Case study: scaling a loyalty program from 200 to 5,000 members with email automation

I inherited a small, underused loyalty programme from a client: 200 members, low engagement, no clear measurement and a rewards structure that felt more like an afterthought than a growth lever. Over six months we grew that base to 5,000 active members—mostly through email automation, smarter incentives and a relentless focus on measurement. In this case study I walk through what I changed, why it worked, the tools we used and the exact experiments that moved the needle.

Starting point: what we had and why it wasn’t working

The programme lived on a Shopify store and was connected to a basic points app. Signups were slow because the only acquisition point was a small footer link. Engagement was poor: members rarely returned, and we had no automated lifecycle communications. Reporting was manual and superficial—monthly points issued, sales numbers—but nothing tying loyalty participation to retention or LTV.

Key baseline metrics:

• Members: 200
• 30-day repeat purchase rate among members: ~8%
• Average order value (AOV) uplift from members vs non-members: +5%
• Monthly program-driven revenue: negligible

Goal and constraints

Goal: grow active loyalty membership to 5,000 and prove that automated email flows would improve retention and revenue. Constraints: small marketing team (2 people), modest budget, and no heavy custom engineering. We needed solutions that plugged into Shopify and our ESP quickly.

Strategy overview

I focused on three parallel streams:

• Acquisition optimisation — make joining effortless and clearly valuable.
• Lifecycle automation — design email flows that turn new signups into repeat buyers.
• Measurement & experimentation — A/B test incentives, subject lines and timing; track cohorts and value.

Tools and integrations

We used:

• Shopify as the store platform
• Klaviyo for email automation and segmentation
• LoyaltyLion (later switched to a simpler points app during optimisation) for points mechanics
• ReferralCandy for referral-driven signups
• Google Analytics + custom tagging for cohort analysis

Acquisition: frictionless sign-up and clear value

Two small changes drove most of our membership growth early on.

• Prominent entry points: I added a modal welcome that offered an immediate welcome reward (10% off first order or 100 points) and a sticky header CTA to join the programme. The modal triggered for new visitors after 10 seconds or when they showed exit intent.
• Simple value proposition: We reworded the programme messaging to focus on benefits customers care about—exclusive early access, free shipping thresholds and 'points = dollars' examples—rather than vague brand language. Clear examples reduced hesitation.

Within three weeks of those changes we averaged 300 new signups per week, driven largely by the modal and an on-site banner. Referral incentives (double points for referring a friend who makes a purchase) added a predictable second channel through our customers' networks.

Lifecycle automation: the backbone of growth

Email automation was the primary lever. I built a set of Klaviyo flows that mapped to the member lifecycle:

• Welcome series (3 emails): Deliver the welcome code/points, show how to earn more points, and present a low-friction next purchase opportunity (free shipping over £X or a small bundle). We personalised by recent browse/category.
• Points reminder & rewards nudge: Remind members of expiring points and show concrete examples of what rewards they could redeem (e.g. “100 points = £5 off”).
• Post-purchase gratitude + double points window: Immediately after purchase, we offered 48-hour double points on the next purchase to shorten the repurchase cycle.
• Re-engagement series: For members who hadn’t purchased in 90 days, we experimented with a “We miss you” message offering a personalised small reward.
• Referral invitation flow: Periodic emails encouraging members to share a referral link; tangible reward messaging increased CTRs.

Technical tip: Syncing points balance into Klaviyo allowed us to use dynamic blocks in emails (e.g. “You have 320 points — that’s £16 off”), which proved more motivating than abstract statements.

Experiments that mattered

I like small, fast iterations. Here are the experiments that produced measurable gains:

• Welcome incentive test: 10% off vs 100 points. Result: points performed better for long-term retention; customers who joined for points returned sooner.
• Email frequency: 3-email welcome series vs 1. Result: the 3-email series increased 30-day purchase rate among new members by 22%.
• Double points timeframe: 48 hours vs 7 days. Result: the 48-hour window produced a higher immediate repurchase rate and better conversion per email.
• Subject line micro-tests: Personalised point totals in subject lines consistently beat generic lines by ~12% open rate lift.

Measurement: cohort analysis and KPI dashboard

I set up a simple KPI dashboard to keep the team focussed. Key metrics tracked weekly:

We used cohort analysis to compare the behaviour of customers who joined via the modal vs those who joined at checkout vs those who came through referrals. Modal and referral cohorts had higher short-term conversion; checkout joiners had higher AOV but slightly lower repurchase frequency.

Results: the numbers

After six months:

• Members grew from 200 to ~5,000 (active members meaning at least one purchase post-signup).
• 30-day repurchase rate among members rose from 8% to 26%.
• Members’ AOV vs non-members improved from +5% to +18% (driven by targeted bundles and double-points windows).
• Monthly program-attributable revenue became a meaningful share of total sales (about 12%).
• Referral-driven signups accounted for ~20% of new members with a CPA 40% lower than paid channels.

Lessons I took from this project

What worked wasn’t a single silver bullet but a disciplined combination of clearer value, timely automation and measurement. A few practical takeaways:

• Make the value concrete: Translate points into real monetary examples in emails and on-site so customers understand exactly what they get.
• Automate high-impact moments: Welcome, post-purchase, points expiry and referral prompts are the four flows that yield the biggest ROI.
• Test relentlessly: Small A/B tests in incentives and timing compound quickly.
• Measure cohort performance: It’s easy to celebrate signups—harder but necessary to measure retention and revenue per cohort.
• Keep tech simple: You don’t need a heavy custom stack to scale a programme. Klaviyo + a loyalty app + a referral plugin covered 90% of our needs.

If you’d like, I can share the Klaviyo flow templates and subject-line winner list we used for this project, or help audit your loyalty lifecycle to identify the single highest-leverage automation you should build first.