Shopify Loyalty & Rewards: Joy: Loyalty Program & Rewards VS Bold Memberships

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. How Does Joy: Loyalty Program & Rewards Work?
  3. How Does Bold Memberships Work?
  4. How Much Does Joy: Loyalty Program & Rewards Cost?
  5. How Much Does Bold Memberships Cost?
  6. Cost Analysis: Joy: Loyalty Program & Rewards vs. Bold Memberships
  7. User Reviews & Customer Support Insights
  8. Integrations and Compatibility
  9. Conclusion

Introduction

It's no secret that attracting new customers can be significantly more costly than retaining existing ones. In fact, according to Harvard Business Review, it can be up to 25 times more expensive. This is where loyalty and rewards programs enter the picture. They're essential for cultivating customer loyalty, fostering repeat business, and ultimately, boosting your bottom line. Today, we're looking at two popular Shopify apps that can help you enhance customer loyalty: Joy: Loyalty Program & Rewards and Bold Memberships.

How Does Joy: Loyalty Program & Rewards Work?

Launched on June 28, 2021, this app by Joy Loyalty pledges to make your customers' shopping experience joyful. It does so by providing features like a points earning program for a variety of actions, (such as signing up and placing orders), redeem options, customizable email content, and more. Furthermore, it is fully integrated with Shopify's POS and supports multiple languages. Features like unlimited points rewards and redeem programs (available in the Pro and Advanced plan) and even on-demand development and unlimited APIs & Webhooks (in the Enterprise plan) make it a versatile tool for businesses across the board. Whether you're a startup looking to instill customer loyalty early, a small to medium-sized enterprise aiming for continual growth, or a large corporation maintaining your customer base, Joy has something for you. For instance, if you run a small bookstore, your customers could earn points for every book purchased which they could later redeem for discounts - a classic feature that customers continue to love.

How Does Bold Memberships Work?

Bold Memberships, developed by BOLD, offers an intriguing perspective to loyalty programs. Instead of points, they offer recurring memberships that make customers feel exclusive and valued. Launched back in 2016, this well-established app lets store owners charge a recurring fee for services and provides features like member access to products, pricing, blog posts, and much more. For a small subscription box business, this could allow for tiered-access to premium products or early access to new stock for premium members.

How Much Does Joy: Loyalty Program & Rewards Cost?

Developing a loyal customer base often requires a strategic investment. Joy offers four pricing tiers, with a plan for businesses at every stage of growth. Their Free Plan ($0/month) provides a good ground for startups to get their feet wet. While the Pro Plan ($29/month) starts offering more premium features like customizable emails and unlimited reward programs, it's best suited for small to medium-sized businesses. The Advanced ($99/month) and Enterprise ($499/month) Plans, with their rolled-out and upcoming features, are aimed at established businesses looking to scale up their loyalty programs.

How Much Does Bold Memberships Cost?

Bold Memberships, similarly, offers tiered pricing based on the number of members, making it cost-efficient for businesses of different scales. The lowest tier for 1-50 members costs $9.99/month, while for up to 5000 members, it is $199.99/month. Each plan comes with a 1% transaction fee. Therefore, businesses can choose a plan that best suits their current customer base, making it a financially flexible solution.

Cost Analysis: Joy: Loyalty Program & Rewards vs. Bold Memberships

While Joy's plans seem more feature-heavy, Bold's pricing is more linear and based on volume. Essentially, both apps offer considerable value, and the choice, in essence, would depend on whether you prefer a points-based or membership-based loyalty program.

User Reviews & Customer Support Insights

Is Joy: Loyalty Program & Rewards Good?

With a notable 4.9-star rating out of a total of 1279 reviews, Joy definitely seems to resonate with users. Based on its features, integration capabilities, and commitment to free technical support, it inevitably leads to high user satisfaction.

Is Bold Memberships Good?

Bold Memberships, with an average rating of 4.4 stars from 289 reviews, also holds its own in the loyalty and rewards app arena. Its unique approach of memberships and customizable access provide a distinct user experience which, based on the positive ratings, seem to work well.

Which App is Better according to users?

While both apps have high ratings, Joy's higher average rating and abundant reviews suggest a higher degree of user satisfaction. That being said, the unique offerings of Bold Memberships certainly make it appealing to a particular clientele who might prefer memberships over a rewards-based system.

Integrations and Compatibility

Joy: Loyalty Program & Rewards Integrations:

With crucial integrations with Shopify POS, Checkout, Shopify Flow, POS, PageFly, Transcy, Judge.me, Klaviyo, and Loox, Joy makes it seamless to consolidate your loyalty program with other operations.

Bold Memberships Integrations:

The key software that Bold Memberships integrates with includes Stripe, Custom & Wholesale Pricing, and Bold Loyalty Points, offering users an intuitive, efficient, and streamlined business operation.

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?