Haircare shoppers regularly replenish products such as shampoo, conditioner, and styling treatments. That recurring need gives brands opportunities to encourage repeat purchases, but customers can also switch to competitors when they run out of their favorite products.
Haircare loyalty programs help brands strengthen those relationships by offering points, rewards, exclusive benefits, and referral incentives.
For Shopify-based haircare businesses, that can mean combining loyalty points, VIP tiers, and referral rewards with Rivo's loyalty tools instead of relying exclusively on repeated discounts.
This guide examines how haircare and beauty brands structure their loyalty programs, which reward mechanics they use, how to measure engagement, and what businesses should consider when selecting loyalty software.
Key Takeaways
- Haircare products create recurring purchase opportunities, making replenishment and customer retention important considerations for loyalty program design.
- Deloitte research found that consumers enroll in an average of eight loyalty programs but actively participate in only five.
- Loyalty programs can combine purchase-based points with VIP tiers, birthday rewards, reviews, referrals, and subscription-related benefits.
- Kérastase Club, Moroccanoil Rewards, Club OUAI, and Bask & Lather's rewards program illustrate different approaches to customer engagement.
- Outstanding loyalty points can create future redemption costs and accounting obligations, depending on program terms and applicable accounting requirements.
- A strong program should measure redemption activity, repeat purchases, average order value, referral revenue, and the actual costs of rewards.
- Rivo provides Shopify-focused Loyalty, Referrals, Cashback, Accounts, and Memberships, with product access and pricing depending on the selected configuration.
Why Do Haircare Loyalty Programs Matter for Ecommerce Brands?
Haircare brands compete in a market where product replenishment, customer preferences, and brand trust can influence repeat purchases.
According to Grand View Research, the global luxury haircare market was valued at $23.2 billion in 2024.
North America accounted for 32.9% of global luxury haircare market revenue that year.
Specialty stores represented 31.83% of luxury haircare distribution in 2024, reflecting the importance of retail environments where customers can discover products and receive personalized recommendations.
These figures describe the luxury haircare segment rather than the entire haircare market.
For ecommerce businesses, loyalty programs can help maintain customer relationships after an initial purchase.
Brands can use rewards to encourage replenishment, product discovery, referrals, and participation in customer communities.
The Retention Math Behind Repeat Haircare Purchases
Enrolling customers in a loyalty program does not automatically mean they will continue purchasing.
According to Deloitte's research on customer loyalty, consumers belong to an average of eight loyalty programs but actively participate in only five.
This gap highlights the importance of offering benefits that customers find relevant and attainable.
Haircare brands can evaluate loyalty program effectiveness by comparing repeat purchases, redemption behavior, and order values among different customer groups.
However, higher spending among loyalty participants does not automatically prove that the program caused the difference.
Customers who already purchase frequently may also be more likely to join or use a loyalty program.
For perspective, Ulta Beauty reported more than 46 million members in its rewards program at the end of fiscal 2025.
According to Ulta's annual filing, approximately 95% of its US sales during fiscal 2025 came from loyalty members.
Those figures illustrate the role loyalty programs can play in a major beauty retailer's customer relationships, although they do not establish that the same results are achievable for smaller haircare brands.
How Do Haircare Brands Structure Loyalty Programs Today?
Haircare brands use different combinations of points, VIP tiers, referrals, and exclusive benefits.
Several established programs illustrate how these approaches work in practice.
Points, Tiers, and Perks: Kérastase Club
Kérastase operates Kérastase Club, a complimentary loyalty program for customers shopping through its US website.
Members earn points from eligible purchases and selected activities.
The program currently has three tiers:
- Dreamer: 2 points per $1 spent.
- Lover: 4 points per $1 spent.
- Muse: 6 points per $1 spent.
Customers progress through tiers according to qualifying spending during the calendar year.
Members can also earn points for activities such as creating an account, writing product reviews, referring friends, completing hair diagnoses, and purchasing qualifying refillable products.
Kérastase also offers points for eligible auto-replenishment orders.
However, points cannot currently be applied toward the total value of automatically processed replenishment orders.
Program benefits include free shipping, birthday gifts, exclusive offers, early access to products, and selected gifts.
Members can redeem points for gifts from the Rewards Boutique or use eligible points as full or partial payment on an order.
Kérastase states that points generally expire 12 months after the date they are earned.
Tiered Rewards for Haircare Customers: Moroccanoil
Moroccanoil operates Moroccanoil Rewards, a complimentary consumer loyalty program available through its US website.
Members earn one point for every eligible dollar spent.
The program also offers additional earning opportunities through qualifying reviews, referrals, and social media activities.
Moroccanoil identifies three consumer loyalty tiers: Original, Icon, and Gold.
Members join at the Original level and can progress to Icon after reaching 150 points and Gold after reaching 400 points.
Rewards include products from Moroccanoil's Rewards Boutique, discounts toward future purchases, birthday points, and special gifts with qualifying purchases.
Moroccanoil states that points expire after 12 months of account inactivity.
The company has also operated professional-channel loyalty arrangements, but those should be distinguished from its current consumer-facing rewards program.
For haircare brands, Moroccanoil demonstrates how a purchase-based points program can incorporate product reviews, referrals, and promotional rewards without being limited to transaction discounts.
Subscription-Linked Rewards: Bask & Lather
Bask & Lather connects its loyalty tiers with both customer spending and subscription participation.
Its published rewards program includes three tiers:
- Growth Starter: Available upon sign-up, with a 1x points multiplier.
- Routine Builder: Available after $150 in qualifying spending, with a 1.25x multiplier.
- Results Achiever: Available to subscribers, with a 1.5x multiplier.
The program also advertises birthday bonuses, exclusive promotions, early access to selected products, and subscription-related rewards.
Subscriber benefits include access to a subscription punch-card program and the ability to apply eligible points toward subscription purchases.
This approach makes subscription participation part of the loyalty experience rather than treating recurring orders as entirely separate from rewards.
Brands considering similar programs should verify which subscription events can earn or redeem rewards and how those events are synchronized with their loyalty platform.
Engagement-Based Rewards: Club OUAI
OUAI operates Club OUAI, a free loyalty program currently available to US residents.
The program rewards both purchases and selected customer activities.
Club OUAI has three tiers:
- OUAI Curious: 1 point per $1 spent.
- OUAI Official: 1.5 points per $1 spent after $150 in qualifying purchases.
- All the OUAI: 2 points per $1 spent after $250 in qualifying purchases.
Members can earn points for product reviews, Instagram and TikTok follows, birthday activities, and successful referrals.
For example, OUAI advertises 50 points for an eligible product review and 200 points for a qualifying friend referral.
Customers can redeem points for discounts, with eligible higher-tier members also gaining access to selected product rewards.
Club OUAI points expire six months after they are earned.
OUAI demonstrates how a haircare loyalty program can encourage digital engagement alongside repeat purchases.
What Are the Key Features of a Strong Haircare Rewards Program?
Effective haircare rewards programs usually combine several incentive mechanisms.
The appropriate combination depends on product pricing, purchase frequency, customer preferences, and available margins.
Points Per Dollar Spent
Points-per-dollar programs allow customers to accumulate rewards through qualifying purchases.
For example, Kérastase uses different earning rates for its three loyalty tiers, while Moroccanoil provides points on eligible purchases through its US website.
Shopify loyalty software can support similar earning and redemption structures.
Businesses can configure points for purchases and allow customers to exchange them for eligible discounts or rewards.
The value of each point should be determined using product margins, expected redemption rates, and reward costs.
Brands should also define what happens when orders are refunded or canceled.
Tiered Rewards Systems
Tiered programs provide additional benefits as customers meet spending or engagement requirements.
Kérastase Club, Club OUAI, and Bask & Lather all illustrate different ways to structure tier progression.
Tiers can reward customers with higher earning rates, birthday bonuses, free shipping, exclusive gifts, and earlier access to selected products.
However, brands should ensure that higher tiers remain attainable and that their benefits justify the additional program costs.
A tiered structure is not automatically more effective than a points-only program.
Its performance depends on whether customers understand the benefits and have realistic opportunities to reach them.
Exclusive Member Discounts and Memberships
Membership-style rewards can provide customers with recurring benefits rather than relying exclusively on points.
These benefits may include member-only discounts, exclusive products, special promotions, or shipping perks.
For Shopify merchants, Rivo offers a Memberships product that supports paid and free membership experiences, with tier-specific benefits and other membership-related functionality.
Memberships should not be confused with loyalty VIP tiers or subscription-product billing.
Although these systems can work together, they serve different purposes and may require separate software configurations.
Birthday Rewards
Birthday rewards can give customers an additional reason to interact with a brand outside their normal replenishment cycle.
Kérastase, Moroccanoil, OUAI, and Bask & Lather all advertise birthday-related rewards.
Depending on the program, these may involve bonus points, gifts, or special offers.
Merchants should specify eligibility requirements, redemption periods, expiration rules, and whether customers must join before their birthday.
Birthday rewards are best evaluated through redemption activity and the value of resulting purchases rather than assuming they automatically increase retention.
Referral Program Bonuses
Referral programs encourage existing customers to recommend products to friends.
Kérastase Club, Club OUAI, and Moroccanoil Rewards all advertise referral-related earning opportunities.
For example, Club OUAI awards points when a referred customer completes a qualifying purchase under its program rules.
A successful referral program needs clear eligibility conditions, reward timing, and controls against self-referrals or other abuse.
Brands should also monitor how many referred customers complete their first purchase and how those customers behave afterward.
How Do Loyalty Software Options for Haircare Brands Compare?
Haircare businesses should evaluate software based on the functions they need rather than the number of advertised features alone.
Some applications specialize in points and discounts, while others combine loyalty with referrals, VIP tiers, reviews, memberships, or customer accounts.
Platforms such as Growave offer loyalty and review functionality for Shopify merchants.
Other applications focus on individual capabilities, including points programs or membership benefits.
Rivo provides Shopify-focused Loyalty, Referrals, Cashback, Accounts, and Memberships as connected retention products.
Its Loyalty Scale plan starts at $49 per month, with pricing dependent on monthly order volume.
Cashback starts at $199 per month, while Accounts starts at $499 per month.
Businesses requiring several products can request a custom configuration.
These additional products should not be assumed to be included automatically in the Scale subscription.
For haircare merchants, relevant comparison criteria include earning and redemption rules, VIP-tier configuration, subscription integrations, reporting, Shopify POS compatibility, and the overall subscription cost.
Connecting Loyalty to a POS and Ecommerce Stack
Haircare brands selling online and through physical retail locations may need loyalty systems that connect purchases across channels.
A customer might discover a product in-store, purchase it online, and return to the physical location to buy another item.
A connected loyalty experience can make earning and redeeming rewards more consistent.
However, merchants should verify how their chosen software handles customer identification, points synchronization, order returns, and redemptions across channels.
Rivo documents native Shopify POS integration for loyalty earning and redemption, with the number of supported POS locations depending on the selected plan.
It also provides integrations with subscription platforms and marketing applications.
Businesses should verify the specific integration capabilities relevant to their store before implementation.
What Mistakes Do Haircare Brands Make with Rewards Programs?
Haircare loyalty programs can become expensive or ineffective when brands focus on enrollment without understanding reward economics and customer engagement.
Treating Points as Free Marketing
Loyalty points are not automatically free incentives.
Outstanding rewards may create future redemption costs and accounting obligations, depending on the program's terms and applicable accounting standards.
Brands should consider expected redemptions, point expiration, reward costs, and potential financial liabilities.
A points program can also reduce realized revenue or contribution margin when rewards are redeemed.
However, these costs must be evaluated alongside any incremental purchases, higher retention, or other benefits generated by the program.
Rewards That Take Too Long to Earn
Customers may lose interest in a program when rewards require excessive spending or participation.
McKinsey's research identifies difficult redemption thresholds, unappealing rewards, redemption problems, and forgotten memberships as challenges in loyalty program engagement.
Haircare brands should make earning rules easy to understand and offer rewards that customers can realistically reach.
For a replenishable product category, that may mean allowing customers to earn meaningful benefits through purchases they would reasonably make over time.
Ignoring Why Points Expire
Expiration rules can affect both customer satisfaction and reward costs.
Points that expire without redemption may reduce outstanding reward obligations, depending on the program's terms and accounting treatment.
However, expiration can also disappoint customers who believe they were close to receiving a reward.
Brands should explain expiration rules clearly and consider sending timely reminders before points expire.
The objective should be a financially sustainable program that customers still perceive as valuable.
What Metrics Show Whether a Haircare Loyalty Program Is Working?
Haircare brands should assess loyalty performance using more than the number of customers enrolled.
Important metrics include:
- Participation rate: The percentage of enrolled customers who actively earn or redeem rewards.
- Redemption rate: The proportion of available or earned rewards redeemed during a defined period.
- Average order value: How spending differs between relevant loyalty customer groups.
- Repeat purchase rate: Whether customers return for subsequent purchases.
- Purchase frequency: How often customers reorder during a comparable period.
- Referral-driven revenue: Revenue attributed to qualifying referral purchases.
- Reward costs: The value of points, discounts, gifts, and other incentives provided.
- Financial ROI: The incremental contribution generated by the program compared with its full operating cost.
Merchants should also distinguish attributed revenue from incremental revenue.
A loyalty customer may have purchased even without receiving a reward.
Comparing customer groups over equivalent time periods and, where practical, using controlled experiments can help brands better understand program impact.
How Does Rivo Support Haircare Loyalty Programs?
For Shopify and Shopify Plus haircare brands, Rivo provides loyalty and retention products designed to connect customer rewards with ecommerce activity.
Rivo Loyalty supports points-based rewards, VIP tiers, referrals, and reporting.
Its broader product portfolio also includes Cashback, Accounts, and Memberships, which can be combined through appropriate subscriptions or custom configurations.
Rivo supports Shopify storefront experiences and checkout-related integrations, with specific capabilities depending on the plan and Shopify configuration.
Kitsch: Loyalty and Referral Engagement
Kitsch, a beauty and haircare accessories brand, uses Rivo for its loyalty and referral programs.
According to the Kitsch case study, the company reported:
- More than $5.8 million in loyalty-attributed revenue.
- An 8.7x higher repeat purchase rate among customers in its highest VIP tier.
- More than 1.2 million customers activated and engaging with the program.
- More than $62,000 in revenue from referrals.
- More than one million reward redemptions.
These are results reported by Rivo for Kitsch's implementation, not performance guarantees for other brands.
Emi Jay: Sparkle Rewards
Emi Jay, a hair accessories brand, launched Sparkle Rewards using Rivo.
The program allows customers to earn Sparkles through qualifying purchases and redeem them for rewards.
According to the Emi Jay case study, more than 4,000 customers joined the rewards program.
Rivo also reported that Sparkle Rewards members accounted for 10% of sales and that the program had an 8% points-redemption rate.
The 10% figure describes sales attributed to rewards members, not a proven 10% incremental increase in total revenue.
Rivo Analytics and Reporting
Rivo's Analytics Home helps merchants evaluate loyalty, referral, and customer engagement performance.
Its documented reporting capabilities include Rivo-attributed revenue, customer lifetime value, repeat purchase rates, referral revenue, redemption metrics, and comparisons between relevant customer groups.
Merchants should confirm the reporting features available under their selected subscription.
Rivo also provides migration resources for brands moving from other loyalty software.
The scope of a migration depends on the source platform, data quality, available integrations, and program requirements.
Shopify haircare brands can request a demo to explore how Rivo's loyalty and retention products fit their existing storefront and customer experience.
Final Thoughts
Haircare loyalty programs can help brands build stronger relationships with customers who regularly replenish products.
Successful programs typically combine accessible rewards with benefits that reflect customer shopping behavior.
Kérastase Club, Moroccanoil Rewards, Club OUAI, and Bask & Lather illustrate how brands use points, VIP tiers, digital engagement, referrals, and subscription-related incentives.
However, a program's value depends on how well those benefits encourage meaningful customer engagement without creating unsustainable reward costs.
Brands should monitor participation, redemption, repeat purchases, referral activity, and financial performance.
For Shopify and Shopify Plus merchants, Rivo offers connected Loyalty, Referrals, Cashback, Accounts, and Memberships products with plan-dependent functionality and pricing.
The appropriate software configuration depends on the brand's sales channels, customer behavior, existing systems, and retention goals.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a loyalty program in the beauty industry?
A beauty loyalty program rewards eligible customers for repeat purchases and other qualifying activities. Common benefits include points, discounts, exclusive products, VIP tiers, birthday gifts, and referral incentives. The precise earning and redemption rules depend on the brand.
How do haircare loyalty programs increase repeat purchases?
Haircare loyalty programs can encourage repeat purchases by rewarding product replenishment and giving customers benefits for continuing to shop with a brand. Points, VIP tiers, and exclusive offers provide incentives to return, although their impact depends on customer preferences, reward value, and program design.
What should a haircare loyalty program reward?
A haircare loyalty program can reward qualifying purchases, referrals, reviews, birthday activities, and other forms of customer engagement. Kérastase Club and Club OUAI provide examples of programs that reward more than purchases alone. Brands should select earning actions that align with customer behavior and commercial goals.
How many points should customers earn per dollar?
There is no universal points-per-dollar standard. Kérastase Club currently awards 2, 4, or 6 points per dollar depending on the customer's tier, while Club OUAI awards 1, 1.5, or 2 points per dollar. Merchants should determine their own earning rates using reward value, margins, and expected redemption costs.
Are tiered loyalty programs better than points-only programs?
Neither structure is universally better. Tiered programs can offer additional benefits for higher spending or engagement, while points-only programs may be simpler for customers to understand. Brands should evaluate which structure produces meaningful participation and repeat purchasing without excessive costs.
Why do loyalty programs fail to retain customers?
Loyalty programs may underperform when rewards are difficult to earn, benefits are unattractive, redemption is confusing, or customers forget about the program. Poorly communicated expiration rules can also reduce customer satisfaction. Brands should monitor participation and redemption alongside financial results.
How can a haircare brand reward product reviews and referrals?
Haircare brands can configure loyalty programs to award points for eligible product reviews and successful referrals. Kérastase Club, Moroccanoil Rewards, and Club OUAI all document these types of earning activities. Businesses should establish eligibility rules and fraud controls before launching review or referral incentives.
How do subscriptions work with loyalty programs?
Subscription activity can be connected to loyalty rewards through supported subscription integrations or program-specific rules. Bask & Lather, for example, provides a subscriber-linked VIP tier and subscription-related reward benefits. Merchants should verify the earning, redemption, and renewal events supported by their chosen software.
How much does it cost to create a loyalty program?
Loyalty program costs depend on the software, monthly order volume, required features, and rewards offered. Rivo's Loyalty Scale plan starts at $49 per month, while additional retention products have separate prices. Brands should also account for discounts, free products, shipping benefits, implementation work, and ongoing program management when estimating total costs.
