Digital stamp cards: a simple loyalty program for restaurants and cafés
Updated · 5 min read · By the Oyelo team
Short answer
A digital stamp card works like a paper one, but lives on the customer’s phone: each visit adds a stamp, and a full card earns a reward you choose, such as a free coffee after 6 visits. Customers can’t lose it, staff confirm each stamp so nobody can stamp themselves, and you can see how many regulars you have.
Why stamp cards still work
A stamp card gives a regular a simple, visible reason to come back to you instead of the place next door. The reward feels earned, and each visit moves them closer to it.
Paper cards get lost, forgotten at home or stamped twice. A digital card on the phone fixes all three, and needs no app if it opens from a QR code.
How to set it up
- Pick a reward people actually want and that costs you little: a coffee, a dessert, a free add-on service.
- Choose the number of visits. Five to eight visits is a common range for cafés and quick-service restaurants; fewer for higher-priced visits like salons.
- Decide the rules: one stamp per visit per day, and how long the reward stays valid.
- Put the QR on tables or the counter and train staff to confirm stamps.
How to stop stamp fraud
- Staff confirm each stamp, for example with a short counter code that changes every minute, so a photo of the code is useless later.
- Allow one stamp per customer per day.
- Redeem rewards at the counter, by staff, so each reward is used once.
Keep it honest
Give stamps for visits or purchases, never for writing a Google review: Google prohibits rewarding reviews. Ask every customer for feedback separately, whether or not they collect stamps.
Frequently asked questions
- Do customers need an app for a digital stamp card?
- Not with Oyelo. The stamp card opens from the table QR in the phone’s browser and stays on the customer’s phone, so there is nothing to install.
- How many visits should a stamp card need?
- Pick a number regulars reach in one to two months. For a café that might be 6 visits; for a salon, 4 or 5.
- Can I give a stamp for a Google review?
- No. Rewarding reviews breaks Google’s rules. Give stamps for visits only.
See how Oyelo works for restaurants & cafés, salons & spas and gyms & fitness studios.