Topic

Digital stamp card

It is the classic paper punch card, on the phone. It doesn't get lost, it doesn't get left at home and it lets you talk to the customer.

North team · Updated October 7, 2026 · 2 min read

Step by step

Scans the QRat the table or front desk
Saves the cardin their wallet
Collects stampsstaff scan in seconds
Completes itgets the reward
If they stop comingthe card reminds them how much is left

How it is designed

How many stamps and what reward

The reward is paid for by the margin of the visits that earn it. We calculate how much a completed card brings in and what share the reward takes.

8-stamp card for the Casa Aurora restaurantcalculation

Average ticket               $2,400
Margin                       35%     → $840 per visit
Completed card               8 × $840 = $6,720 in margin
Reward: dinner for two       kitchen cost ≈ $900
Reward share                 $900 ÷ $6,720 = 13% of margin

Recommendation. The ideal reward feels big to the customer and costs the business little. A dinner for two is worth much more than it costs in the kitchen.

Give away the first stamp

In a 2006 study at a car wash, Nunes and Drèze handed out two cards: an empty 8-wash card and a 10-wash card with 2 already marked. Both needed 8 more. 34% of customers completed the second one; 19% completed the first.

Recommendation. Give one or two stamps on sign-up. The effort asked is the same and more people reach the reward.

The same card in Google Wallet

On Android, each card is a loyalty object in the Google Wallet API. It is added with a "Save to Google Wallet" button that carries a signed JWT, and each stamp updates the balance with an API call.

Google Wallet loyalty objectJSON

{
  "id": "3388000000012345678.CA-000214",
  "classId": "3388000000012345678.sellos_casa_aurora",
  "state": "ACTIVE",
  "accountId": "CA-000214",
  "accountName": "Martina Ríos",
  "loyaltyPoints": { "label": "Stamps", "balance": { "int": 7 } },
  "barcode": { "type": "QR_CODE", "value": "CA-000214" }
}

Recommendation. The same card number (CA-000214) in Apple and Google. There is a single server and the customer picks their wallet.

Which reward for which business

Reward	Cost to the business	Value to the customer	Works best for
Dinner for two	Kitchen cost	High	Restaurant with free tables midweek
Coffee or dessert	Low	Medium	Coffee shop with frequent visits
Discounted night on slow days	Housekeeping and amenities	High	Hotel with low midweek occupancy
Late checkout	Almost none if there is no arrival	High	Hotel
Early access to an event	Almost none	High for the community	Club or brand with launches

Case analysis

Death Wish Coffee: a points program with a game

Death Wish Coffee · United States, 2023

The "world's strongest" coffee brand relaunched its loyalty program with its own identity instead of a generic points system.

What they did, step by step

It renamed the program "Ritual Rewards", in the brand's voice.
It added tiers and rewards for referring friends.
It launched "Swig League", a nine-week competition with a baseball look to keep members active.
It connected the program to its emails to notify members about points and rewards.

+186%in one year in sales with a program code

2.63xhigher purchase frequency among members

70%of rewards are redeemed

The mechanism

Own programRitual Rewards
Points and tiersSmile.io
Referralsreward for recommending
9-week competitionSwig League
Email noticesKlaviyo

Points, tiers and a game in the same system, connected to email to announce balances and rewards.

Why it worked. The program felt like part of the brand, and the game gave members a reason to come back every week.

Analysis of a public case. North Marketing did not take part in this work. The figures are the ones published by the vendor (Smile.io).

Sources: Smile.io

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