Points, tiers, memberships and perks — which loyalty mechanics actually change repeat behavior, and which just cost money.
Food and drink is a repeat-purchase category sold by weight, and the one capability that turns a one-bag buyer into a three-bag buyer — tiered pricing by quantity — exists in 21 of the 108 themes in Shopify's Food and drink category. The fifteen highest-placed themes do not have the full set. The sixteenth does.
Back-in-stock alerts, pre-orders for the next drop, gift wrapping, recently viewed and a storefront distinctive enough to remember — a look at what the new Fuse theme gives a retention team to work with.
I pulled the pricing sections of the five biggest loyalty apps in the Shopify App Store on the same day and put them side by side. The plans do not measure the same thing, and that is where the surprises live.
Ten loyalty mechanics that reward something other than spending more money, with an honest note on how hard each one is to launch and which plan tier actually includes it.