A good stamp card campaign gives customers a reason to come back this week. These six seasonal ideas include ready-to-use messages and a simple routine for your team.
Three tools for your campaign
- Double stamps: Your team scans twice, a few seconds apart. If you have set a minimum gap between stamps, switch it off for the campaign and back on afterwards. Test the process before the first shift.
- Seasonal design: All 72 templates and full custom design come with every plan. New cards and new collecting rounds receive the new design, target and reward. Cards with stamps keep their existing settings until redeemed.
- A short message: Push notifications for your regulars are included from Pro. Apple Wallet displays a notification; Google Wallet shows the message in the card details. Obtain the required consent for marketing messages; see push campaign ideas for local shops for wording and sending guidance.
Give each campaign an occasion, a time window and a clear stamp rule. Announce it on your counter sign and in conversation, with push as an additional invitation.
Spring: kicking off ice cream season
For many shops, especially ice cream shops, the first warm day starts the year. Use that eagerness to get outdoors to put cards into circulation.
The mechanic: open the season with a double-stamp weekend. Each purchase that weekend earns two stamps, including on newly added cards, making the first reward feel within reach.
Message for your sign: “Season’s open! This weekend, every purchase earns two stamps. Don’t have a card yet? The QR code is at the counter.”
For families, a low stamp goal pays off. With an impulse product like ice cream, an extra scoop after five stamps is more realistically within reach than a tenth coffee. And kids count their own stamps. The page on the ice cream shop loyalty card shows how to fit the card to a short season.
Summer: bridging the slow patch
Heat and holidays can bring a summer lull. Give the customers still in town a reason to visit.
The mechanic: put double stamps specifically on the slow hours, the hot afternoons when almost nobody comes in. Announce the time window with a short message to customers who receive your marketing.
Campaign message: “Too hot to do much? From 2 to 5 pm, everything cold earns a double stamp. Stop by, cool off, fill up your card.”
One well-timed push per campaign is enough. Too many messages can make customers delete the card, taking your contact channel with it.
Autumn and winter: the warm-drinks card
As the days darken, demand shifts towards hot drinks and soups. It is time for a winter design.
The mechanic: choose a winter design and reward, such as “a mulled punch after 8 stamps” or “a hot chocolate after 10 stamps”. Customers keep the same wallet card. The core programme stays, with a clear goal for autumn and winter visits.
Campaign message: “A winter treat for your next round: collect ten stamps for a hot drink on the house. Finish your current round as usual.”
After the season, switch the card back. Nobody needs to add a new one; your core programme continues.
Holiday season: say thank you, not just sell
Late November to Christmas is already busy. Use the campaign to show appreciation and keep customers with you through the stressful weeks.
The mechanic: say thank you with double stamps on an Advent weekend. Send a push with your opening hours before the holidays. It also reminds customers of their card.
Campaign message: “Thanks for being with us all year. On the third Sunday of Advent, we’ve got double stamps, and here are our hours over the holidays: [hours]. Happy holiday season!”
A full card right before Christmas is a natural occasion to redeem the reward and leave a good last impression before the break.
January: fighting the slump
People hold back after the holidays. A fresh-start message helps through the often difficult January weeks.
The mechanic: a new-year push that looks forward, paired with a launch offer. Say, one free starter stamp for anyone who sets up a new card in January. The first bit of progress is already visible. Include that free stamp when working out the cost of the reward.
Campaign message: “New year, new card. In January, everyone starts with one stamp already on it. Come by and you’re already on your way.”
This kind of head start is well documented. In a café field study by Kivetz, Urminsky, and Zheng (2006), guests filled their cards faster when they felt they’d already covered some of the distance, even though the remaining effort was exactly the same.
Local events: join in when the town celebrates
Street festivals, farmers’ markets, Sunday openings and home games bring more people out, often visiting you for the first time. Use these days to turn walk-ins into cardholders.
The mechanic: double stamps on the day of the event, so setting up a card pays off right away. And one line your team always says: “Are you collecting with us yet? One scan, your name and date of birth, and the card’s on your phone.” No lecture, just an offer while they wait.
Campaign message: “Street festival weekend! Saturday and Sunday, every stamp counts double. New here? You’ll start collecting twice as fast.”
A one-time visitor might then come back on a grey Tuesday in February too.
Review the campaign before planning the next
Start with an occasion that falls during a quiet trading period. Afterwards, compare stamps issued and rewards redeemed with similar days without a campaign. Use that to decide which idea to repeat.
Begin with four to six occasions across the year. Double stamps bring rewards closer, so allow for the extra redemptions instead of turning every week into a promotion.
Start your first campaign free
Treubar Free lets you design one stamp card for up to 20 customer passes. Your team awards double stamps by scanning; push campaigns are included from Pro. Start free or compare plans. Our loyalty programme guide for small businesses walks you through the launch.