I’ve never been one to join clubs, and when I’m buying stuff, I often look for the best value out there. But when I have some pizza-points and am a couple of points away from a free pie, it is a no-brainer that I’m going to be ordering pizza from that restaurant tonight!

Loyalty Points and How To Use ThemBusinesses offer all sorts of loyalty programs where they give points for purchases towards free items, gift card bonuses, or store credit. There are many different ways stores implement this. Sometimes it is a point that mirrors each dollar spent, or it might be 1 point for $10, or some give points just for making any size purchase. There a million different possibilities for building a loyalty program. And they all seem to work to encourage consumers to shop.

I love businesses that offer me rewards to buy from them. I look for more things to purchase, and it encourages me to frequent a store so I can see my point total rise. And even when I’m getting that free pizza reward, I still add on a bottle of soda, some chicken wings, and am tipping that delivery driver too. I’m excited about getting my free pizza, but even my free pie still means revenue for that restaurant.

Businesses know that offering loyalty programs get people into the habit of shopping with them. They have learned that folks will look to buy from them to complete bonus levels to reach a reward payout. A savvy owner also knows that people will spend more per order to get the points. For instance, if an electronics store offers reward points for purchases over $35, who isn’t going to put some cables or a movie into their cart if they were already going to spend $32?

Consumers get into routines of where they shop, and loyalty programs pay off big when people are incentivized to routinely include a merchant into their buying so they can get bonuses. Loyalty point programs are a lot of fun for consumers and make great business sense for merchants. See how ACID Point of Sale handles cross functional (store and website) rewards and loyalty program.