Tools and providers
Part of Nine steps to choose loyalty software and providers
How to check loyalty marketing tool claims against data and sources
A source-led guide for buyers shortlisting loyalty marketing tools: the data to request, the sources to check and how to score candidates on one sheet.
What to take away
- Shortlist loyalty marketing tools by nameLoyaltyLion, Smile.io, Yotpo, Talon.One, Eagle Eye AIR, Salesforce Loyalty Management, Open Loyalty and Punchh all publish enough detail to score.
- Ask every vendor for deliverable volumes, uplift evidence and pricing bands in writing, in one fixed template.
- The Competition and Markets Authority sets the competition context for platform and loyalty markets. Check its governance pages before you accept exclusivity or bundled terms.
- Advertising claims in loyalty messaging sit under the CAP Code, and ASA and CAP research on consumer behaviour is a useful sanity check on your offer wording.
- For B2B referral and acquisition campaigns, LinkedIn self-serve ads are a documented channel to test alongside your loyalty platform.
- Check claims against named sourcesvendor pricing pages, app-store listings, Companies House filings and the ICO.
- Score candidates on one weighted sheet, then re-check the top two against your own pilot data before signing.
What data and sources to check
The shortlist question is which named supplier can evidence the numbers you will be held to. Treat every claim as a question: what is the source, what period does it cover, who verified it? The table pairs eight tools with a source for each claim.
Supplier data request template
- Active members
- Redemption rate
- Repeat purchase rate
- Referral conversion
- Support response times
- Source and period for every figure
| Tool | What it is | Source that settles its claims |
|---|---|---|
| LoyaltyLion | Points, tiers and referral app for Shopify and BigCommerce, based in London | Published plans, priced by monthly order volume |
| Smile.io | Shopify loyalty app with a free tier and paid tiers priced by member count | Shopify App Store listing and pricing page |
| Yotpo | Loyalty, reviews and SMS for Shopify Plus, Salesforce Commerce Cloud and Adobe Commerce | Pricing page; enterprise is quote-only |
| Talon.One | API-first promotion engine for coupons, referrals and tiers, based in Berlin | Vendor documentation and security pages |
| Eagle Eye AIR | Digital promotions and loyalty at supermarket redemption volumes in the UK | Annual report; the group is AIM-listed |
| Salesforce Loyalty Management | Loyalty module in the Salesforce platform, priced by edition | Salesforce's published edition pricing |
| Open Loyalty | Headless, API-first loyalty software for teams building a front end | Published pricing and API docs |
| Punchh | Restaurant and convenience loyalty for food service chains | Parent PAR Technology files with the SEC |
Request first-party data in a fixed template
Ask each supplier for a spreadsheet with the same columns: active members, redemption rate, repeat purchase rate, referral conversion and support response times. Give them a labelled example of the format, such as a retailer with 40,000 members and a 12% redemption rate.
Figures must be their own or clearly sourced, never a sector average presented as fact. If LoyaltyLion quotes one redemption rate and Smile.io quotes another, the columns should still line up.
Use official and institutional sources as the baseline
Three external sources earn a place in your evaluation file. First, the CMA governance pages explain the regulator's remit and decision-making, which matters if a supplier wants exclusivity across your category or bundles loyalty into a wider platform deal.
Second, research published by the ASA and CAP covers advertising and consumer behaviour, so you can test whether your points and reward messaging would survive a complaint.
Third, if referral or B2B acquisition is part of the brief, LinkedIn's self-serve ad offering is a documented paid channel to compare against platform-native referral tools such as LoyaltyLion's referral module or Talon.One's referral campaigns.
Three more sources cost nothing: ICO guidance on consent, Companies House filings for UK vendors, and app-store listings that show install counts and review volume.
None of these sources rank products. They set the boundaries you score within, which is why the supplier guide for 2027 groups selection questions by contract type rather than by vendor.
How to score and shortlist candidates
Apply the inclusion criteria first
Set criteria before you see any demo. Geography first: confirm which UK nations the platform covers. Data protection, consumer and advertising rules apply across the UK, but enforcement and some sector guidance differ in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Then require UK data residency or a documented transfer basis, integration with your ecommerce or CRM stack, referral tracking that survives cookie restrictions, and transparent pricing. LoyaltyLion and Smile.io cover Shopify stores well. Talon.One and Open Loyalty suit teams with engineering resource.
Run a numbered sequence
- Write your weighted scorecard, with integration, evidence quality, pricing clarity and support weighted for your sector.
- Request the fixed data template from every candidate, from LoyaltyLion and Yotpo through to Eagle Eye and Open Loyalty.
- Check each claim against the named sources above and mark anything unsourced.
- Price a pilot using your own volumes, not theirs.
- Score the pilots on the same sheet and document why the top two were kept.
- Confirm implementation responsibilities, including who owns consent and reporting.
Implementation is where most budgets slip, so read the England implementation notes before you agree a go-live date with a supplier.
Common questions
Do I need a regulator's approval before launching a loyalty scheme?
No general approval is required, but your advertising must comply with the CAP Code and competition law applies to how you structure exclusivity and data use. Check the CMA's published remit if your scheme involves platform partners. If a supplier promises a payback figure, ask for the cohort data behind it.
How many suppliers should I score?
Enough to compare, typically three to five, all on one weighted sheet. LoyaltyLion, Smile.io and Yotpo cover the mid-market Shopify end. Eagle Eye AIR and Salesforce Loyalty Management sit at enterprise scale. More candidates add work without changing the ranking once criteria are fixed.
What if a supplier will not share performance data?
Treat missing data as a scored weakness rather than a reason to exclude automatically. If the gap covers redemption or referral conversion, you cannot model the return, so price that uncertainty into the pilot.
Can I use referral ads instead of a loyalty platform?
For B2B acquisition, paid channels such as LinkedIn self-serve ads can run alongside a loyalty programme. They replace reach, not retention, so keep both in the plan. LoyaltyLion, Talon.One and Smile.io all ship referral features, so compare tracked conversion rather than the feature list.
