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Loyalty Programs for Restaurant Marketing
Need Advice? Talk to an Expert
Written by: Hilary Young | Published: June 9th, 2025
There are a ton of strategies you can use to market your restaurant, and one of those is implementing a loyalty program to keep your customers coming back time and again. Finding ways to not only engage and reward your loyal customers, but to also better understand their needs and behavior through data and analytics can be a key component to business growth.
We’ve identified some of the strongest loyalty programs on the market to help you grow your business, including bonus options for best digital gift card and best digital punch card system.
Three Reasons for Your Restaurant to Invest in a Loyalty Program
Not sure whether or not making the investment in a loyalty program is worth it? Here are three reasons why your restaurant should consider adding a dedicated loyalty program to your marketing efforts:
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More customer retention. Want to get more return customers back in the door? Encourage them to keep coming back with incentives and rewards. In fact, a study from LoyaltyPulse found that consumers felt that a loyalty program would increase their likelihood of visiting that restaurant by an average of 35%, and 65% reported that they’d be willing to recommend the restaurant to others if there was an appealing rewards program offered.
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Increased profits for your business. The psychology behind loyalty programs has proven to yield higher spend from customers. From higher check totals to more return trips back to your restaurant for additional meals in order to reach reward thresholds, a loyalty program is bound to pay for itself in terms of ROI.
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Improve the customer experience. A customer loyalty program has been proven to make customers feel more appreciated and thus, more loyal to the brand.
Our Top Picks
Feeling overwhelmed by all the ordering system options out there online? We’ve got you covered. Our expert team of restaurant technology consultants have identified their top choices for order and delivery platforms for you to check out. As you review, pay close attention to more than just price–from the level of your own involvement in the process to the other types of integrations and available analytics that work well with each platform, it’s important to take your restaurant needs into careful consideration before making an investment.
Disclaimer: Any paid partnerships have no influence on our evaluations and suggestions. All our opinions are our own.
Up to 50% off Setup Fees
Como is a data-driven customer engagement and loyalty solution powering food and beverage businesses to understand their customers and deliver unforgettable experiences. This platform is ideal for enterprise and multi-unit operations who are looking to take their marketing to the next level
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Features
- Points shop, digital punch cards, and cash back
- Personalize member gifts and coupons
- Personalized Spin the Wheel animations and Scratch & Win experiences
- Customer packages of prepaid products and services
- Launch viral promo code campaigns
- Proprietary AI algorithms that encourage customers to spend more
Where it excels
Como is a great option because of their third-party integrations that make it seamless and easy to use.
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Pricing
Up to 30% off Setup Fees
Incentivio is an all-in-one digital guest engagement platform built for restaurants ready to elevate their customer experience, grow loyalty, and drive revenue. From mom-and-pop shops to multi-unit operations, we partner with restaurants across the U.S. and Canada to make meaningful, data-driven engagement easy.
Features
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White-label mobile app and branded online ordering
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Built-in digital loyalty program with custom rewards
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Automated, customizable marketing tools
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Real-time customer analytics and insights
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AI-powered guest engagement for smarter retention
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Centralized platform to replace multiple marketing and ordering tools
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POS, payment, delivery, and aggregator integrations
Where it excels
Incentivio shines when it comes to turning guest data into action. Whether you want to personalize offers, re-engage lapsed customers, or improve lifetime value, this platform delivers powerful tools and real-time insights to make it happen.
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Pricing
Up to 50% off Setup Fees
Loyalty Cubed helps restaurants build meaningful customer relationships through flexible and data-driven loyalty programs. From gamified challenges to branded mobile apps, the platform makes it easy to incentivize repeat visits and increase lifetime value.
Features
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Customizable loyalty rewards based on purchases or milestones
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Branded customer-facing mobile app with real-time reward tracking
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Gamified challenges and seasonal promotions to boost repeat visits
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Automated email, SMS, and push notification campaigns
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Real-time customer analytics dashboard to track trends and optimize strategy
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POS integrations with Toast and Aloha NCR (including simultaneous operation)
Where it excels
Loyalty Cubed stands out for its robust, customizable loyalty platform that goes far beyond basic POS modules. Its use of gamification and automation helps restaurants boost guest frequency and average spend with less manual effort.
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Pricing
For restaurants that are already using Toast as their POS system, their Marketing Essentials add-on (and more specifically their Loyalty Program) provides a simple way for restaurant owners to increase guest frequency.
Features
- Customize sign up bonuses
- Set accrual and redemption rates
- Offer birthday rewards
- Flat monthly fee
- Accrue guest points with each credit card swipe
- Loyalty program reporting
Where it excels
If your restaurant already uses Toast for your POS system, it’s really seamless and easy to upgrade your account to include these additional marketing services, and the pricing is reasonable.
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