Loyalty points give customers a reason to come back. Every purchase earns points, and once enough are accumulated, they unlock a reward. Usually, it’s a discount on a future order set up via a Shopify loyalty app. The earn ratio controls how fast points build up; the reward threshold controls when they pay out. Get both right, and you create a program that lifts AOV on every order while giving customers a genuine reason to return. Get either one wrong, and the program runs in the background without changing any behavior.
Loyalty
Loyalty points calculator for Shopify
One decision decides whether a loyalty program works: how many points an order earns, and what the first reward costs. Set it too low and customers give up before they get anything. Set it too high and you give away margin. This free calculator works both numbers out from your average order value.
AOV
$80
How to use this calculator
Not sure where to start? Read our Shopify loyalty program setup guide.
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Set your AOV using the slider
This is the average amount a customer spends per order. You can find it in your Shopify analytics.
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Choose a reward rate
This is the share of each order that comes back to the customer as a reward. Go lower if your margins are tight, and higher if getting people to buy again is your main goal.
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Read the recommended setup
The calculator picks the ratio that gives the roundest point totals for your order value, then finds the reward customers can actually reach. The best fit row is the one to use as your first reward.
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Use the full table to build your tiers
The other rows show what a $5, $10, $15 or $20 reward would take. Useful for setting up VIP tiers once your program is live.
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How loyalty points work
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What to expect from loyalty ROI
The metric that actually determines whether a loyalty program is working is the repeat purchase rate. Loyalty program members usually buy more often than non-members. Research puts the lift at 25-40% on purchase frequency once a program is active. That’s the return worth optimising for.
The earn ratio and first reward threshold are the two levers with the most impact on whether customers actually engage. Set the first reward too far out of reach, and most customers will never redeem anything, which means you’re running a program with no behavioural effect. This calculator is designed to put that first reward within roughly 1-2 orders, close enough to feel achievable, far enough to lift AOV on the way there.
Ready to launch your loyalty program?
Essential Loyalty sets up exactly the structure this calculator recommends. Earn ratios, reward tiers, VIP levels and referrals, with no code to write.
Loyalty points calculator questions
- A loyalty points calculator helps store owners decide how many points to award per dollar spent and what spend threshold unlocks each reward. Rather than guessing, you input your AOV and target reward rate and get a recommended structure that works for your store’s numbers.
- Start with your AOV and decide what percentage of spend you want to return as rewards (typically 3-8%). From there, pick an earn ratio (how many points per dollar spent) that produces clean, round numbers at your AOV. For example, at a $50 AOV with a 1:10 earn ratio, a customer earns 500 points per order. Set your first reward at 600 points ($60 spend), and you’ve created a mild AOV lift on every purchase.
- For most Shopify stores, a 1:5 or 1:10 ratio works well. Lower ratios (1:1) produce small point totals that feel meaningless. Very high ratios (1:100 or more) can feel inflated. The goal is a points-per-order number between 50 and 500, which is enough to feel like progress without resembling an airline miles program.
- There is no single right answer, which is why the calculator asks you. A middle rate is where most stores start: enough that customers notice the reward, without eating the margin on the order. Go lower if your gross margin is under 30%. Go higher if getting people to buy again is your main problem and your margins can carry it.
- Aim for 1-2 orders. If the first reward requires 5+ orders to unlock, most customers will disengage before they ever redeem. The “best fit” recommendation in this calculator is optimised to sit just above a single order’s worth of spend. It’s close enough to motivate, and structured to nudge AOV upward each time.
- Loyalty program ROI measures the revenue generated by loyalty members relative to the cost of running the program, including rewards, platform fees, and any associated marketing spend. A useful starting benchmark: loyalty members typically generate 25-40% more repeat purchases than non-members, and well-run programs return $3-$5 per $1 spent on rewards.
Build the program this calculator just planned.
Install the app, enter the numbers above, and the points program is live. Free up to 250 orders a month. See pricing