Why a salon needs a different threshold than a coffee shop
In a coffee shop the regular comes in a few times a week, so a five-stamp threshold is reached in about four weeks and the offer stays in mind.
A salon runs on a completely different clock. A gel refill comes back every three to four weeks, a cut and colour every six to eight. On paper it reads like a detail, but it changes everything: at 5+1, a client who visits every six weeks reaches the reward only after seven or eight months.
A card that never finishes builds no loyalty at all, because nobody remembers a promise scheduled for next year.
So a threshold in a salon is measured in months, not weeks. The reasonable target is a reward at around three months: 3+1 on the services that repeat often, or points, where the threshold no longer depends on the number of visits.
The number of clients is unlimited on every plan, so signing up your whole appointment book costs you nothing extra.
Stamps for nails, points at the hairdresser
Stamps work when the service repeats often and costs about the same every time. A gel manicure is the classic case: the same treatment at a predictable interval, so one stamp per visit explains itself in a sentence.
At the hairdresser the tickets do not compare. A cut runs roughly 25 to 45 EUR depending on length, and a wash, cut and style package reaches 45 to 70 EUR. Add colour on top and the gap between two clients is several times over.
On stamps those two get exactly the same thing for very different amounts, and the client with the bigger ticket notices first. Points are fairer there: the reward grows in proportion to what she actually spent.
- Services that repeat every three to four weeks (nails, pedicure, waxing): stamps, threshold 3+1.
- Hairdressing and anything with widely different tickets: points, 1 point for every 10 EUR spent, 1 point worth 1 EUR. That is 10% back.
- A mixed salon, where the same client does both nails and hair: points on the whole ticket, so you are not keeping two sets of books.
You can run both types on the same card, depending on the plan, so you do not have to pick one mechanic for the whole salon.
The reward does not have to be a whole service
Happy birthday!
There is a care treatment on the house for you this month. Come and get it.
This is where a salon differs fundamentally from a coffee shop, and it is the mistake that costs the most.
A free coffee costs you the beans and the milk, a few cents. A free cut does not cost you the materials, it costs you the slot: an hour you could have sold to somebody else. Your real reward is the appointment, not the consumable.
So the good reward in a salon is something added to an appointment you are charging for anyway, not something that occupies a slot on its own.
- A care treatment added to a wash, the kind you usually charge separately.
- Nail art or two accent nails, on top of the manicure she paid for.
- An upgrade: an ampoule, a mask, a better product, the same working time.
- A discount on a value rather than a free service, if you want something simple to explain.
All of those are redeemed during a paid visit. The client feels she gained something and you have not given away an hour.
If you do want to give a whole service, put it on the empty slots. A free service at 11 on a Tuesday fills an hour you were not selling anyway.
Loyalty card for hair and beauty salons: how you start
At the desk, while she is paying and standing in front of you anyway.
The first time: she scans the magic QR code at the desk or on the mirror and the card lands straight on her phone, from a single scan. No account, no email, no password. The card can also live in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, so it does not depend on an app she might delete.
After that, on every visit: she opens the card and you scan the code on her screen with the phone or tablet you already keep at the desk. No separate reader.
A salon has an advantage a coffee shop does not: you know who is walking in, because you work by appointment. You are not asking in a hurry over a queue, you have a whole minute while you take payment.
The reports show how many clients signed up, how many stamps or points you gave and how many rewards were redeemed, so you can change the threshold after the first few months instead of guessing.
What it costs and what covers the plan
A plan with a listing in the Stampino app starts at 36.50 EUR a month, plus VAT where applicable.
A gel manicure runs roughly 35 to 55 EUR, and the materials on a treatment like that are small against the price, so nearly everything you take stays above consumables.
So the plan pays for itself with about two extra appointments a month. Not new clients, just visits that would otherwise have happened later or somewhere else.
A client who comes back every five weeks instead of every eight brings you two more visits a year on her own. Three or four clients doing that cover the plan for the whole year.
As with any calculation of this kind, what is left is margin over consumables: rent, wages and utilities come out of it afterwards.
You can also set an expiry period
You can leave the offer with no deadline, or set one in days, weeks or months. The deadline shows on the client's card, and when it passes the card resets.
In a salon, watch the deadline more carefully than in any other business. Thirty days looks reasonable until you realise that a client who visits every six weeks loses her card between two perfectly ordinary appointments, without doing anything wrong.
If you set one, set it to at least three or four times the usual gap between visits. At a hairdresser that means six months, not one.
She is warned automatically seven days before and one day before, so a long deadline does not mean she forgets it. Expiry comes with the Standard plan and up.
Push notifications and the birthday reward
We have a slot on Thursday
A slot opened up on Thursday at 3. Message us if you want it.
A salon has gaps in the diary that you can see a day ahead. A notification to your clients is the only channel that fills a free slot in the same week.
The birthday reward appears on the card by itself on the day and is redeemed in the window you set. You keep no dates in a calendar and send nothing by hand.
For a salon this is probably the strongest feature in the whole programme, because a birthday is exactly the occasion somebody was going to get their hair or nails done for anyway.
Set up the offer for your salon
You pick the offer type, the threshold and the reward in the admin panel, and you can change them after the first few months based on the reports. You scan with the phone or tablet at the desk.
Start configuringFrequently asked questions
What threshold should I set for a salon?
Aim for a reward at around three months. On services that repeat every three to four weeks, like a gel refill, that means 3+1. At a hairdresser, where visits are six to eight weeks apart, a threshold counted in visits arrives too rarely, so use points instead.
Start configuringStamps or points for my salon?
Stamps if the service repeats often and costs about the same each time, like a manicure. Points if tickets differ a lot, like a hairdresser where a cut is 30 EUR and a colour with a cut is well over 100. On stamps both would get the same thing, and the client with the bigger ticket notices.
Start configuringCan I give a free service as the reward?
You can, but count what it costs. A free service occupies a slot you could have sold, so the reward costs you the appointment, not the materials. It is usually better to add something to a paid visit: a treatment, nail art, a product upgrade. If you do want a whole service, put it on the empty midweek slots.
What expiry period should I set?
At least three or four times the usual gap between two visits, so six months at a hairdresser rather than one. A short deadline wipes a loyal client's card between two ordinary appointments. You can also set no deadline at all.
Does the client need an account?
No. No account, no email, no password. She scans the QR code at the desk, the card lands on her phone and the progress stays tied to the phone. She can also keep the card in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. If they want, they can link an account later with Apple, Google or Facebook.
Do I need a scanner?
No. You scan the code on her screen with the phone or tablet you already keep at the desk. The number of clients is unlimited on every plan.
Does it work for a single-chair salon?
Yes, and it often shows faster, because you work with a small number of clients you actually know. There is no minimum number of clients and you do not pay per client.
What does it cost?
A plan with a listing in the Stampino app starts at 36.50 EUR a month, plus VAT where applicable. If you only want the card in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, the Lite plan starts at 10 EUR a month, plus VAT where applicable, but there you get a single offer, no listing in the app and no birthday reward.
See all plansSee also coffee shops, restaurants, stores, gyms, car washes, wallet-only card, apps for coffee shops, common mistakes, 20 loyalty program ideas or the digital QR menu.