Three loyalty offers that bring kirana customers back

A loyalty offer brings a customer back when the reward is simple, close enough to reach, and given without fuss at the counter. For a kirana shop, three kinds work well: a stamp card (a reward every few bills), a spend target (a reward when a customer spends a set amount), and a win-back offer (a reward for a customer who has not come for some days). StoreSathi runs all three from your bills, with no printed cards.

Why do loyalty offers work for a kirana shop?

Your regular customers already buy from you every week. The question is whether they buy a little more often from you, or drift to the new shop on the next street. A small, clear reward tips that choice your way.

Printed cards are where most shops give up. The customer forgets the card, the cashier forgets to stamp it, and nobody knows how many stamps a customer really has. When the offer is worked out from the bills themselves, those problems go away: the bill is the stamp.

That is how StoreSathi does it. Each offer reads the customer’s bills, so the customer only has to be on the bill, usually by mobile number. A walk-in bill with no customer does not count towards any offer, because there is no one to give the reward to.

How does a stamp card offer work?

A stamp card gives a reward every few bills. You choose the number of bills, at least two, for example “every 5th bill, ₹50 off”.

You can also set a minimum bill for a stamp. Without it, a customer could buy one matchbox five times and earn the reward. With a minimum of, say, ₹200, only proper shopping trips count.

Good for:

• daily-needs shops where customers come several times a week;
• a quick start, because everyone understands “five bills, then a reward”.

How does a spend target offer work?

A spend target gives a reward when a customer’s bills reach an amount you set. You choose whether the target counts over the whole offer or each calendar month.

• Whole offer: the spending adds up for as long as the offer runs, and each time it crosses the target again the customer earns another reward.
• Each month: the count starts fresh every month, which suits families who do one big monthly purchase.

Good for:

• shops with bigger monthly orders, like the month’s grocery list;
• rewarding your best customers by how much they buy, not how often.

How does a win-back offer work?

A win-back offer is for customers who have stopped coming. You choose the number of days, at least seven. When a customer has had no bill for that long, their next bill during the offer can use the reward. It works once per customer in an offer.

This is the offer to run when you notice old faces missing. It gives them a reason to come back once, and the habit often follows.

How do I choose the reward?

The reward decides what the offer costs you, so set it with care. StoreSathi gives you these controls:

Setting	What it does
% or flat ₹	A percentage off the bill (up to 90%), or a fixed rupee amount
Highest discount	For a % reward, the most it can take off one bill
Minimum bill to use it	The reward only works on a bill of at least this amount
Validity in days	The reward must be used within this many days of earning it
Limit per customer	The most rewards one customer can earn in this offer

A common pattern for a kirana is a flat amount (easy to explain) with a minimum bill (so the reward always comes with a decent sale). If you prefer a percentage, always set a highest discount, so one very large bill does not cost you more than you planned.

When a reward is ready, the sale screen shows it for that customer, and the cashier applies it to the bill.

What about cancelled bills and returns?

Because rewards are worked out from the bills every time, mistakes correct themselves:

• a cancelled bill takes its stamp or its spend back;
• if the bill that used a reward is cancelled, that reward can be used again.

Nobody has to remember to undo anything.

How do I tell customers about the offer?

On the offer’s customer list, each customer with a mobile number has a WhatsApp button. It opens a message with that customer’s progress, for example how many bills are left for the reward, or that a reward is ready. You send it one customer at a time, from your own WhatsApp. StoreSathi does not send bulk messages.

Telling a customer “one more bill and you get ₹50 off” at the counter works just as well. The cashier can see their progress on the sale screen.

How do I know if the offer is working?

An offer that costs money and changes nothing should be stopped. StoreSathi shows the offer’s results: the customers taking part, over the same number of days before and during the offer, with their visits and sales side by side. You also see each customer’s progress and how many rewards are ready.

Give an offer a few weeks before judging it. If visits and sales during the offer are clearly up for those customers, keep it. If not, end it, try a different reward, or try a different kind of offer. You can end an offer early at any time.

Which offer should I start with?

If your shop…	Start with
Sees the same customers several times a week	Stamp card
Has families buying the month’s list at once	Spend target, each month
Has regulars who have gone quiet	Win-back offer

Run one offer at a time to begin with, so you can see clearly what it does. Once you know what your customers respond to, you can run more. You will find the details of every offer setting on the Offers and marketing features.

Offers work best when the rest of the counter is quick and every customer is on the bill. Reading about managing udhar khata helps here, because the same mobile number links a customer’s khata and their rewards. And if more than one person bills in your shop, see how staff roles and PIN keep discounts and rewards in safe hands.

In short

• Three offers cover most kirana needs: stamp card, spend target, win-back.
• StoreSathi works rewards out from each customer’s bills, so there are no cards and cancelled bills fix themselves.
• Control the cost with a highest discount, a minimum bill, validity and a limit per customer.
• Tell customers on WhatsApp, one at a time, and check the before and during results after a few weeks.

You can set up your first offer during the 30-day free trial; download StoreSathi and try a stamp card this week.