Online Loyalty Programs for Local Businesses: Stabilize High Street Revenue
Jan 26, 2026
The high street is changing. You don't need a report from the BBC or a survey from the Federation of Small Businesses to tell you that — you see it every day.
Fewer people walking past. More empty storefronts. National chains with deep pockets and aggressive discounting. Online retailers that never close. Rising rents and business rates that don't adjust when footfall drops.
If you run a local business — a café on the high street, a barbershop on the corner, a salon in the town center, a boutique on the main road — you're navigating a different landscape than you were five years ago.
The old model was simple: be in a good location, provide good service, and customers will come. That's still partially true, but "good location" isn't what it used to be when people can order anything online and have it delivered by tomorrow. Many local businesses are responding by adding an online sales channel, but figuring out how to get customers to shop online from a small independent is its own challenge — one that requires more than just listing products on a website.
You need something that chains and online retailers can't easily replicate: relationships with local customers who choose you not just because you're convenient, but because they're genuinely loyal.
This is where online loyalty programs come in — not as a gimmick or a luxury, but as infrastructure for survival. This guide explains what online loyalty programs actually are for local businesses, how they help stabilize revenue when footfall is unpredictable, and why they're simpler to implement than you probably think.
The Challenge: Footfall Is Declining, But Your Costs Aren't
Let's be honest about what's happening on UK high streets.
The Footfall Problem
According to recent data, footfall on UK high streets has declined by 15–20% over the past five years in many towns and cities. Some weeks are better than others. Some months surprise you. But the overall trend is down.
This isn't your fault. It's structural:
Online shopping is now the default for many purchases
Retail parks and out-of-town shopping centers pull people away
Hybrid working means fewer commuters passing through town centers during the week
The cost of living crisis has people spending more carefully
You can't control any of these factors. But they all directly impact the number of people walking past your shop.
The Cost Problem
Meanwhile, your costs aren't declining:
Rent remains the same (or increases)
Business rates remain the same (or increase)
Utilities have increased significantly
Staff costs have increased with minimum wage rises
Suppliers have increased prices due to inflation
So you have fewer customers but the same (or higher) costs. The math doesn't work unless you find a way to get more value from each customer who does visit.
The Competition Problem
You're not just competing with other local businesses anymore. You're competing with:
National chains that can afford loss-leader pricing and heavy marketing
Online retailers that operate 24/7 with no rent costs
Delivery apps that bring products/services directly to customers' homes
Big brands with sophisticated loyalty Even in the café sector — where independents once had a natural advantage — chains now dominate repeat visits, which is why finding the best loyalty apps for coffee shops has become a priority for owners who refuse to cede their regulars to Costa or Starbucks. programs and massive customer bases
The advantage you have: you're local. You know your customers. You can build relationships that chains can't replicate.
But you need systems that let you capitalize on that advantage.
What an Online Loyalty Program Actually Is (For Local Businesses)
Let's demystify this term, because "online loyalty program" sounds more complicated than it is.
An online loyalty program for a local business is simply a digital version of what you may already be doing with paper stamp cards, but with three critical upgrades:
Cloud-based tracking — Customer loyalty data is stored online (in the cloud), not on paper cards that get lost
Smartphone access — Customers access their loyalty cards via their phones (Apple Wallet or Google Wallet), not by carrying physical cards
Communication capability — You can send messages to customers to bring them back, not just wait for them to remember you
Here's what it's not:
It's not building a website or e-commerce store
It's not learning complicated software
It's not replacing your in-person service with online ordering
It's not becoming an "online business"
You're still a local, high-street business. You're just using online tools to strengthen relationships with local customers who already visit (or used to visit) your physical location.
Think of it as: Local business. Digital tools. Stronger relationships.
How Online Loyalty Programs Stabilize Revenue for Local Businesses
Let's get specific about why this matters for high street survival.
Benefit 1: Turns Occasional Customers Into Regular Customers
The fundamental business reality: it's far cheaper to get an existing customer to come back than to attract a new customer.
When footfall is declining, you can't rely on new walk-ins to sustain revenue. You need the people who already visit to visit more often.
An online loyalty program creates a formal incentive structure:
Visit 10 times, get something free
Spend £50, earn £5 off
Join our VIP tier and get permanent discounts
This isn't manipulative — it's acknowledging and rewarding the customers who keep your business alive.
Example: A café in Bath implemented digital loyalty and saw their average customer visit frequency increase from 1.8 visits per month to 2.6 visits per month within three months. Same customers. More visits. More revenue.
Benefit 2: Gives You a Direct Channel to Customer Attention
Here's a scenario that happens constantly:
A customer visits your shop in January. They like you. They intend to come back. But life gets busy. They forget. Two months pass. They visit a competitor instead simply because they walked past it first.
You've lost a customer not because they didn't like you, but because you weren't top-of-mind at the right moment. This pattern — where perfectly satisfied customers simply drift away — is one of the most common reasons customer loyalty silently declines, and it has nothing to do with the quality of your product or service.
Online loyalty programs solve this through push notifications — messages that appear on customers' phone screens:
"It's been 6 weeks since your last visit — we miss you! Here's 15% off this week."
"You're one stamp away from a free coffee. Come see us!"
"Happy birthday! Here's a gift from us — valid all week."
These notifications bring customers back who would have otherwise drifted away. When footfall is unreliable, this proactive communication becomes essential.
Benefit 3: Helps You Compete with Chains and Online Retailers
National chains have loyalty programs backed by millions in investment. Costa has an app. Boots has a sophisticated points system. Tesco has Clubcard.
You can't compete with that level of investment. But you can offer something functionally similar at a fraction of the cost.
Platforms like Perkstar let you create professional wallet-based loyalty cards (Apple Wallet + Google Wallet) for £15–£60/month — less than you probably spend on window signage.
Your customers don't know (or care) that your loyalty system costs £30/month while Costa's cost millions to build. They just know: "Both offer loyalty. I prefer supporting local businesses. This local place has a loyalty program now. I'll join that."
Benefit 4: Provides Data You Can Actually Use
With paper stamp cards, you have no idea:
How many active loyalty members you have
Who visits most frequently (your VIPs)
Who hasn't visited in 60+ days (at risk of churning)
Whether loyalty is actually increasing visit frequency
Online loyalty platforms give you a dashboard with all this data in real-time.
You can see:
"I have 340 active loyalty members"
"23 people are one stamp away from a reward — I should send them a reminder"
"18 customers haven't visited in 45+ days — I should re-engage them"
This data lets you make informed decisions rather than guessing about what's working.
Benefit 5: Smooths Out Revenue Fluctuations
High street businesses face unpredictable footfall. Rainy days are slow. Sunny days are busy. School holidays are different from term time. Mondays are quiet. Saturdays are packed.
Online loyalty programs help smooth out these fluctuations through targeted messaging: If your business also takes orders online, running a loyalty program across in-store and online channels means these targeted messages can drive traffic to whichever channel needs it most on any given day.
Slow Tuesday? Send a "quiet day special" push notification to nearby loyalty members
Last-minute cancellation? Message customers who might want the appointment slot
Stock expiring soon? Offer loyalty members a discount to move inventory
Instead of passively accepting slow days, you actively fill them. This stabilizes revenue week-to-week.
Real-World Example: A Bookshop in Oxford
Let's make this concrete with a detailed local business scenario.
The business: An independent bookshop on Oxford High Street, operating for 15 years.
The problem (2023):
Footfall down 22% compared to pre-pandemic levels
Amazon and online retailers taking market share
Students increasingly buying textbooks online
Rent and business rates unchanged despite lower revenue
Difficult to predict which days would be busy vs quiet
The owner's mindset: "We can't compete on price with Amazon. We can't compete on convenience with online delivery. But we can build relationships with local book lovers and make our shop a community hub."
The decision: Implement an online loyalty program focused on local customers.
Setup (Week 1):
Signed up for Perkstar (wallet-based loyalty platform)
Created a digital stamp card: Buy 8 books, get the 9th at 20% off
Also created a points card: 1 point per £1 spent, 50 points = £5 off
Generated a QR code and printed small tent cards for the counter: "Join our book lovers' loyalty program"
Total setup time: 1 hour
Month 1: Initial Adoption
67 customers scanned the QR code and joined
Most were existing regulars who appreciated having digital tracking
Staff training took 5 minutes (scan customer's card, tap to apply stamp/points)
Zero customer confusion — wallet-based cards felt familiar
Month 2: First Communication
Sent first push notification to all 67 members: "New arrivals this week: local history, mystery novels, and gardening books. Pop by to browse!"
12 people visited within 48 hours, citing the notification
Owner realized: "I have a direct line to book lovers' attention now"
Month 3: Re-engagement Campaign
Noticed 14 customers hadn't visited in 45+ days (visible in dashboard)
Sent targeted message: "We miss you! Here's 10% off your next purchase — valid for 2 weeks."
6 of the 14 returned (43% reactivation rate)
Average purchase from reactivated customers: £28
Month 6: Established Rhythm
Loyalty program had grown to 240 members (through word-of-mouth and counter sign-ups)
Sent 2–3 messages per month:
Weekly "new arrivals" notifications
Re-engagement messages to lapsed customers
Event invitations (author readings, book clubs)
Automated birthday rewards running in background
Results After 6 Months:
240 active loyalty members representing ~£3,800/month in revenue
Loyalty members visited 3.2x per month on average vs 1.7x for non-members
34% of total revenue now came from loyalty program members (up from 0%)
Quiet weekdays were noticeably busier due to targeted push notifications
Customer relationships felt stronger — people commented on feeling like "regulars"
Cost:
£30/month for Perkstar subscription
~10 minutes per week managing campaigns
Zero additional marketing spend (loyalty became primary retention channel)
Owner's reflection: "We can't stop Amazon or reverse footfall decline. But we can make sure the book lovers in Oxford think of us first. The loyalty program gives us that mindset share. It's infrastructure, not a gimmick."
Modern Take: High Street Survival Requires Digital Tools
Here's the uncomfortable truth: the high street businesses that survive the next decade will be the ones that combine local presence with digital tools.
It's not enough anymore to just "be there" and hope people walk in. You need:
A way to capture customer information (email, phone number, loyalty membership)
A system to track customer behavior (visit frequency, purchase history)
A channel to communicate directly (push notifications, email, SMS)
Data to measure what's working (dashboards, analytics)
These aren't luxuries for big businesses anymore. They're essential infrastructure for local businesses competing in 2026. Even if you're running the entire operation yourself, it's realistic to launch a loyalty program as a solo operator in under an hour — the barrier isn't time or technical skill, it's simply deciding to start.
The good news: the technology has become accessible. You don't need developers, large budgets, or technical expertise. Platforms like Perkstar make online loyalty programs as easy to set up as creating an Instagram account.
The businesses struggling are often the ones still operating like it's 2010: paper-based systems, no customer database, no digital communication, no data visibility.
The businesses thriving (or at least surviving) are the ones that embrace tools like:
Online loyalty programs (to drive repeat business)
Social media (to maintain brand awareness)
Online booking systems (to reduce friction)
Email/SMS marketing (to stay in touch)
You don't need to become an "online business." But you do need to use online tools to strengthen your local business.
Getting Started: Simpler Than You Think
If you're ready to implement an online loyalty program for your local business, here's the practical path:
Step 1: Choose a Platform Built for Local Businesses (15 Minutes)
Look for:
Wallet-based (Apple Wallet + Google Wallet, not a separate app)
Simple setup (visual builder, no coding)
Affordable (£15–£60/month range)
Includes push notifications (unlimited, no per If you want a side-by-side comparison before committing, reviewing the best punch card apps in 2026 will show you exactly how platforms differ on pricing, card types, and notification limits.-message fees)
Free trial (test before committing)
Platforms like Perkstar are designed specifically for local businesses like yours.
Step 2: Decide on Your Reward Structure (10 Minutes)
Keep it simple to start: If you're unsure which structure suits your business type, a practical store loyalty programs guide can help you match reward mechanics to your average transaction value and visit frequency.
Option 1: Stamp card
"Buy 9 [products/services], get the 10th free"
Option 2: Points card
"Earn 1 point per £1 spent, 50 points = £5 off"
Option 3: Tiered membership
"Bronze / Silver / Gold tiers with increasing benefits"
Choose whatever feels most natural for your business. You can always adjust later.
Step 3: Set Up Your Digital Cards (30 Minutes)
Use the platform's visual builder:
Upload your logo
Choose brand colours
Set reward structure
Generate QR code for in-store sign-ups
Total time: 30–60 minutes. No technical knowledge required.
Step 4: Promote Sign-Ups at Your Counter (Ongoing)
Print the QR code on a small sign: "Join our loyalty program — scan here!"
Place it:
At the checkout counter
On your front window
On receipts
In your shop
Mention it when customers pay: "We've got a digital loyalty program now — takes 5 seconds to join if you scan this."
Step 5: Send Your First Message (Week 2)
After you've collected 20–30 members, send your first push notification:
"Thanks for joining our loyalty program! As a welcome gift, here's 10% off your next visit this week."
See how people respond. Adjust your approach based on results.
Step 6: Build a Routine (Month 2+)
Establish a sustainable rhythm:
Automated campaigns: Birthday rewards, re-engagement messages (set once, run forever)
Manual campaigns: 1–2 per month for specific promotions or slow days
Dashboard checks: Once per week to see who's active, who's lapsed, who's close to rewards
Total time commitment: ~15 minutes per week once established.
Addressing Common Local Business Concerns
Let's tackle the objections that often prevent local businesses from trying online loyalty programs:
"My customers are older and not technical."
This is the most common misconception. Adding a wallet card (Apple Wallet or Google Wallet) is a single tap — simpler than downloading an app or creating an account. Because wallets are where customers already store bank cards, the interface is familiar. The key is choosing the right format — when you create a digital membership card that lives in the phone's native wallet rather than requiring a separate app download, even customers who describe themselves as "not tech-savvy" manage it without help.
Many local businesses report that older customers actually prefer digital loyalty because they can't lose the card and don't need to remember to bring it.
"I don't have time to learn complicated software."
If setup takes more than an hour, you're using the wrong platform. Modern loyalty software is visual and intuitive. If you can use Facebook or Instagram, you can set up wallet-based loyalty.
"I can barely afford rent — I can't afford more subscriptions."
Fair concern. But consider: £30/month is £1/day. If loyalty brings back just one extra customer per week (average transaction £15), that's £60/week = £240/month in additional revenue. ROI: 8x.
Compare that to traditional advertising (which is expensive and hard to measure) or just accepting declining footfall (which guarantees revenue will continue falling).
"I already have paper stamp cards — why change?"
Paper cards have zero data, get lost constantly, and can't communicate with customers. You have no idea how many are in circulation or whether the program is working. The numbers are sobering: businesses using paper cards typically see 80–85% abandonment rates, while digital stamp cards for coffee shops and similar businesses achieve redemption rates three to four times higher because the card is always in the customer's pocket.
Digital loyalty gives you visibility and control. You can see exactly what's happening and adjust based on data.
"My business is too small for a loyalty program."
Even with 50 regular customers, loyalty programs work. The smaller your business, the more important each customer relationship is. Loyalty programs formalize and strengthen those relationships.
"I'm worried about customer privacy and GDPR."
Good platforms handle GDPR compliance automatically. Customers opt in when joining. You collect only what you need (name, email, phone). You can delete customer data on request.
This isn't new or complicated — it's the same compliance required for email lists you probably already have.
Final Thoughts: Adaptation Isn't Optional
The high street isn't dead, but it is different. The businesses that survive and thrive in the next decade will be the ones that adapt.
Online loyalty programs aren't a magic solution to declining footfall or rising costs. But they are one of the most effective tools for stabilizing revenue by increasing customer lifetime value and visit frequency.
For £15–£60/month, you get:
A professional loyalty system that matches what chains offer
Direct communication with customers (push notifications)
Data visibility (who's active, who's lapsed, what's working)
Automated campaigns that run in the background
Setup takes under an hour. Staff training takes minutes. Customer adoption is high because it's wallet-based (no app download).
If you're a local business struggling with unpredictable footfall and tightening margins, loyalty programs won't solve everything — but they will help you get more value from every customer who does visit.
Start your free 14-day trial with Perkstar — no credit card required. Set up wallet-based loyalty for your local business, test it with real customers on your high street, and see if it stabilizes revenue the way it has for thousands of other local businesses across the UK.
The high street is changing. The question isn't whether to adapt, but how quickly.
