Shopify Loyalty & Rewards: A Comparative Review of Appstle℠ Memberships and Vify: Professional Gift Cards Apps

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. How Does Appstle℠ Memberships Work?
  3. How Does Vify: Professional Gift Cards Work?
  4. How Much Does Appstle℠ Memberships Cost?
  5. How Much Does Vify: Professional Gift Cards Cost?
  6. Cost Analysis: Appstle℠ Memberships vs. Vify: Professional Gift Cards
  7. Integrations and Compatibility
  8. Conclusion
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Introduction

Strong customer relationships are critical to the survival and growth of any business, and a powerful way to foster such relationships is through loyalty and rewards programs. A studied by Harvard Business School showed that increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits by 25% to 95% — a clear signal of the impactful role of loyalty programs. In this blog, we take a deep dive into two Shopify apps designed for enhancing customer loyalty: Appstle℠ Memberships and Vify: Professional Gift Cards.

How Does Appstle℠ Memberships Work?

Appstle℠ Memberships is a powerful tool that helps businesses create robust membership programs. This app, launched in February 2022 by Appstle Inc., has been highly praised for its easy plan creation and management, comprehensive perks, and automated billing mechanisms. Some of its standout features include a flexible membership management system allowing businesses to offer tiered and customized rewards and an intuitive tagging system to ensure the right member receives the right perks. In addition, the app boasts a comprehensive and customizable member portal, coupled with robust APIs and webhooks for seamless integration. For instance, a startup could use the 50 free member slots to introduce basic member perks while analyzing customer behavior. A more established business can opt for the ENTERPRISE plan, offering API & Webhooks, and activity logs - an ideal solution for businesses with larger client bases or more complex membership schemes.

How Does Vify: Professional Gift Cards Work?

Vify: Professional Gift Cards is another excellent loyalty-inducing tool that simplifies the process of creating and managing gift cards in your online store. Launched in November 2022 by Vify, this app focuses on enhancing customer engagement and loyalty with features such as custom gift card values, expiry reminders, and balance checking mechanism for customers. A unique feature of Vify: Professional Gift Cards is the multilingual gift card interface, which automatically matches the language to customer's location. This is particularly useful for businesses targeting global markets or operating in multilingual areas.

How Much Does Appstle℠ Memberships Cost?

Cost plays a significant role when choosing the right rewards plan, and Appstle℠ Memberships offers a wide range of pricing options with features to match every business stage. The basic plan is free and offers a host of features for up to 50 members like membership management and a member portal. But if you find yourself needing more advanced features, the BUSINESS plan is a steal at $39/month, offering perks like customization management and complete widget CSS control. There are higher-priced plans like the ENTERPRISE plan at $79/month for companies with more extensive needs.

How Much Does Vify: Professional Gift Cards Cost?

Vify: Professional Gift Cards also provides a range of flexible pricing plans. You can begin with their FREE plan that covers basic necessities such as gift card management and custom redemption pages. If you need more advanced features like customized email templates and custom email branding, the premium plans such as the PREMIUM and ULTIMATE ranging between $16.99/month to $29.99/month would be your best bet.

Cost Analysis: Appstle℠ Memberships vs. Vify: Professional Gift Cards

Both apps offer competitive pricing, providing valuable features for free to get businesses started on their customer loyalty journey. However, Vify: Professional Gift Cards stands out by offering more premium plans that cost less than $30/month, while Appstle℠ Memberships offers higher-tier plans with robust features for businesses with more complex needs.

Is Appstle℠ Memberships Good?

Appstle℠ Memberships holds a stellar 4.9 out of 5-star rating from 231 reviews. Given its extensive feature listing and robust customer support, it's easy to see why users find it reliable and easy to use.

Is Vify: Professional Gift Cards Good?

Not far behind, Vify: Professional Gift Cards also boasts a 4.9-star rating, but from 48 reviews. Its features providing intuitive balance adjustment and custom gift card values likely contribute to its high rating.

Which App is Better according to users?

While both apps have the same average rating, Appstle℠ Memberships has a larger number of reviews, which might indicate a more extensive user base and a longer presence in the market. However, users should delve into specific reviews to understand the nuances of why users rate one app over another.

Integrations and Compatibility

Appstle℠ Memberships Integrations:

Appstle℠ Memberships provides several key integrations with tools like LoyaltyLion- Zapier, Klaviyo- Growave, and PageFly, making it a highly adaptable solution across different operational frameworks.

Vify: Professional Gift Cards Integrations:

Unfortunately, Vify: Professional Gift Cards does not have any listed integrations on Shopify’s app listing. This could limit its functionality for certain users who rely on other software tools as part of their operations.

Our Top Recommendations For Your Store

While loyalty and rewards programs are key to retaining customers, other tools can also play a significant role in enhancing customer engagement and trust. Here are three apps that can help you build a stronger connection with your customers:

SC Conjured Referrals

Encourage your customers to become brand advocates with SC Conjured Referrals. This app helps you create a referral program that rewards your customers for sharing your products. It’s user-friendly and integrates directly with your Shopify admin, offering a free plan with more robust options starting at $19/month. Merchants appreciate its straightforward setup and the positive impact on sales.
Want to harness the power of word-of-mouth? Try out SC Conjured Referrals today.

Hulk Mobile App Builder

Beyond loyalty programs, providing a seamless mobile shopping experience can significantly increase customer retention. The Hulk Mobile App Builder allows you to create a native mobile app for your Shopify store without any coding. With features like real-time push notifications and a comprehensive dashboard, starting at $79/month, it's a valuable asset for any merchant looking to boost mobile engagement.
Ready to go mobile? Build your app with Hulk Mobile App Builder.

Opinew Product Reviews App UGC

Trust is essential in ecommerce, and displaying authentic customer reviews can help establish that trust. Opinew Product Reviews App UGC enables you to collect and showcase customer reviews, including photo and video reviews. This app offers a free plan and advanced features from $19/month, making it a favorite for its user-friendly interface and excellent customer support.
Looking to build trust with reviews? Start with Opinew today.

Each of these apps offers unique features that can help you improve customer engagement and trust, which are crucial for building loyalty. Which one will you integrate into your Shopify store first?

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