The 5 most creative (and profitable) rewards programs in DTC

Unique rewards programs are one of the most effective ways for DTC businesses to increase brand loyalty and, ultimately, drive sales. It's widely known that if you have more than 500 orders or $100,000 in sales each month, but don't have a loyalty program, you're missing out on the easiest way to drive repeat purchases, increase AOV, and, most importantly, reduce your ad spends.

Every ecommerce loyalty program offers incentives like points-based rewards, referral codes, and discounts. However, if you want to stand out amongst the pack and create a highly profitable loyalty program that customers will love, there are a couple of things you need to consider:

1. If your customers don't know about it, they won't use it. Make sure you're making it easy for shoppers to signup, earn, and redeem. If the don't redeem, they won't see the value.
2. Make the rewards achievable. In this era of instant gratification that we live in, you need to offer rewards that are easily achieved if you want to hold the attention of your shoppers. 10,000 points for a pair of socks? No one has the patience for that.
3. Personalize it! There are over 100,000 DTC brands in North America alone. There's a reason your customers chose your product and it's likely because they like what your brand is about. Make sure your rewards reflect your brand.

Now that you know you have to create some unique offers, we've put together the five most creative, unique, and profitable rewards programs in DTC to inspire you while you're building your own loyalty and rewards program.

TOMS: One for one giveback rewards

TOMS, one of the world's largest shoe manufacturers in DTC has put a unique twist on rewards. They're building brand loyalty by allowing loyalty program members to donate their rewards to children in need of shoes.

TOMS, became popular because they donate a pair of shoes to a child in need with every purchase. A study by Forrester found that 51% of Gen Z buyers will ensure that a brand’s corporate social responsibility aligns with their own before they make a purchase. Seeing the brand affinity they built because shoppers aligned with their values, they applied the same tactic to their loyalty program. Instead of just earning rewards for yourself, you can double down on the donations that TOMS already does and give your rewards to those in need.

Princess Polly Insider Rewards

Trendsetting fashion retailer Princess Polly knows what their customers care about, being on point with their style. To make sure their most loyal customers can stay ahead of the fashion curve, members of the VIP rewards tier are invited to join their exclusive Facebook group, where they bring in stylists and designers to give insider tips on the latest trends in fashion.

Since launching this perk in 2020, they have had over 3,000 members make it to the VIP rank (700-2499 points earned) and join the group. Not bad for a perk that doesn't have any hard costs!

Harry's $100,000 giveaway

Last year, Harry's used their loyalty program to host a $100,000 cash prize giveaway!

Harry's, one of the leading DTC men's shaving brands, hosted a unique sweepstake. Anyone who purchased a new Harry's handle or shared a referral code was entered to win the cash prize. Each successful referral and purchase gave you another entry, so the more you buy, the better your chances. Winners were drawn each quarter, which incentivized customers to purchase year-round for a chance to win.

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The North Face XPLR Pass

Outdoor apparel giant, The North Face, is a great example of knowing what motivates your customers. They've done the research to see that people choose Noth Face because they actually use their apparel and accessories to get outside and explore, not just for fashion.

That is why their loyalty program, XPLR Pass, is designed to reward members not only when they purchase but when they check in to national parks, bring reusable bags to shop in-store, and even when they donate used gear to be recycled.

Robinhood: Invite friends, pick stocks

Robinhood, the popular stock trading platform, offers a unique rewards program for its users. Every month, Robinhood offers free shares of one of their top-performing stocks to users who invited friends during that month instead of cash rewards.  This encourages users to spread the word about Robinhood and creates a feeling of community among its users.

These examples of loyalty programs are huge profit centers because they were built with the customer's experience in mind from the start.  The focus is on what makes their brand unique, what drives engagement with their customers, and they bring those elements into their loyalty program. If you'd like to build a loyalty, rewards, and referrals program for your Shopify store that's completely customizable so you can build unique rewards that will drive engagement from your custmers, you need Rivo. It's the only Built for Shopify loyalty and rewards platform that is completely customizable and allows you to create those unique rewards that will keep you customers coming back time and time again. Click here to connect with a customer retention specialist from Rivo and get your custom loyalty program live.