Loyalty Programs for Restaurants: Fill Tables Profitably

You've probably done this calculation in your head more times than you'd like to admit:

A regular who comes in twice a month, spends £45 per visit, and brings a guest half the time. That's £1,080 per year in revenue from one loyal customer. If they refer even one friend who becomes a regular, you're looking at £2,000+ in annual value.

Now ask yourself: how many of those regulars do you actually have? And how many customers came in once, enjoyed the meal, but never returned?

The gap between a one-time diner and a regular is massive—and it's where most restaurants leave thousands of pounds on the table every year. You're competing with delivery apps, rising food costs, staffing challenges, and an endless stream of new restaurants opening down the street. Standing out isn't just about good food anymore. It's about giving people a tangible reason to choose you again and again.

Here's the problem: most restaurants either don't have a loyalty program at all, or they run discount-heavy schemes that erode margins without building genuine loyalty. You end up training customers to wait for 50% off vouchers rather than creating regulars who pay full price because they value the relationship.

A well-designed loyalty program for restaurants does something smarter. It fills quiet tables on Tuesday lunchtimes, encourages pre-booking on busy Friday nights, increases average order values, and turns first-time diners into regulars—all without devaluing your brand or sacrificing the margins you're fighting to protect.

This guide is for restaurant owners who want to build loyalty strategically. We'll cover how to structure rewards that protect profitability, use loyalty to manage demand during peak and quiet times, and avoid the over-discounting trap that leaves you busier but less profitable. Plus, we'll show you how digital loyalty platforms like Perkstar make this manageable without adding admin work.

Why Restaurants Struggle to Build Regulars (And Why Margins Make It Harder)

Let's start with the economics. Running a restaurant is one of the toughest businesses out there:

• Food costs: 28-35% of revenue

• Labor costs: 25-35% of revenue

• Rent and overheads: 10-15% of revenue

• Net profit margin: 3-9% on average (often less)

When you're operating on 5% margins, giving away 20% discounts to "build loyalty" can push you into the red. This is why so many restaurant loyalty programs fail—they prioritize footfall over profitability and end up training customers to only visit when there's a deal. In fact, the most common restaurant loyalty program mistakes stem from treating every customer the same regardless of spend level, which bleeds margin without shifting behavior.

Why restaurants lose customers:

• Forgettable experience – Good food isn't enough; there's always another restaurant offering "good food"

• Inconsistent service – They had a great meal once, but their second visit was mediocre

• No incentive to return – There's no reward for choosing you over the competition

• Discovery fatigue – Customers constantly try new places because there's no penalty for leaving

• Delivery app dependency – They order via Deliveroo but never connect with your brand

• Price sensitivity – When budgets tighten, dining out is the first thing cut

Here's the insight: loyalty programs aren't about discounts. They're about building relationships, managing demand, and protecting lifetime value. Done right, they actually increase profitability by improving table utilization, increasing average order value, and reducing customer acquisition costs.

The Real Economics: What's a Restaurant Regular Actually Worth?

Let's do the math on what you're losing when customers don't become regulars.

Scenario 1: One-Time Diner

• Visits: 1 time

• Average spend: £40

• Lifetime value: £40

Scenario 2: Casual Regular (once per month)

• Visits: 12 times per year

• Average spend: £45 per visit (orders appetizers, desserts)

• Brings a guest 30% of the time (adds £360 annually)

• Lifetime value over 3 years: £1,620-1,900

Scenario 3: Loyal Regular (twice per month + referrals)

• Visits: 24 times per year

• Average spend: £50 per visit (higher comfort level = more orders)

• Brings guests 40% of the time (adds £480 annually)

• Refers 2 friends who each become casual regulars (adds £2,000+ over 3 years)

• Lifetime value over 3 years: £5,500+

Now ask yourself: what would you pay to convert a one-time diner into a casual regular? £50? £100?

If you spent £50 in loyalty rewards (e.g., 2 free starters, 1 free dessert, birthday meal discount) to secure £1,620 in lifetime value, that's a 3,140% ROI. Even at thin margins, that math works.

Loyalty Structures That Protect Margins (And Actually Build Regulars)

Here's where most restaurants go wrong: they copy coffee shop models (buy 10, get 1 free) or run blanket discount campaigns (50% off Mondays!). These approaches don't work for restaurants because:

• Your ticket size is higher (£40 vs. £3.50)

• Your visit frequency is lower (once a month vs. 3x per week)

• Your margins are thinner (5% vs. 15-20%)

• Your value is in the experience, not just the transaction

Let's look at loyalty structures that work for restaurant economics.

1. Points System: Reward Spend, Not Just Visits

A points-based loyalty program gives you control over reward costs and encourages higher spending per visit.

How it works:

• Customers earn 1 point per £1 spent

• 200 points = £5 off next visit

• 500 points = free starter or dessert

• 1,000 points = £25 off or a free main course

Why it works for restaurants:

• Encourages higher average order value (order wine, starters, desserts to maximize points)

• Protects margins (you control redemption ratios)

• Rewards your best customers proportionally

• Feels premium (not discount-driven) Points systems work best when paired with broader hospitality strategies that improve customer loyalty in restaurants through service quality, personalization, and consistent experiences.

Example: A neighbourhood Italian restaurant in Bristol uses a points system where customers earn 1 point per £1. A free starter (£8 value) costs 300 points, meaning customers spend £300 to earn £8—a 2.7% reward rate that's sustainable on 5-8% margins. Since launching, they've seen a 38% increase in appetizer orders as customers "top up" their points.

With Perkstar's points system, customers can check their balance via their digital wallet card, and you can adjust point values as menu prices change.

2. Tiered VIP Programs: Make Top Customers Feel Special

Tiered programs create status and exclusivity, which matter more in restaurants than in coffee shops.

How it works:

• Silver tier (0-500 points): Standard rewards

• Gold tier (500-1,500 points): Priority reservations, 10% off wine, birthday dessert

• Platinum tier (1,500+ points): Exclusive tasting menus, chef's table access, 15% off entire bill

Why it works:

• Top spenders feel recognized and valued

• Creates aspiration (customers want to reach the next tier)

• Reduces price sensitivity at higher tiers (they're not choosing you for discounts)

• Encourages consistent visits to maintain status This tiered approach is especially effective for venues that serve both food and drinks, where building loyalty for bars and restaurants requires balancing high-margin beverage sales with lower-margin food to maximize per-visit profitability.

Example: A steakhouse in Manchester introduced a three-tier program. Platinum members (15% of their customer base) now represent 42% of total revenue and pre-book tables for peak times weeks in advance. The psychological value of "Platinum VIP" status drives loyalty more effectively than discounts ever did.

Perkstar makes tiered programs simple—automatically upgrade customers when they hit point thresholds, send personalized perks to each tier, and track tier distribution in your analytics.

3. Spend Thresholds: Strategic Rewards for High-Value Behaviors

Instead of "buy 10, get 1 free," use spend thresholds that align with your business goals.

How it works:

• Spend £150, get a free bottle of house wine (£18 value)

• Spend £300, get a £30 dining credit

• Pre-book a Friday/Saturday night table, earn 50 bonus points

Why it works:

• Encourages higher spending per visit

• Rewards the behaviors you want (pre-booking peak tables, bringing larger groups)

• Protects margins (you're giving away rewards after significant spend)

• Feels exclusive and earned

Example: A gastro pub in Edinburgh offers "Spend £200, get £20 off your next visit." Customers who participate visit 55% more often than non-participants and bring larger groups to hit the threshold faster.

4. Referral Rewards: Turn Regulars into Advocates

Word-of-mouth is gold in the restaurant business. Formalize it.

How it works:

• Customer refers a friend → both get £10 off or 200 bonus points

• Track referrals via unique codes or digital cards

Why it works:

• Referred customers have 50-70% higher lifetime value than walk-ins (they come pre-endorsed)

• Low cost (you only pay out after acquiring a new customer)

• Builds community and social proof

Example: A tapas bar in Brighton introduced "Refer a friend, you both get £10 off." In 10 months, they acquired 85 new customers through referrals—customers who were already enthusiastic before they walked in.

Perkstar's referral program automatically tracks referrals, applies rewards, and sends push notifications when rewards are earned.

Real-World Example: How One Restaurant Filled Tuesday-Thursday Without Discounting

Here's a case study from a 60-seat restaurant in Leeds that was struggling with weekday utilization.

The Problem:

• Friday/Saturday nights: Fully booked, often turning away customers

• Tuesday-Thursday: 40% empty tables, fixed costs (staff, rent) eating into margins

• Traditional discounting (50% off Tuesdays) attracted price-sensitive customers who never paid full price

The Solution: They used Perkstar to create a strategic loyalty program:

• Double points on Tuesday-Thursday (earn 2 points per £1 instead of 1)

• Pre-booking bonus: Book a table online for Tue-Thu, earn 100 bonus points (£10 value)

• Push notifications sent Monday mornings: "Earn double points this week—book now"

• No discounting—customers still paid full price but earned rewards faster

The Results:

• Tuesday-Thursday bookings increased 67% in 12 weeks

• Customers who visited on quiet nights also started booking peak nights (they weren't just deal-hunters)

• Average order value remained consistent (no discount-driven downtrading)

• Overall revenue increased 23% year-over-year

• Profit margins improved because they were filling previously empty tables at full price

The owner said: "We used to discount our way into Tuesday nights and lose money doing it. Now we're filling those tables with regulars who pay full price and come back on busy nights too. That's the difference between a loyalty program and a discount scheme."

The Over-Discounting Trap (And How to Avoid It)

Let's talk about the biggest mistake restaurants make with loyalty programs: treating loyalty like a discount program. There are specific scenarios when free promotions make business sense—like reactivating lapsed customers or driving trial of a new menu item—but they should be surgical, time-limited, and tied to measurable outcomes rather than used as a default traffic strategy.

What over-discounting looks like:

• 50% off Mondays

• Buy one main, get one free

• Constant Groupon/voucher promotions

• 25% off every visit for loyalty members

Why this kills your business:

• Trains customers to wait for deals – They won't pay full price once they know discounts are always available

• Attracts deal-hunters, not loyalists – These customers disappear when deals end

• Erodes perceived value – If your food is worth 50% off every week, is it actually worth full price?

• Destroys margins – You're busier but less profitable

• Creates discount dependency – You can't stop discounting without losing traffic

What strategic loyalty looks like:

• Rewards are earned through behavior (spend £200, earn £20 credit)

• Focus on value-adds, not price cuts (free dessert, priority reservations, birthday perks)

• Time-based incentives to shift demand (double points off-peak) without discounting

• Tier-based perks that make customers feel special, not just price-sensitive

Example: A restaurant in Cardiff was running "50% off Mondays" and losing money despite full tables. They switched to "Earn triple points on Mondays" (same customers, full price, earn £15 credit after three £40 visits). Revenue increased 18% and customers started visiting other nights too.

The rule: Always give away rewards, never give away margin.

Modern Take: Integrating Delivery and Takeaway into Restaurant Loyalty

Let's address 2026 reality: delivery and takeaway are permanent. Customers who order via Uber Eats aren't just one-time diners—they're potential regulars if you capture them correctly.

The problem: delivery platforms own the customer relationship. They have the data, the marketing tools, and the loyalty programs. You're just a vendor.

How to reclaim delivery customers:

• QR code on every takeaway bag – "Join our loyalty program, earn points on every order"

• Better value direct – "Order direct, earn points. Order via apps, earn nothing."

• Exclusive perks for direct orders – "Direct orders earn 2x points"

• Integration with online ordering – Loyalty automatically applied when ordering from your website If takeaway represents more than 20% of your revenue, it's worth building a dedicated loyalty program for takeaways that incentivizes direct ordering and recaptures the customer data delivery platforms keep from you.

Example: A Thai restaurant in London put QR codes on every Deliveroo order: "Order direct next time, earn loyalty points + skip the delivery fees." Within six months, they'd converted 120 delivery customers to direct ordering, saving £12,000 in commission fees and capturing customer data.

Perkstar integrates with online ordering systems so customers earn loyalty points whether they dine in, takeaway, or order delivery direct. You capture the data, build the relationship, and reduce dependency on third-party platforms.

Peak vs. Quiet Time Strategy: Using Loyalty to Manage Demand

Here's where loyalty programs become powerful business tools, not just marketing tactics. Some restaurants take this further with digital membership cards for restaurants that charge a monthly fee in exchange for guaranteed perks like priority booking and off-peak bonuses—turning unpredictable footfall into recurring, predictable revenue.

The demand problem restaurants face:

• Peak times (Friday/Saturday dinner): Turning away customers, leaving money on the table

• Quiet times (Tuesday/Wednesday lunch): Empty tables, fixed costs still running

How loyalty solves this:

For Quiet Times:

• Offer double or triple points during off-peak hours

• Send targeted push notifications: "Earn triple points at lunch this week"

• Create off-peak exclusive perks: Free appetizer with mains on weekday lunches

• Track which customers are flexible and target them with quiet-time promotions

For Peak Times:

• Offer pre-booking bonuses: Earn 50 points for booking a Friday table 2+ weeks in advance

• Create waitlist rewards: Earn 100 points for flexible Friday seating (fill last-minute cancellations)

• Priority reservations for VIPs: Gold/Platinum members can book peak tables before general release

Example: A neighborhood bistro in Oxford uses Perkstar to send automated push notifications:

• Monday mornings: "Earn double points Tuesday-Thursday this week"

• Friday afternoons: "Book next Friday now, earn 50 bonus points"

Result: 45% improvement in weekday lunch traffic and 30% reduction in peak-time no-shows (pre-booked customers are more committed).

How to Implement a Restaurant Loyalty Program Without Adding Complexity

Here's the practical roadmap for launching a loyalty program that doesn't overwhelm your staff or slow down service.

1. Go Digital from Day One

Paper punch cards don't work for restaurants. Customers forget them, servers forget to stamp them, and there's zero data. Digital loyalty cards in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet are always accessible, update automatically, and give you valuable customer data. A comprehensive digital loyalty card infrastructure for restaurants eliminates these friction points entirely—customers earn and redeem from their phone, and your team never has to pause service to manage stamps or cards.

2. Make Signup Instant

Place QR codes on tables, receipts, and menus. Customers scan, add the card to their phone, and start earning immediately. The difference between 12% enrollment and 60% enrollment often comes down to how you design a digital loyalty card that works—minimizing steps, choosing the right reward threshold, and making the value proposition obvious before the customer even asks. Offer a signup bonus (50 points, free appetizer) to drive adoption.

3. Train Your Front-of-House Team

Your servers and hosts should mention loyalty naturally:

• "Are you part of our loyalty program? You'd earn 45 points on this meal."

• "You're at 280 points—just 20 more for a free dessert!"

• "You're a Gold VIP—would you like priority booking for next Friday?"

4. Use Push Notifications Strategically

• Reward milestones: "You've earned a free starter—redeem anytime"

• Re-engagement: "It's been 6 weeks—here's 100 bonus points to welcome you back"

• Demand shaping: "Earn double points at lunch this week"

• Birthday perks: "Happy birthday! Of course, push notifications only work if your enrollment numbers are strong—restaurants that actively get customers to join their loyalty program at the point of service see 3-5x higher participation than those that rely on passive signage alone. Here's £15 off your celebration meal"

Perkstar includes unlimited free push notifications, so you can stay top-of-mind without spamming customers.

5. Integrate with Your POS and Booking System

The best loyalty programs integrate with your point-of-sale and online booking so everything happens automatically. Customers earn points when they pay, rewards are tracked in real-time, and you don't need separate systems.

Why Digital Loyalty Platforms Beat Spreadsheets and Paper Cards

You could technically run a loyalty program manually. But here's what you'd miss:

• Automation – No manual tracking or reward calculations

• Customer data – See visit frequency, spending patterns, and at-risk customers

• Push notifications – Automatically re-engage lapsed customers and promote rewards

• Demand shaping – Target promotions to fill specific time slots

• Integration – Works with your POS, online ordering, and booking system

• Professionalism – A branded digital card signals you're a modern, or If you're comparing options, the best restaurant loyalty apps in the UK are the ones that deliver these capabilities without requiring dedicated IT support or enterprise-level budgets.ganized restaurant

Perkstar is built specifically for hospitality businesses. You get unlimited loyalty card members, custom card designs, push notifications, analytics, CRM tools, and integrations with major POS systems—all from £15/month. Setup takes less than 20 minutes, and there's a 14-day free trial (no credit card required).

Start Building Regulars Who Pay Full Price

Here's the bottom line: restaurants don't fail because of bad food. They fail because they can't consistently fill tables, manage demand effectively, or build a base of regulars who choose them over the competition.

A customer loyalty program for small business is one of the most cost-effective ways to increase visit frequency, boost average order value, and fill quiet times—all without devaluing your brand through discounting.

Whether you choose a points system, tiered VIP program, spend thresholds, or all three, the key is to design rewards that protect your margins while building genuine loyalty. If you're looking for inspiration beyond the structures covered here, there are dozens of proven restaurant loyalty program ideas that independent owners have adapted to fit everything from fine dining to casual neighbourhood spots. Digital platforms like Perkstar make this manageable, giving you the tools to shape customer behavior without adding admin work.

Ready to fill more tables without killing your margins? Start your free 14-day trial with Perkstar—no credit card required. Set up your loyalty program in minutes and start turning first-time diners into regulars who book your tables again and again.