Customer Loyalty Program Launch Checklist

Name the metrics the program is supposed to move: repeat-purchase rate, comp sales lift on enrolled customers vs. non-enrolled, ATV, UPT, and 90-day retention. Set a target lift (e.g., +8% ATV among members) so post-launch analytics have a yardstick.

Pick one: points-per-dollar, tiered (silver/gold/platinum), paid membership (Amazon Prime / REI co-op style), or hybrid. Each model has different POS implications — tiered programs need member-level lookups at the register; paid memberships need a recurring billing rail.

Build the unit economics: cost per point issued, expected redemption rate (industry norm 15-30%), breakage assumption, and net margin impact at the markdown line. Run scenarios at 50%, 100%, and 150% of projected enrollment so finance signs off before any signage prints.

Pull the last 12 months of transactional data from the POS or CRM. Identify the top-decile repeat customers — they're the launch cohort. Segment by frequency, recency, basket size, and category affinity so the tier thresholds map to real customer behavior, not round numbers.

Common starting points: 1 point per $1 spent, with a 100-point = $5 reward (5% effective discount). Decide whether tax and shipping earn points (most retailers exclude them) and whether gift cards earn at purchase or at redemption.

Document each tier's annual spend threshold, benefits (point multiplier, free shipping, birthday GWP, early access to markdowns), and downgrade rules. Anchor thresholds to your top-decile basket data so most members can realistically reach the first paid tier.

State law on gift-card escheatment generally does not cover loyalty points, but check your operating states — a few jurisdictions treat unredeemed points as a liability. Typical policy: points expire 12 months after the last earning activity, with email warnings at 60 and 30 days.

Have legal review before the soft launch. Cover earning, redemption, exclusions (age-restricted products in some states, gift cards, prior purchases), program-modification rights, account termination for fraud, and CCPA/GDPR data-handling language if you collect from CA or EU residents.

Evaluate Yotpo, Smile.io, LoyaltyLion, Fivestars, or a native POS module (Lightspeed Retail, Square for Retail, Shopify POS). Score on POS+ecom integration depth, member lookup speed at the register, segmentation, and email/SMS rails. Get a sandbox for at least two finalists.

Wire member lookup to the POS by phone or email, push earn/burn events from the order webhook, and verify the same member ID resolves to the same account across in-store, BOPIS, and online. Test refund handling — points must claw back on a refunded line item, not the full transaction.

Only required if the program model is paid membership. Set up annual or monthly billing via the payment processor (Stripe, Square, Worldpay), define the dunning sequence for failed cards, and confirm PCI scope hasn't expanded — tokenized card-on-file should keep you in SAQ A-EP or B-IP rather than SAQ D.

Confirm the dashboard reports enrollment count, active member rate, points issued vs. redeemed, member ATV vs. non-member ATV, and tier movement. Pipe to your BI tool (Looker, Tableau, Power BI) if you do weekly KPI reviews there.

Cashiers at one pilot store run through enroll, earn, redeem, exchange, refund, and tier-promotion scripts on the live system. Capture every defect; do not approve launch until all P1/P2 issues are closed.

Triage with the platform vendor, fix configuration or integration defects, and re-run the same UAT scripts end-to-end before re-attempting the launch gate.

Lock in the program name, tier names, logo lockup, color palette, and member card art (physical or digital wallet). Hand off to the visual merchandiser for in-store sign templates.

Window cling, register topper, counter card, fitting-room mirror cling, and shopping-bag insert. Stage by store via the visual merchandiser; confirm install date on the planogram calendar.

In Klaviyo or Mailchimp, build a 5-touch sequence: pre-launch teaser, launch day, week-1 reminder, first-redemption nudge at 200 points, and 30-day re-engagement. Suppress non-consented contacts to stay clean on CCPA/GDPR.

Store manager runs the training during shift huddles. Cover the at-register ask script, the value proposition in one sentence, handling of "I don't want to give my email," and the SPIFF for top enrollers in the first 30 days.

Pick a single store with a strong manager and a representative customer base. Run for 7-10 days, monitor enrollment rate per 100 transactions, watch for POS slowdowns at peak, and collect cashier feedback in a daily 10-minute debrief.

District manager, store manager, marketing lead, and IT review enrollment rate, redemption activity, and cashier-reported issues. Decide go/no-go for the full rollout.

Coordinated push: signage live in all stores by open, launch email at 10 AM local, SMS at 11 AM, press release on the wire, social posts staggered through the day. Store managers report enrollment counts to the district manager at close.

Members who hit 80% of their first reward threshold but haven't redeemed get a personalized "you're $X away" email. First redemption is the strongest predictor of long-term retention — push it within the first 30 days of enrollment.

Marketing lead presents enrollment, active rate, redemption rate, member vs. non-member ATV/UPT, and tier distribution against the KPIs set in step 1. Flag any earn-and-burn variance vs. the financial model.

Director of operations and marketing lead review tier thresholds, redemption mix, breakage vs. model, and segment performance. Decide on rule adjustments (earn rate, tier thresholds, expiration) before the holiday peak.