with fitness coaching and community
Business Impact: Direct-to-consumer revenue hit $21.5 billion in FY 2024, up 24% year-over-year
What Makes It Work:
Actionable Takeaway: Connect your loyalty program to customers' broader lifestyle goals and aspirations, not just purchase behavior.
Campaign Structure: Free membership with 1% earnings and personalized deals
Perks: % earnings on eligible purchases, personalized deals, birthday reward, community giving.
Key Innovation: Community giving component and seamless card integration
Business Impact: 100+ million members; Circle Card accounts for 17.7% of all in-store and online transactions
What Makes It Work:
Actionable Takeaway: Sometimes, the most effective loyalty campaigns are the simplest ones that customers can easily understand and use.
Campaign Structure: Free membership with 2% back in ExtraBucks
Perks: 2% back in ExtraBucks Rewards, personalized coupons, pharmacy rewards
Key Innovation: Health and wellness integration with pharmacy benefits
Business Impact: 74 million active members; cornerstone of omnichannel strategy
What Makes It Work:
Actionable Takeaway: Align your loyalty program benefits with your brand's core value proposition and customer needs.
Campaign Structure: Tiered program focused on clean beauty commitment
Key Innovation: Community-first approach with values alignment
Business Impact: Strong customer retention in competitive beauty market
What Makes It Work:
Actionable Takeaway: Build your loyalty program around shared values and community, not just transactional benefits.
Campaign Structure: Three tiers with points redeemable on any product
Key Innovation: Points work on prestige brands, not just house brands
Business Impact: Membership grew from 37 million to 44 million between 2022 and 2024, solidifying Ultamate as a chief driver of Ulta’s comp-store sales.
What Makes It Work:
Actionable Takeaway: Make your loyalty currency as flexible and valuable as possible—restrictions reduce perceived value.
Campaign Structure: Regular double points events on specific days
Key Innovation: "Double Points Tuesday" creates weekly engagement
Business Impact: Increased program participation and purchase frequency
What Makes It Work:
Actionable Takeaway: Use bonus point events strategically to drive engagement during slow periods or to reinforce shopping habits.
Based on analysis of successful programs, here's a proven framework for loyalty campaign design:
1. Define Clear Objectives
2. Understand Your Customer Base
1. Choose Your Model
2. Design Earning Mechanics
1. Platform Selection
2. Omnichannel Integration
1. Soft Launch Strategy
Performance Monitoring
Brands like Netflix and Spotify use machine learning to deliver hyper-personalized experiences. Starbucks' Deep Brew AI platform analyzes customer data to predict preferences and optimize offers.
Implementation Strategy:
Research from Nielsen shows that 73% of global consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable products. Loyalty programs increasingly incorporate environmental and social impact elements.
Implementation Strategy:
According to Eventbrite research, 78% of millennials prefer experiences over material goods. Leading loyalty programs increasingly offer experiential rewards.
Implementation Strategy:
If your loyalty plan includes incentive campaigns or referral bonuses, Toasty can help you:
Deliver digital rewards instantly—no plastic cards or shipping delays.
Offer true choice: Recipients pick the brand they value most, boosting redemption rates.
Avoid hidden costs: You pay face value, nothing more.
No. Start with one layer (sign-up → earn points) and introduce tiers once traction grows.
Common range: 1–2% back. Benchmark competitors and test.
Only if value perception is weak. Offer a free trial to prove the benefits first.
Yes, simple punch-card apps or eGift solutions work well for SMBs.
Ideally, within the first or second purchase, to reinforce the habit.