Loyalty programs 1.0 were the simple punch cards of days-gone by: 10 visits get you a free entrée or drink. The second iteration of loyalty programs became popular in the years leading up to the pandemic as Starbucks popularized the digital loyalty program and made it easier and more customizable than ever before. Now, as customers become more discerning and omnichannel demands grow, loyalty and rewards programshave grown up with them.
We’ve noticed an uptick in the number of brands that are adding loyalty programs or upgrading and revamping existing rewards programs to add more features like personalization, customization, and gamification. Several are even venturing into the murky waters of the metaverse, with or without NFT programs and cryptocurrency.
Here are seven restaurant brands that have added or changed their loyalty/rewards programs over the past several months:
