Best Shopify Loyalty Apps in 2026 [162,165-Store Study]

TL;DR:

• 93.1% of Shopify stores have no detectable loyalty app. Only 11,134 out of 162,165 stores run one.
• Smile.io dominates with ~63% market share among loyalty users (~7,000 stores), followed by Yotpo Loyalty (~2,200) and LoyaltyLion (~1,300).
• Beauty leads loyalty adoption at 13.9%, while Automotive trails at 3.4%. Repeat-purchase categories adopt loyalty programs at 2-4x the rate of one-time-purchase niches.
• Shopify Plus stores are 6.9x more likely to have a loyalty app (9.6% vs 1.4% on Standard Shopify).
• Loyalty app users have 39% higher lead scores (88.8 vs 64.1) and run 167% more apps on average, signaling more sophisticated operations.
• Klaviyo is the dominant email partner for loyalty stores: 2,846 Smile.io stores and 1,078 Yotpo Loyalty stores pair with it.
• The gap is the opportunity. 151,029 stores without a loyalty program represent a massive prospecting pool for agencies selling retention services.

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Why Most "Best Loyalty App" Articles Are Useless

Search for "best Shopify loyalty apps" and you'll find a dozen listicles. Most share the same problem: they're written by loyalty app vendors (99minds, Loyoly) ranking their own product first, or by affiliates who haven't tested anything. Zero original data. Zero adoption numbers. Just recycled feature lists and subjective "we liked the dashboard" commentary.

We took a different approach. We scanned 162,165 live Shopify stores using StoreInspect's detection engine to find which loyalty apps merchants actually install and keep running. The results tell a different story than what those listicles suggest.

This guide combines that original data with honest assessments of each app's strengths, pricing, and ideal use case. If you're a store owner choosing a loyalty app, an agency recommending one to clients, or a SaaS seller prospecting stores without loyalty programs, this is the data you need.

How We Collected This Data

We scanned 162,165 Shopify stores across 15 product categories and all traffic tiers using StoreInspect's automated detection pipeline. Our scanner identifies loyalty apps by matching JavaScript signatures, DOM elements, and script URLs against known patterns for each app.

What we detect: Smile.io, Yotpo Loyalty, LoyaltyLion, Growave, Rise.ai, Rivo, Stamped Loyalty, and Superfiliate.

Limitations: We can only detect apps that leave client-side footprints (JavaScript, DOM elements, or external script calls). Apps with purely server-side implementations or those loaded behind login walls may not appear in our scans. Our numbers represent a lower bound of actual adoption.

For context on how detection works, see our guide on how to see what apps a Shopify store is using.

Loyalty App Adoption: The Big Picture

Here's the headline finding: 93.1% of Shopify stores have no detectable loyalty app. Only 11,134 stores out of 162,165 run one.

Compare this to other app categories we've studied:

Loyalty adoption sits between upsell apps and customer support apps. It's higher than subscriptions (which require a specific business model) but well below email marketing (which every store arguably needs). The 93.1% gap signals that most merchants either don't know they need a loyalty program, can't justify the cost, or haven't found the right solution.

Loyalty App Market Share: Who's Actually Winning

Among stores that do run a loyalty app, the market is concentrated at the top. Smile.io holds a commanding lead.

Smile.io's dominance isn't surprising. It has the most aggressive free plan, the simplest setup, and has been in the Shopify ecosystem longer than most competitors. Yotpo Loyalty (formerly Swell) benefits from the broader Yotpo ecosystem: stores already using Yotpo Reviews can add loyalty without adopting a new vendor. LoyaltyLion occupies the enterprise tier, with deeper customization and analytics that justify its higher price point.

Notable absences: BON Loyalty, Joy Loyalty, Rivo, and Loloyal are frequently featured in competitor listicles but didn't register enough detections in our scan to rank. This doesn't mean they're bad products. It means their real-world footprint among established stores is smaller than their App Store ratings suggest. Many of these newer apps serve smaller, earlier-stage stores that may fall below our detection thresholds.

The Best Shopify Loyalty Apps (Ranked by Real Adoption)

1. Smile.io: The Market Leader (~7,000 stores)

Why stores choose it: Smile.io is the default choice for most Shopify merchants entering the loyalty space. Its free plan supports up to 200 monthly orders, which is generous enough for small stores to get started without commitment. The setup takes minutes, and the pop-up widget blends into most themes without custom development.

Pricing:

• Free: Up to 200 monthly orders
• Starter: $49/mo (up to 500 orders)
• Growth: $199/mo (up to 2,500 orders)
• Plus: $999/mo (unlimited, dedicated support)

What the data shows: Smile.io stores pair heavily with Klaviyo (2,846 stores) and Mailchimp (1,007 stores) for email marketing. Among Smile.io users, 64.7% also run an email marketing app and 39.4% run a reviews app. This suggests Smile.io users tend to be moderately sophisticated but not at the enterprise level.

Best for: Small to mid-size DTC brands running their first loyalty program. If you sell consumable or replenishable products (beauty, food, supplements) and want a simple points-and-rewards system, Smile.io is the safe choice.

Limitations: Customization is limited on lower tiers. The pop-up widget can feel generic. No built-in reviews or SMS, so you'll need separate apps for those. Stores growing past 2,500 monthly orders face a sharp jump to the $999/mo Plus plan.

See Smile.io detection data and examples

2. Yotpo Loyalty (~2,200 stores)

Why stores choose it: Yotpo Loyalty makes the most sense for stores already in the Yotpo ecosystem. If you're running Yotpo Reviews, adding loyalty creates a unified customer engagement platform without juggling multiple vendor relationships.

Pricing:

• Free: Up to 100 monthly orders
• Gold: $199/mo
• Platinum: Custom pricing (enterprise)

What the data shows: Yotpo Loyalty stores are the most sophisticated in our dataset. 79.7% run an email marketing app, 73.6% run a reviews app, and 27.1% run a customer support app. The high reviews co-occurrence (73.6% vs 39.4% for Smile.io) confirms the Yotpo ecosystem effect. Yotpo users also run upsell apps at 12.4%, more than double Smile.io's rate.

Yotpo Loyalty pairs with Klaviyo (1,078 stores) and Attentive (256 stores) for email and SMS. The Attentive pairing is notable because it's 3x higher than Smile.io's Attentive rate, suggesting Yotpo users invest more heavily in multi-channel retention.

Best for: Growth-stage DTC brands already using Yotpo Reviews or planning to consolidate their marketing stack. Strong VIP tier functionality for brands that want to segment their most valuable customers.

Limitations: Higher entry price than Smile.io. The free plan caps at 100 orders (vs Smile.io's 200). Can feel like vendor lock-in once you've built your program within the Yotpo platform.

See Yotpo Loyalty detection data and examples

3. LoyaltyLion (~1,300 stores)

Why stores choose it: LoyaltyLion positions itself as the enterprise loyalty platform, and the data supports this. Its users show the highest customer support co-occurrence (23.1%) and the highest wishlist app usage (14.6%), indicating stores that invest in the full customer experience, not just points and coupons.

Pricing:

• Classic: $199/mo (up to 800 orders)
• Advanced: $399/mo (up to 4,000 orders)
• Plus: Custom pricing (unlimited)

What the data shows: LoyaltyLion users run email marketing at 74.0%, reviews at 43.1%, and support at 23.1%. The wishlist co-occurrence of 14.6% is the highest among all loyalty apps, suggesting these stores think deeply about the customer journey beyond transactions. LoyaltyLion pairs with Klaviyo in 706 stores and Attentive in 124 stores.

Best for: Established brands doing $1M+ in annual revenue that need advanced loyalty features: custom reward catalogs, SDK/API access for headless builds, detailed ROI analytics, and deep segmentation. Agencies working with enterprise Shopify Plus clients should know this app well.

Limitations: No free plan. Pricing starts at $199/mo, making it a non-starter for early-stage stores. The complexity that makes it powerful for enterprises also means longer setup time and steeper learning curve.

See LoyaltyLion detection data and examples

4. Growave (~700 stores)

Why stores choose it: Growave bundles loyalty with reviews, wishlists, referrals, and social login into one app. For stores that want "good enough" across several categories without managing five separate apps, it's a compelling value proposition.

Pricing:

• Free: Limited features
• Medium: $49/mo
• Growth: $149/mo
• Premium: $349/mo

What the data shows: Growave pairs with Klaviyo in 301 stores and Mailchimp in 67 stores. Its all-in-one nature means stores running Growave tend to have fewer total apps installed, which can be a performance advantage (fewer scripts loading on each page).

Best for: Small to mid-size stores that want loyalty, reviews, and wishlists without paying for three separate apps. Particularly good for stores sensitive to page load speed since one app replaces several. See our Shopify CRO checklist for why app count matters for conversion rates.

Limitations: Jack of all trades, master of none. Each individual feature (loyalty, reviews, wishlists) is less powerful than the dedicated best-in-class app in that category. Stores that outgrow Growave's loyalty features face a migration challenge.

See Growave detection data and examples

5. Superfiliate (~200 stores)

Why stores choose it: Superfiliate isn't a traditional points-and-rewards loyalty app. It focuses on affiliate and influencer marketing, turning customers and creators into referral partners. It's in our loyalty category because it drives repeat engagement, but its mechanics are different.

Pricing: Starting at $99/mo

Best for: Brands with strong community or influencer relationships that want to formalize referral tracking and payouts. Not a replacement for Smile.io or Yotpo if you want a traditional points program.

See Superfiliate detection data and examples

Honorable Mentions: Apps to Watch

Several loyalty apps are growing quickly on the Shopify App Store but don't yet show up at scale in our scans:

• BON Loyalty (5.0 rating, 1,700+ reviews): Free plan, rising fast in App Store rankings. Strong with smaller stores.
• Rivo (modern design, Shopify-native): Focused on DTC brands that care about widget aesthetics.
• Joy Loyalty (4.9 rating, 1,500+ reviews): Budget-friendly with a generous free tier.
• Gameball: Gamification-focused loyalty with missions and challenges.
• Rise.ai: Specializes in store credit and gift cards rather than traditional points.

These apps may appear in future scans as their user bases grow and our detection signatures expand.

Loyalty Adoption by Store Category

Loyalty app adoption varies dramatically by niche. Categories with repeat-purchase behavior adopt at 2-4x the rate of one-time-purchase categories.

The pattern is clear. Beauty, Baby & Kids, Health, and Food & Beverage have the highest loyalty adoption because their products are consumed and repurchased. A skincare brand gains more from a loyalty program than a furniture store because the repurchase cycle is weeks, not years.

The prospecting angle: If you sell loyalty program setup services, Beauty stores are the best targets. They have the highest adoption rate (showing they understand the value) but 86.1% still don't have one. That's over 10,600 Beauty stores without a loyalty program. For Food & Beverage, the gap is even larger: 14,152 stores without loyalty in a category where repeat purchases are the entire business model.

Loyalty Adoption by Traffic Tier

Bigger stores are more likely to invest in loyalty programs. The 1M-5M traffic tier peaks at 15% adoption, 3x the rate of smaller stores.

The jump from 5% (under 50K) to 15% (1M-5M) makes sense. Stores at the 1M+ traffic level have the customer volume to make loyalty programs financially worthwhile and the operational maturity to manage them. But the fact that 85% of 1M+ stores still lack loyalty programs suggests the opportunity extends well into the enterprise tier.

For more on how traffic tiers correlate with store sophistication, see our Shopify tech stack analysis.

Shopify Plus vs Standard: Who Runs Loyalty Programs

Shopify Plus stores adopt loyalty programs at 6.9x the rate of Standard Shopify stores.

This gap is the widest we've seen across any app category. For comparison, Plus stores adopt subscription apps at 5.75x and support apps at roughly 3x the rate of Standard stores.

Why? Plus stores tend to have higher revenue, more customers, and larger marketing teams. They can afford the $49-$399/mo loyalty app costs and have the customer volume to see ROI. They're also more likely to have agencies managing their tech stack, and agencies know that loyalty programs drive measurable retention improvements.

For agencies: If you're prospecting for Shopify clients, filtering for Shopify Plus stores without a loyalty app gives you a highly qualified list. These stores have the budget, the customer volume, and (statistically) the operational maturity to implement a loyalty program. Use StoreInspect's dashboard to filter by Shopify Plus status and app gaps.

Loyalty App Users vs Non-Users: The Data

Stores with loyalty apps look fundamentally different from those without. They run more apps, track more pixels, and score higher on our lead qualification framework.

The lead score gap (88.8 vs 64.1) is the standout number. Stores running loyalty programs aren't doing it in isolation. They have email marketing, reviews, analytics, and upsell tools. A loyalty app is a signal of operational maturity.

The 167% app count difference (4.0 vs 1.5) reinforces this. Loyalty programs don't work alone. They need email integration for point balance reminders, reviews for earning points, and analytics to measure retention lift. When you see a store running Smile.io, you can reasonably assume they also run Klaviyo and at least one reviews app.

For a full breakdown of how top stores build their tech stacks, see our 500-store analysis.

The Loyalty Tech Stack: What Apps Pair With Loyalty Programs

The co-occurrence data reveals distinct "ecosystems" around each loyalty app. Yotpo Loyalty users run the most sophisticated stacks, while Smile.io users are more streamlined.

Key takeaways:

Yotpo users are the most invested. 79.7% run email marketing and 73.6% run reviews (likely Yotpo's own). Their 27.1% support rate and 12.4% upsell rate are the highest. These stores treat loyalty as one piece of a broader retention strategy.

LoyaltyLion users are experience-focused. Their 14.6% wishlist rate is the highest, and their 23.1% support rate suggests they invest in the full customer journey. The combination of loyalty + wishlist + support creates a retention flywheel that goes beyond simple points.

Smile.io users are efficient. Lower co-occurrence rates across the board don't mean less effective. These stores may be earlier in their growth journey, running a leaner stack that delivers the core loyalty functionality without the overhead.

Top Email + Loyalty Pairings

The email marketing integration matters because loyalty programs depend on communication. Point balance reminders, tier upgrade notifications, and reward expiration emails drive redemption rates.

Klaviyo dominates across all loyalty apps, which matches our broader email marketing study where Klaviyo holds 34% market share. The Smile.io + Klaviyo pairing (2,846 stores) is the single most common loyalty + email combination on Shopify.

How to Choose the Right Loyalty App

Based on our data and competitive analysis, here's a decision framework:

Choose Smile.io if:

• You're launching your first loyalty program
• Monthly orders are under 500 (free or $49/mo plan)
• You want simple setup with minimal development
• Your priority is points + referrals (not complex VIP tiers)

Choose Yotpo Loyalty if:

• You already use Yotpo Reviews or plan to
• You want VIP tiers with advanced segmentation
• You're willing to invest in a broader marketing platform
• Your store does $500K+ in annual revenue

Choose LoyaltyLion if:

• You need API/SDK access for custom implementations
• Your agency requires white-label or headless loyalty
• You want the deepest analytics and ROI reporting
• Budget is $199+/mo and you need enterprise features

Choose Growave if:

• You want loyalty, reviews, and wishlists in one app
• Page load speed is a priority (fewer scripts)
• You're budget-conscious and want consolidation
• "Good enough" across categories beats "best in class" in one

Skip loyalty apps (for now) if:

• Your average order frequency is under 1.2 purchases per customer per year
• You sell high-ticket, one-time-purchase items (furniture, appliances)
• You have fewer than 100 orders per month
• You haven't set up email marketing yet (do that first)

The 151,029-Store Opportunity: Prospecting for Loyalty Gaps

For agencies and service providers, the 93.1% non-adoption rate is the real story. Here's how to turn that data into qualified leads.

By Category: Where to Prospect

The best targets are Beauty and Food & Beverage stores that already run email marketing but lack a loyalty program. They understand retention but haven't taken the next step. Use the StoreInspect dashboard to filter by category, check for Klaviyo or Omnisend, and exclude stores that already run Smile.io, Yotpo Loyalty, or LoyaltyLion.

For pitch frameworks and outreach templates, see our guides on how to sell to Shopify stores and cold email templates for Shopify stores.

The Qualification Stack

A store is a strong candidate for loyalty program services if it meets these criteria:

1. Repeat-purchase category (Beauty, Food, Health, Pets, Baby)
2. Has email marketing (signals retention awareness)
3. No loyalty app detected (the gap)
4. 50K+ monthly traffic (enough customers for ROI)
5. Shopify Plus preferred (budget for $49-199/mo app + services)

Stores matching all five criteria are in the top tier. See our lead qualification guide for a full scoring framework, or use the StoreInspect dashboard to apply these filters directly.

Frequently Asked Questions

What percentage of Shopify stores use a loyalty app?

Based on our scan of 162,165 stores, 6.9% run a detectable loyalty app. The other 93.1% have no loyalty program in place. Adoption ranges from 13.9% in Beauty to 3.4% in Automotive.

What is the most popular Shopify loyalty app?

Smile.io is the most popular loyalty app on Shopify, detected on approximately 7,000 stores. That gives it roughly 63% market share among loyalty app users. Yotpo Loyalty is second (~2,200 stores) and LoyaltyLion is third (~1,300 stores).

Is Smile.io or Yotpo Loyalty better for Shopify?

It depends on your stack. Smile.io is better for stores launching their first loyalty program, with a more generous free plan (200 vs 100 monthly orders) and simpler setup. Yotpo Loyalty is better for stores already using Yotpo Reviews, since the combined platform creates a unified retention engine. Our data shows Yotpo users run more sophisticated tech stacks overall.

How much does a Shopify loyalty app cost?

Prices range from free to $999+/mo. Smile.io starts free (up to 200 orders) and scales to $49-$999/mo. Yotpo Loyalty starts free (up to 100 orders) and jumps to $199/mo. LoyaltyLion starts at $199/mo with no free plan. Growave offers loyalty as part of its all-in-one bundle from $49/mo.

Do loyalty programs work for small Shopify stores?

They can, but the ROI is harder to prove under 100 monthly orders. Our data shows that stores in the under 50K traffic tier adopt loyalty at only 5.0%, while 1M-5M stores adopt at 15.0%. Focus on email marketing first, then add loyalty once you have enough repeat customers to justify the investment.

What is the best free Shopify loyalty app?

Smile.io offers the most generous free plan at 200 monthly orders. BON Loyalty (250 monthly orders on free plan) and Joy Loyalty are also strong free options, though they don't appear at scale in our enterprise-focused dataset. For stores under 200 orders/month, Smile.io's free tier is the standard recommendation.

Are Shopify Plus stores more likely to use loyalty apps?

Yes, significantly. Shopify Plus stores adopt loyalty apps at 9.6%, compared to 1.4% for Standard Shopify stores. That's a 6.9x difference, the widest gap we've seen across any app category. Plus stores have the revenue, customer volume, and operational maturity to invest in retention programs.

What email app works best with Shopify loyalty programs?

Klaviyo is the dominant email partner across all loyalty apps. It pairs with 2,846 Smile.io stores, 1,078 Yotpo stores, and 706 LoyaltyLion stores. Klaviyo's deep Shopify integration and flow builder make it ideal for loyalty-triggered emails like point balance reminders and tier upgrades.

Which niches benefit most from Shopify loyalty programs?

Beauty (13.9% adoption), Baby & Kids (10.9%), Health & Wellness (8.8%), and Food & Beverage (8.6%) benefit most. These categories share a common trait: repeat-purchase cycles measured in weeks, not months. Loyalty programs accelerate the repurchase behavior that already exists in these niches.

Can I run multiple loyalty apps on the same Shopify store?

You can, but most stores don't. Our data shows 80.6% of loyalty users run exactly one app. Only 1.8% run two, and the most common combination is Smile.io + Yotpo Loyalty (62 stores). Running multiple loyalty apps creates a confusing customer experience and is generally not recommended.

How do I find Shopify stores without a loyalty app?

Use StoreInspect's store database to filter by category, traffic tier, and Shopify Plus status, then filter for stores with no detected loyalty app. You can also filter for stores that DO have email marketing (indicating retention awareness) but lack loyalty, which gives you the most qualified prospects.

What is a good loyalty app adoption benchmark for my niche?

Compare against the category averages in our data. If you're in Beauty and don't have a loyalty app, you're behind 13.9% of your peers. In Fashion, the benchmark is 7.2%. In Food & Beverage, it's 8.6%. Stores above the category average for loyalty adoption also tend to run more sophisticated tech stacks overall.

Summary