What Claude (Anthropic) with web search answered for loyalty program software (small businesses) on 2026-10-05

Claude (Anthropic) with web search claude-opus-5 asked 2026-10-05

Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included.

The question asked, verbatim: best loyalty program software for small businesses

Brands named, in the order the engine gave

1. Square recommended
   Square Loyalty - my default recommendation if you already take payments with Square.
2. Loyverse mentioned
   Loyverse - the right answer if your budget is zero.
3. Google mentioned
   It makes branded digital stamp cards that live in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, so customers get push notifications and lock-screen reminders without installing anything.
4. Stamp Me mentioned
   Stamp Me - essentially Loopy's competitor, $49/mo Lite, $79/mo Pro, $199/mo Elite.
5. Toast compared
   Toast Loyalty or Clover Rewards - not better than the above on features, but if you're already on Toast (restaurants) or Clover, the native add-on is the path of least resistance for the same reason Square Loyalty is.
6. Clover compared
   Toast Loyalty or Clover Rewards - not better than the above on features, but if you're already on Toast (restaurants) or Clover, the native add-on is the path of least resistance for the same reason Square Loyalty is.
7. Clover Rewards compared
   Toast Loyalty or Clover Rewards - not better than the above on features, but if you're already on Toast (restaurants) or Clover, the native add-on is the path of least resistance for the same reason Square Loyalty is.
8. Shopify mentioned
   If you sell online (Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce)
9. WooCommerce mentioned
   If you sell online (Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce)
10. BigCommerce mentioned
    If you sell online (Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce)
11. Smile.io recommended
    Smile.io - the one I'd start with.
12. LoyaltyLion mentioned
    LoyaltyLion - step up to this only when loyalty is a real revenue lever and you want tiers, referrals, and proper cohort analytics.
13. Marsello mentioned
    Marsello ($60-$299/mo) is the one that handles omnichannel honestly - it syncs POS and ecommerce into one customer profile with no order-volume caps, and bundles email/SMS marketing.

Sources the engine cited

The answer, as recorded

Short version: the best pick depends on whether you sell in person or online, so here's what I'd actually recommend in each case. ## If you have a physical shop, café, or salon **1. Square Loyalty** - my default recommendation if you already take payments with Square. It's built into the POS, so points accrue automatically off the card the customer already tapped - nothing for staff to remember and no app for customers to download. Pricing is per location by volume: $49/mo up to 500 loyalty visits, $99/mo for 501-1,500, $149/mo for 1,501-10,000. The catch is it only makes sense inside the Square ecosystem. ([Square](https://squareup.com/help/article/6462)) **2. Loyverse** - the right answer if your budget is zero. Free POS with loyalty built in, no monthly fee. It's less polished and the marketing tools are thin, but for a single-location shop that just wants points tracked, you can't beat free. ([comparison](https://www.getapp.co.uk/compare/106663/2062466/loyverse-pos/vs/square-loyalty)) **3. Loopy Loyalty** - best if you want to keep your existing POS untouched. It makes branded digital stamp cards that live in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, so customers get push notifications and lock-screen reminders without installing anything. Ideal for the classic "buy 9, get the 10th free" coffee shop model. ([Loopy Loyalty](https://loopyloyalty.com)) **4. Stamp Me** - essentially Loopy's competitor, $49/mo Lite, $79/mo Pro, $199/mo Elite. Worth comparing head-to-head with Loopy; Pro adds SMS, birthday club, and gamification that Loopy handles differently. ([Stamp Me](https://www.stampme.com/punch-card-app)) **5. Toast Loyalty or Clover Rewards** - not better than the above on features, but if you're already on Toast (restaurants) or Clover, the native add-on is the path of least resistance for the same reason Square Loyalty is. ## If you sell online (Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce) **1. Smile.io** - the one I'd start with. Genuinely usable free tier, installs in an afternoon, and it's the most widely supported loyalty app in the Shopify ecosystem. Fair warning: the paid tiers jump hard - plans run from $0 up to $999/mo, and plenty of small merchants find the step up from free steep. ([Capterra](https://www.capterra.com/p/169446/Smile-io/)) **2. Stamped Loyalty** - the better value once you outgrow Smile's free plan. Around $49/mo with unlimited orders, and it bundles reviews and UGC, so you're consolidating two subscriptions. ([RaftLabs](https://www.raftlabs.com/blog/top-customer-loyalty-software)) **3. LoyaltyLion** - step up to this only when loyalty is a real revenue lever and you want tiers, referrals, and proper cohort analytics. Overkill and overpriced below roughly $500k/yr in revenue. ([pricing comparison](https://costbench.com/compare/loyaltylion-vs-smile-io/)) ## If you're both online and in-store **Marsello** ($60-$299/mo) is the one that handles omnichannel honestly - it syncs POS and ecommerce into one customer profile with no order-volume caps, and bundles email/SMS marketing. That's the specific problem the single-channel tools above don't solve. ([RaftLabs](https://www.raftlabs.com/blog/top-customer-loyalty-software)) --- One thing worth saying: for a small business, the software matters less than the offer. A free Loyverse or Loopy card with a reward people actually want will beat an expensive platform with a stingy structure. I'd start cheap, confirm customers enroll, and only pay for AI personalization and deep analytics once you have enough transaction volume for them to mean anything. **Sources:** - [Square Loyalty FAQ & Pricing](https://squareup.com/help/article/6462) - [Smile.io pricing - Capterra](https://www.capterra.com/p/169446/Smile-io/) - [Loyverse vs Square Loyalty - GetApp](https://www.getapp.co.uk/compare/106663/2062466/loyverse-pos/vs/square-loyalty) - [Loopy Loyalty](https://loopyloyalty.com) - [Stamp Me punch card app](https://www.stampme.com/punch-card-app) - [Best customer loyalty software for small business - RaftLabs](https://www.raftlabs.com/blog/top-customer-loyalty-software) - [LoyaltyLion vs Smile.io pricing - Costbench](https://costbench.com/compare/loyaltylion-vs-smile-io/)

Near this answer

The same question, recorded on other dates: 2026-10-04, 2026-10-02, 2026-09-30, 2026-09-26, 2026-09-24, 2026-09-22, 2026-09-20, 2026-09-19, 2026-09-16, 2026-09-14, 2026-09-12.

loyalty program software, asked for other audiences: agencies (asked 2026-10-05).

Other categories with a recorded answer: affiliate marketing platforms, brand design agencies, content marketing agencies, customer review management software.

Markdown edition · JSON record · the question page, with every recording · Answer Watch · AEO Watch

Answer Watch records what one AI answer engine said on one date, nothing more. Each page names the engine and the model, carries the date the question was asked, and lists the brands that appeared in the answer in the order the engine gave them, with the sources it cited. It is a measurement, not a ranking, not a recommendation and not a claim about the world. Brands that did not appear in an answer are not named on any public page. Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included.