How to run a QR code loyalty program
A QR code loyalty program replaces the paper card with a code your customer scans at the counter. The idea is simple enough that the interesting part is the detail everyone gets wrong — whether that code is allowed to stay the same.
Start your free trial →A printed code is a broken code
If the QR is a sticker on your counter, anyone can photograph it once and stamp themselves from home forever. Every QR loyalty scheme that fails, fails here — so the code has to live on a screen and change after each use, which is the difference between a scheme and a giveaway.
Any screen will do
The kiosk is a web page, so the display can be a tablet, a spare monitor, an old laptop or a phone in a stand. There is no dedicated scanner, no terminal and nothing that connects to your till, which is why the whole thing can be running within a shift.
The customer side is one action
They point their camera at the screen and the stamp is credited. There is no app, no account and no form, so the interaction fits in the seconds they are already standing there paying rather than adding a step anyone has to be talked through.
What the scheme actually is
Three moving parts:
- A kiosk — a web page on a screen near your counter, showing a QR code.
- A customer’s phone camera — no app, no account.
- A stamp card — held against your shop, visible to both sides.
The customer scans, the stamp lands, the code on your screen is replaced. That is the entire loop.
The one detail that decides whether it works
Almost everyone’s first instinct is to print the QR code and stick it on the counter. It is cheaper, it needs no screen, and it is completely broken.
A printed code is a permanent secret that you have handed to every customer who has ever visited. One photograph and someone can stamp themselves from the bus home, indefinitely, and you will not find out until your redemption numbers stop making sense.
Codes that work are:
- Single-use. Consumed by the first scan.
- Short-lived. Expired after thirty seconds whether used or not.
- Regenerated. A fresh one appears the instant the previous is used.
That combination makes a screenshot worthless, which is what a printed code can never be.
Setting one up
- Create an account — email, click the link, name your shop. Three screens.
- Your first stamp card already exists with sensible defaults; adjust how many stamps earn what.
- Open the kiosk on the screen by your counter and leave it there.
- Tell customers to scan it. That is the whole training.
Running it day to day
- Nothing for staff to press. The customer scans; your team carries on.
- Two-minute undo, from either the kiosk or the customer’s screen, for when the wrong person scans.
- Manual credit from the dashboard, for a regular whose phone was dead.
- No per-scan cost, so your busiest hour is not your most expensive.
The questions everyone asks
Why can I not just print the QR code?
Because a printed code never changes, so a single photograph of it is a permanent free stamp for anyone who has it. Codes here are single-use and expire after thirty seconds, with a new one generated on each scan — which is exactly why they cannot be printed.
What screen do I need?
Whatever you already have near the counter. A tablet is the usual choice, but a monitor, an old laptop or a phone in a stand all work, since the kiosk is just a web page. The only real requirement is that customers can see it while they pay.
What if my Wi-Fi drops?
The kiosk needs a connection to issue fresh codes, so a genuine outage stops stamping in the same way a card terminal stops taking payments. When it comes back, nothing is lost, and you can credit any missed stamps manually from the dashboard.
Can two customers scan the same code?
No. The first scan consumes the code and a new one appears immediately, so the second person gets an expired-code message rather than a stamp. That is what stops one customer sharing a code with the rest of the queue.
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