A customer deciding where to buy lunch is thinking about what is nearby, what sounds good, what is easy to order, and whether there is a deal waiting in an app. In foodservice, loyalty often comes down to a small moment of convenience: the coffee ordered before work, the lunch spot near the office, the Friday night takeout routine, or the quick-service app that makes reordering almost automatic.

That gives restaurants, cafés, and quick service brands a different kind of loyalty challenge because they don’t need to wait months for the next interaction, they may have several chances a week to bring a customer back. But that also means that they are competing in a category where decisions are fast, habitual, and easy to change.

Restaurant loyalty programs are everywhere now. Customers scan for coffee stars, collect points, receive birthday offers, unlock app-only deals, and choose their next order based on convenience, value, and habit.

But there is a difference between a customer downloading an app and a customer actually using that app.

Studies show that the average Canadian belongs to 15.2 loyalty programs but is active in only 9.3 of those programs. That gap matters for restaurants because inactive loyalty members are not necessarily lost, they may simply need a stronger reason to return.

Restaurant loyalty starts with value

The appeal of restaurant loyalty is easy to understand because customers want something back.

That could be a free coffee, a birthday treat, a discount, a complimentary side, a member-only combo, or points toward the next order. Research shows that 86 per cent of consumers rate financial rewards and simplicity/ease of use as important or very important loyalty program attributes.

For restaurants, those two qualities are especially important. The value has to be clear, and the program has to be easy to use. If a customer has to do too much math, remember too many rules or wait too long for a meaningful reward, the program loses momentum.

Reports reveal that 49.1 per cent of consumers say rewards take too long to earn, 41 per cent are frustrated by expiring rewards, and 38.9 per cent find rewards unattractive.

That is a warning for restaurant brands. In a high-frequency category, rewards should not feel distant – they should feel close enough to shape the next visit.

Immediate rewards help build the habit

Restaurant loyalty is a natural fit for app-based engagement because the purchase cycle is short.

Someone might buy coffee several times a week, order lunch on a workday, or choose takeout on a Friday night, and those transactions give brands more opportunities to reinforce behaviour through small, regular rewards.

A customer deciding where to buy lunch may not be thinking months ahead – they are thinking about convenience, craving, price, and what feels rewarding right now.

But that does not mean every reward needs to be instant; it means that the program should create frequent moments of progress.

A restaurant app can do that through:

Visible points progress
Free item milestones
Short-term challenges
App-only offers
Order streaks
Surprise rewards
Bonus point days
Personalized meal or drink offers

The goal is not to turn lunch into a game, it’s to make the next visit feel like it moves the customer closer to something.

Successful habit-based loyalty

Starbucks is one of the clearest examples of how powerful restaurant loyalty can become.

In Q2 of fiscal 2024, Starbucks reported 32.8 million 90-day active Starbucks Rewards members in the U.S., up six per cent year over year. That scale shows how a program built around frequency, mobile ordering, stored value, rewards and routine can become a major part of the customer relationship.

But Starbucks also shows how sensitive loyalty programs can be when the value exchange changes.

When Starbucks changed its rewards structure in 2016, some customers viewed the update as a downgrade because the program shifted from rewarding frequency to rewarding spend. That reaction is important for restaurant brands. Customers build habits around how a program works, and they learn what counts, what they earn, and when they get rewarded. When those rules change, the brand is not only changing a financial model, but also the customer’s routine.

A loyalty program becomes part of the ritual. Change the ritual too abruptly and customers notice.

Personalization makes restaurant loyalty feel useful

Restaurant apps have access to highly practical data: favourite orders, visit frequency, preferred locations, dayparts, dietary preferences, seasonal choices and abandoned carts.

Used well, that data can make loyalty feel helpful. In fact, research shows that nearly three in four consumers want personalized rewards in loyalty programs.

For restaurants, personalization does not need to be complicated. It could be a morning coffee offer, a lunch bundle near the office, a reminder about a favourite order, a birthday reward, a family meal deal, or a limited-time offer based on past behaviour.

The key is relevance. A personalized reward should feel like the brand made the next decision easier, rather than another generic notification.

That is where AI becomes especially useful: restaurant loyalty programs already collect signals about what customers like, when they order, and how often they return. The challenge is turning that valuable data into the right offer at the right moment.

AI could make restaurant loyalty timelier

AI is starting to change how loyalty programs are managed, and restaurants are a category where timing matters. Studies show that 51.4 per cent of marketers now use AI in loyalty program management, up from 37.1 per cent the previous year.

For restaurants, the opportunity is not simply sending more offers; it’s sending better ones.

A restaurant app may know that a customer usually orders coffee before work, grabs lunch near a certain location, buys family meals on weekends, or tends to respond to limited-time menu items. AI can help brands make sense of those patterns and use them to create more relevant, better-timed loyalty moments.

Recent hospitality research suggests this is where AI could become more than an operational tool, as AI agents learn from past behaviours, preferences, and routines to deliver increasingly personalized and anticipatory recommendations. Over time, that accumulated understanding can create “relational capital,” where the customer’s relationship is shaped not only by the brand, but by the AI experience guiding the decision.

For restaurants, that could mean serving a breakfast offer before a commute, reminding a customer about a favourite order at lunchtime, identifying when a once-active member is starting to fade or offering a reward that fits the customer’s usual spend and preferences.

This matters because restaurant loyalty is closely tied to habit. A customer may not open an app because they are thinking about loyalty; they open it because they are hungry and want a smooth, quick experience in satisfying that hunger. The program has only a short window to be useful to them and AI can help make that window count.

But the goal of the loyalty app should be relevance, rather than volume. If AI only produces more notifications, customers may still tune out. However, if it helps make the next order easier, faster or more rewarding, it can reinforce the habits the loyalty program targets.

That also makes transparency important. If AI-powered offers feel random, overly aggressive or unclear, they can weaken customer trust. The value is not in making the program feel automated; it’s in making the next interaction feel easier, better timed, and more useful.

The next order in restaurant loyalty

Restaurant loyalty works best when it becomes a habit, rather than just a discount. Customers still want savings, freebies, and simple rewards, but the strongest programs also create progress, convenience, relevance, and small moments of motivation.

For foodservice brands, the next loyalty challenge is not simply getting customers to download an app – it’s giving them a reason to open it again and again.

Jackpot City Casino, a licensed operator, offers a wide range of interactive digital casino games designed for adult players seeking online entertainment. They enhance users’ experience and promote responsible gaming through education. As part of its commitment to understanding the Canadian audiences it serves, Jackpot City conducted this research to explore how loyalty programs, rewards, and customer recognition across various industries are evolving, insights that help inform more relevant, responsible entertainment experiences across the country.