Quick answer: You can combine loyalty and referral programs to increase repeat sales while lowering acquisition costs from day one.
eCommerce brands rely on two engines to grow: repeat purchases and new customer acquisition. Loyalty programs help with repeat purchases, and referral programs bring new customers at a lower cost.
When these two systems work together, the result is stronger engagement, more predictable revenue, and a higher share of sales driven by existing customers. Pairing both also gives customers more reasons to stay active, boosting performance across share rate, conversion rate, and average order value based on early 2025 benchmark data.
A hybrid model blends two types of motivation:
Customers earn value each time they buy, review, or engage with the brand.
They get an extra boost when they share their referral link and generate first-time orders.
Several brands use this model to lift referral share rate, as promoting referrals inside a loyalty widget increases visibility and drives more shares.
If you want a tool that can run referrals while your loyalty system handles points, ReferralCandy’s referral tool lets you manage all referral rewards in one dashboard.
When customers join a loyalty program, they often get an immediate perk. When you pair that with an active referral link available right in their account, they start engaging earlier, sending more referral traffic, and returning to use their points or rewards.
Customers who interact with a loyalty program (redeeming points, checking their balance, or completing challenges) are more likely to share referral links. When brands surface referral prompts inside loyalty pages, share rate typically grows by more than 30 percent based on post-purchase and on-site visibility tests.
Referrals drive some of the most efficient new customer revenue. In 2025, referred visitors converted at a median of 3–5 percent across thousands of Shopify and WooCommerce stores, with top-quartile programs hitting 8 percent and above.
A hybrid model increases the number of shares, which increases referred visits, which increases referred orders—all without extra ad spend.
Customers with points, perks, and referral rewards have more reasons to return. They redeem perks, check their balance, get referral notifications, and often buy again to unlock the next tier.
Loyalty incentives increase order frequency; referrals bring new customers who often perform better than average. When both run together, LTV grows from both retention and acquisition sides.
The biggest lifts come from giving both sides a benefit. Studies show that offering referred friends a discount increases click-through rate by roughly 25 percent and lifts conversion.
This reward can sit alongside your points program without conflict.
One of the easiest ways to connect loyalty and referrals. Credits earned from referrals can be redeemed like points, making the system feel unified.
PayPal, prepaid card credit, or gift cards remain strong referral incentives. ReferralCandy supports these and allows new-customer-only rewards so brands protect margins.
When a customer reaches a loyalty tier, you can unlock higher referral rewards. This keeps engagement high and encourages customers to keep moving.
Each successful referral could boost the customer’s point earnings for their next purchase. This blends both systems into one progression path.
When choosing rewards, the main goal is clarity. Whether using points, discounts, or store credit, the customer should instantly understand the benefit.
Brands that combine loyalty and referral programs get the best results when they show both on the same touchpoints. The highest-impact channels include:
Embedding both referral and loyalty visibility on this page is one of the simplest ways to raise the share rate.
A “Refer a friend” tab inside the loyalty login gives customers a direct path to share.
Pair a points reminder with a referral reward to help customers act.
Pin a “Give $10, Get $10” link on Instagram or TikTok, or share it in your Discord or Facebook group.
Quarterly loyalty statements, VIP tier updates, or “points about to expire” emails can include referral prompts.
If you’re choosing software, consider reading the guide on the best Shopify referral apps, which explains how ReferralCandy works with loyalty-layered setups. This article also clarifies which tools support popups, widgets, and link tracking across Shopify. (Internal link: best Shopify referral apps)
Raúl Galera is the Growth Lead at ReferralCandy, where they’ve helped 30,000+ eCommerce brands drive sales through referrals and word-of-mouth marketing. Over the past 8+ years, Raúl has worked hands-on with DTC merchants of all sizes (from scrappy Shopify startups to household names) helping them turn happy customers into revenue-driving advocates. Raúl’s been featured on dozens of top eCommerce podcasts, contributed to leading industry publications, and regularly speaks about customer acquisition, retention, and brand growth at industry events.
Grow your sales at a ridiculously
lower CAC.
