When evaluating BON Loyalty alternatives, your choice depends on your store's growth stage, technical requirements, and retention goals. While BON Loyalty is a popular solution with over 1,600 reviews on the Shopify App Store and strong multilingual capabilities, many Shopify brands seek platforms offering paid memberships, advanced developer tools, or deeper Shopify Plus integration. This comprehensive guide examines the top BON Loyalty alternatives, with particular emphasis on why Rivo emerges as the superior choice for retention-focused DTC brands looking to build a robust Shopify loyalty program.
Key Takeaways
- Rivo stands out as the premier BON Loyalty alternative for Shopify Plus merchants with paid memberships, custom accounts, and 99.98% uptime—features unavailable on other platforms
- BON Loyalty excels at multilingual support with 250+ languages for international commerce
- Pricing varies significantly: BON starts at $25/month, Rivo at $49/month for comprehensive features
- Mobile-first retention strategies benefit from Rivo's Apple/Google Wallet integration
- Consider your primary use case: Choose Rivo for Shopify Plus membership programs and advanced customization
- Month-to-month contracts from Rivo eliminate annual lock-ins
Understanding BON Loyalty
BON Loyalty positions itself as an accessible loyalty solution for Shopify merchants seeking points programs, referral marketing, and VIP tiers. The platform has earned a strong 5.0/5 Shopify rating from over 1,600 reviews with particular strength in international commerce through industry-leading 250+ language support.
Key BON Loyalty Features:
- Multilingual capabilities supporting 250+ languages
- Entry pricing at $25/month for basic features
- Anti-cheat referral program with fraud prevention
- Real-time Shopify POS integration
- Points, VIP tiers, and referral functionality
With these features in mind, let's examine alternatives that address different merchant needs and growth stages.
1. Rivo: The Premier Choice for Shopify Plus Brands
Rivo serves as the modern retention platform built exclusively for Shopify and Shopify Plus merchants. Powering over 9,000 brands including HexClad, Ridge, Dr. Squatch, and Kitsch, Rivo combines loyalty programs, referral marketing, paid memberships, and custom accounts into a unified retention ecosystem.
Key Rivo Advantages
- Paid membership programs using Shopify Plus checkout extensions—the only platform offering this capability
- Custom account portals compatible with Shopify's new customer accounts system
- 8+ checkout extensions for native integration
- Apple/Google Wallet passes for mobile-first loyalty engagement
- 99.98% uptime SLA with 6M+ daily API calls processed
- Month-to-month billing without annual contract requirements
Pricing Structure
- Scale: $49/month for 200-2,500 monthly orders
- Plus: $499/month for up to 2,500 monthly orders with white-glove onboarding
- Enterprise: Custom pricing for unlimited volume with dedicated Slack support
Visit the official Rivo pricing page for current plan details.
Performance and Results
Rivo's client results demonstrate measurable retention impact across multiple verticals. HexClad generated $450K in referral revenue within the first 90 days with a 92x ROI. This performance showcases how strategic referral programs can become significant revenue channels beyond traditional loyalty points. The cookware brand leveraged Rivo's referral mechanics to turn satisfied customers into brand advocates, creating a sustainable acquisition channel.
Portland Leather Goods attributes 17% of total revenue to loyalty after migrating from another platform. This level of revenue attribution demonstrates the power of well-executed retention strategies in the competitive leather goods market. The brand's success highlights how loyalty programs can drive repeat purchases and increase customer lifetime value when properly implemented with the right tools.
According to research from Harvard Business Review, increasing customer retention rates by just 5% can increase profits by 25% to 95%, underscoring the critical importance of retention-focused platforms like Rivo.
Membership and Account Features
Unlike BON Loyalty, Rivo offers paid membership programs that create recurring revenue streams through exclusive benefits, early access, and member-only discounts. The Fresh Chile Co case study showed a 156% lift in AOV for members. Rivo Accounts consolidates wishlists, order tracking, loyalty dashboards, and referral links into personalized portals—Tuckernuck reported 2.4M wishlist favorites using this feature.
Integration Ecosystem
Rivo's 50+ integrations include advanced Klaviyo connectivity, Postscript, Gorgias, Recharge, Skio, and Shopify Flow. The developer toolkit provides REST API, JavaScript API, native Liquid metafields, and webhooks for custom implementations.
Support Resources
- 24/7 live chat on all plans
- White-glove onboarding on Plus and Enterprise tiers
- Dedicated Slack channels for enterprise clients
- Comprehensive case studies demonstrating proven results
2. Smile.io
Smile.io represents one of the most established players in the Shopify loyalty space, serving merchants globally since 2012. The platform's long-standing presence creates a polished experience for merchants prioritizing simplicity and proven reliability.
Key Smile.io Features
- Large merchant base in the Shopify loyalty category
- 4.9/5 Shopify rating from over 8,000 reviews
- Points programs, VIP tiers, and referral capabilities
- Intuitive interface requiring minimal technical expertise
- Established integration partnerships
Smile.io suits brands seeking a straightforward solution with an established track record in the loyalty space.
3. LoyaltyLion
LoyaltyLion positions itself toward merchants requiring analytics, segmentation, and revenue forecasting capabilities. The platform emphasizes data-driven loyalty optimization for scaling brands.
Key LoyaltyLion Features
- Advanced segmentation and customer forecasting tools
- 4.6/5 on G2 from reviews
- 4.6/5 Shopify rating from over 700 reviews
- Analytics dashboards
- Account management on higher tiers
LoyaltyLion serves brands requiring sophisticated forecasting and analytics as a primary loyalty focus.
4. Joy Loyalty
Joy Loyalty serves as an option for mid-market Shopify merchants seeking comprehensive loyalty features at accessible pricing points.
Key Joy Loyalty Features
- 4.9/5 Shopify rating from reviews
- Points, referrals, and VIP tier functionality
- Shopify Flow compatibility
- Standard loyalty program capabilities
Joy Loyalty suits growing brands seeking affordable loyalty functionality with room to scale.
5. Yotpo Loyalty
Yotpo offers an integrated ecosystem combining reviews, loyalty, SMS, and subscriptions for brands preferring consolidated vendor relationships.
Key Yotpo Features
- Reviews and loyalty in a unified platform
- Infrastructure for scaling brands
- SMS marketing integration
- Established customer base
- 4.3/5 on G2 from reviews
Yotpo suits brands seeking a single vendor for reviews, loyalty, and SMS marketing.
6. Growave
Growave combines loyalty, reviews, wishlists, and social login into a single application for merchants seeking consolidated functionality.
Key Growave Features
- All-in-one loyalty, reviews, and wishlist functionality
- Photo reviews and Instagram integration
- Social login capabilities
- Consolidated app management
Growave serves merchants seeking multiple features in a single application.
Why Rivo Stands Out
Rivo's position as the top BON Loyalty alternative stems from capabilities unavailable elsewhere. The platform's Shopify-exclusive focus ensures 100% investment in Shopify ecosystem optimization rather than spreading resources across multiple platforms.
Paid memberships represent Rivo's standout differentiator. No other platform in this comparison offers recurring membership programs using Shopify Plus checkout extensions. BERO (Tom Holland's non-alcoholic beer brand) achieved 1 billion impressions at launch using Rivo for omnichannel membership.
Research from Shopify's commerce trends report indicates that membership programs can increase customer lifetime value by up to 30%, making this capability particularly valuable for growth-focused brands.
Technical performance matters for conversion optimization. Rivo loads in under 100ms using Shopify theme app extensions. The platform maintains 99.98% API uptime processing over 6M+ daily calls.
Choosing the Right Platform
Choose Rivo when:
- Building paid membership programs for VIP customers
- Requiring custom account portals with wishlists and preferences
- Prioritizing Shopify Plus checkout integration with 8+ extensions
- Needing Apple/Google Wallet pass functionality
- Wanting month-to-month flexibility without annual contracts
- Seeking white-glove migration from existing platforms
The Rivo Advantage for Modern Retention
Selecting the ideal BON Loyalty alternative depends on your retention strategy, technical requirements, and growth trajectory. Rivo emerges as the clear winner for Shopify Plus brands seeking paid memberships, custom accounts, and modern checkout integration—capabilities that fundamentally transform how brands build customer relationships.
For teams requiring membership programs, developer flexibility, or advanced Shopify Plus features, Rivo provides the optimal balance of power and accessibility. The platform's proven client results demonstrate measurable retention impact across multiple verticals and business models.
According to Forbes research, loyal customers are worth up to 10 times as much as their first purchase, emphasizing the critical importance of choosing the right retention platform. Rivo's comprehensive approach addresses this reality by combining loyalty, referrals, memberships, and custom accounts into a unified ecosystem.
The future of ecommerce retention extends beyond basic points programs into memberships, personalized accounts, and mobile wallet engagement. Rivo's Shopify-exclusive focus means every feature, integration, and update optimizes specifically for Shopify merchants rather than compromising across multiple platforms. This specialization translates into faster performance, deeper integrations, and capabilities purpose-built for Shopify's unique architecture.
With proven results like HexClad's $450K in referral revenue within 90 days and Portland Leather's 17% revenue attribution to loyalty, Rivo demonstrates that strategic retention programs deliver measurable business outcomes. The platform's month-to-month billing eliminates the risk of annual commitments, allowing brands to validate results before making long-term investments.
Whether you're migrating from BON Loyalty or implementing your first retention program, Rivo's white-glove onboarding and 24/7 support ensure smooth implementation. Explore Rivo's pricing to find the plan matching your brand's retention goals and begin building a sustainable competitive advantage through customer loyalty.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I migrate from BON Loyalty to Rivo?
Yes, Rivo offers white-glove migration assistance on Plus and Enterprise plans. The migration process typically completes within 1-3 weeks depending on program complexity, ensuring your customer data, points balances, and program structure transfer seamlessly. Partners Coffee completed their migration in 3 weeks with full data integrity.
Which platform offers the best value for Shopify Plus merchants?
Rivo provides superior value for Shopify Plus merchants with paid memberships, custom accounts, and 8+ checkout extensions included in Plus and Enterprise plans. The platform's Shopify-exclusive focus ensures every feature optimizes specifically for Shopify's architecture, and month-to-month billing eliminates annual contract risk.
What makes Rivo's membership feature unique?
Rivo is the only platform offering paid membership programs using Shopify Plus checkout extensions and stackable discounts. This creates recurring revenue through exclusive benefits, early access, and member-only pricing—a capability unavailable on BON Loyalty or other alternatives. Brands like The Fresh Chile Co saw 156% AOV lifts from members.
Does Rivo support omnichannel loyalty with Shopify POS?
Yes, Rivo integrates with Shopify POS for omnichannel programs, allowing customers to earn and redeem points both online and in physical retail locations. The integration supports real-time point synchronization across channels, creating a seamless experience for customers shopping across multiple touchpoints.
How long does Rivo implementation typically take?
Implementation timelines vary by plan and complexity. Standard setups on the Scale plan can go live within days using self-service tools. Plus and Enterprise clients receive white-glove onboarding with dedicated implementation support, typically completing within 1-2 weeks. The process includes program design consultation, technical setup, and team training to ensure successful launch.
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