If you're running a Shopify Plus store and evaluating loyalty platforms, Loyoly might be on your radar. But before committing, it's worth understanding where Loyoly fits in the broader retention landscape and how it compares with Shopify-focused alternatives like Rivo. The loyalty platform market has evolved significantly, and larger brands often need more than basic points programs. They may also need referrals, customer accounts, developer access, cashback, memberships, and integrations that can support a more sophisticated retention strategy.
Customer retention has a meaningful impact on ecommerce economics. Harvard Business Review has noted that acquiring customers can be substantially more expensive than retaining existing ones, while Bain has long argued that relatively small improvements in retention can produce outsized profit effects, although the magnitude varies by company and industry.
Loyoly now offers a broader feature set than a traditional points app, including loyalty and VIP programs, referrals, UGC and review missions, store credit and cashback, checkout extensions, wallet passes, automation, analytics, Shopify POS, and more than 30 integrations. For fast-growing DTC brands on Shopify Plus, however, differences remain around paid memberships, developer access, customer-account infrastructure, plan restrictions, and how deeply each platform focuses on Shopify.
Key Takeaways
- Loyoly provides points programs, referrals, VIP tiers, store credit and cashback, wallet functionality, Shopify POS support, automation, and more than 30 integrations, with capabilities varying by plan.
- Loyoly's public product and pricing pages do not currently list a dedicated paid-membership product, while Rivo Memberships supports recurring monthly or annual memberships for qualifying Shopify Plus brands.
- Both platforms support cashback and store credit. Rivo Cashback uses ledger-backed store credit with configurable earning and expiry functionality.
- Loyoly Premium includes more than six loyalty and referral extensions, while Rivo publicly documents more than seven checkout extensions and points redemption within Shopify checkout.
- Rivo reports more than $1.5B in revenue generated for brands and a 52x median ROI based on weighted case-study medians. These figures are Rivo-reported rather than independent industry benchmarks.
- Rivo pricing currently starts at $49+ per month for Scale, with unlimited integrations across paid plans.
What Loyoly Offers: Platform Overview
Loyoly positions itself as a post-purchase engagement platform covering loyalty, referrals, and wallet-based engagement.
Core Loyoly features include:
- Points-based earning rules for purchases and customer actions
- Referral programs with fraud protection
- VIP tier structures
- UGC and review-based earning activities
- Store credit and cashback
- Apple and Google Wallet functionality
- Shopify POS support
- Automation flows
- Checkout and customer-account extensions
- Analytics and reporting
- Integrations with more than 30 ecommerce, CRM, reviews, subscription, and support tools
Loyoly's current pricing page lists Lite at £99/month and Premium at £449/month on its UK-facing page, with Enterprise priced on a custom basis. Its FAQ describes pricing as starting at $99/month, so merchants should confirm the applicable currency and order-volume pricing directly with Loyoly for their market. Lite includes up to two integrations, while Premium and Enterprise list unlimited integrations.
These capabilities make Loyoly substantially more than a basic points platform. The more useful comparison for Shopify Plus teams is therefore not whether Loyoly supports modern loyalty mechanics, but how its retention stack, plan structure, developer access, and adjacent products compare with Rivo.
Key Feature Considerations for Shopify Plus Brands
Paid Membership Programs
Paid memberships are one area where the platforms currently differ more clearly.
Loyoly's current public product, pricing, and FAQ pages describe loyalty, referrals, wallet functionality, VIP tiers, subscriptions integrations, and cashback, but do not list a dedicated native paid-membership product.
Rivo Memberships, by comparison, explicitly supports customized paid membership products with recurring monthly or annual billing. Rivo also documents stackable discounts, Shopify checkout extensions, early-access benefits, customer subscription management, and integration with its broader loyalty ecosystem. Rivo currently states that the Memberships product is for Shopify Plus brands above $5M GMV and limits new installations to four per month.
For brands specifically planning a paid loyalty or Prime-style membership, that is a meaningful product distinction.
Cashback and Store Credit Systems
Cashback is no longer a clear feature gap between Loyoly and Rivo.
Loyoly now offers Store Credit & Cashback Rewards. Its official documentation says customers can receive store credit in their wallet and use it automatically as a payment method at checkout. On Loyoly's pricing page, store credit and cashback are listed beginning with Premium.
Rivo Cashback also provides store-credit-based cashback. Rivo describes it as ledger-backed store credit, with configurable earning percentages, automatic expiry, balance visibility in Rivo Accounts, analytics, and the ability to run cashback with or without a loyalty program.
Brands evaluating the two should therefore compare implementation details, pricing, analytics, expiration controls, account experience, and how cashback connects to the rest of their retention stack rather than treating cashback as exclusive to either platform.
Checkout Integration Depth
Shopify checkout is an important part of the loyalty experience because customers benefit from being able to view and use rewards without leaving the purchase flow.
Loyoly's Premium and Enterprise plans advertise more than six loyalty and referral extensions, including product-page, customer-account, and checkout extensions.
Rivo documents more than seven checkout extensions and allows customers to use loyalty points within checkout. Its developer materials position these integrations around Shopify's current checkout extensibility architecture.
Both therefore offer modern Shopify checkout functionality. Shopify Plus merchants should compare the exact extensions required for their program instead of assuming one platform has checkout integration while the other does not.
Developer and API Access
Developer access is a clearer area of differentiation.
Loyoly's current pricing page lists Developer Toolkit Access under Enterprise. The platform also supports webhooks and custom engagement actions.
Rivo's Developer Toolkit publicly documents a REST API, JavaScript API, Shopify-native metafields, webhooks, and Shopify Flow. These tools allow technical teams to display Rivo data in custom storefront experiences, create integrations, and automate loyalty workflows.
For brands with an in-house development team or Shopify Plus agency building highly customized experiences, the scope and availability of developer tooling should be evaluated closely.
Loyoly Limitations: Where Rivo May Be a Better Fit
Loyoly has expanded significantly, so the case for Rivo should focus on specific differences rather than suggesting Loyoly only provides basic loyalty features.
- Paid memberships are not currently listed as a native Loyoly product. Brands specifically looking to charge for monthly or annual membership tiers can evaluate Rivo Memberships, which explicitly supports recurring membership billing and Shopify Plus checkout experiences.
- Developer access is more restricted by plan on Loyoly. Loyoly lists Developer Toolkit Access on Enterprise, while Rivo's Developer Toolkit publicly documents REST API, JavaScript API, metafields, webhooks, and Shopify Flow functionality as part of its developer platform.
- Loyoly Lite caps integrations at two. Premium and Enterprise remove that limit, but Rivo pricing currently advertises unlimited integrations on every paid loyalty plan.
- Cashback is not included at Loyoly's entry tier. Store credit and cashback appear beginning with Premium. Brands that want to combine loyalty, cashback, memberships, and account experiences should compare that packaging with Rivo's broader retention products.
- Rivo offers a dedicated customer-account product. Rivo Accounts includes Shopify New Customer Accounts compatibility, wishlist and saves, order information, personalization, recommendations, and connections to other retention functions. Loyoly supports customer-profile management and account extensions, but its public product positioning centers more heavily on loyalty, referrals, wallet, and engagement mechanics.
- Rivo is focused specifically on Shopify retention. Loyoly supports Shopify, Shopify Plus, and PrestaShop. For companies that want a platform built specifically around Shopify's ecosystem, Rivo's Shopify loyalty platform may be the more focused fit.
Rivo Platform Capabilities
When evaluating retention platforms for Shopify Plus, understanding the complete product stack can help determine which capabilities are relevant to a brand's roadmap.
Points and Rewards
Rivo advertises more than 150 platform features and supports points programs, earning and redemption rules, VIP tiers, cashback, customer-profile management, integrations, and other retention functionality.
VIP Tier Structures
Rivo supports VIP tiers based on spend, order count, or points earned, with customizable benefits and loyalty communications.
Referral Programs
Rivo's referral offering includes dedicated referral experiences and fraud controls. Its HexClad case study states that Rivo's fraud engine uses more than 20 fraud-prevention checks.
Referral marketing also has long-standing evidence behind its credibility as an acquisition channel. In Nielsen's 2012 Global Trust in Advertising study, 92% of surveyed consumers said they trusted recommendations from people they knew. Because the study is from 2012, it is best treated as historical evidence rather than a current consumer benchmark.
Customer Account Features
Rivo Accounts is compatible with Shopify's new customer accounts and documents passwordless login, order information, wishlist and save functionality, personalization, product recommendations, and connections to loyalty, referrals, returns, and profile management.
Performance Metrics from Rivo Brands
Real-world case studies provide a more defensible picture of platform performance than a single generalized benchmark because program results vary widely by brand, customer base, rewards structure, and implementation.
HexClad generated more than $450,000 in referral revenue during its first 90 days using Rivo Referrals, with a reported 92x ROI and 17% higher AOV among referred customers.
Portland Leather Goods reported that 17.4% of total store revenue during the cited Q2 and Q3 2025 period was tied to loyalty orders after moving to Rivo. The case study also reports more than 250,000 new members and more than $100,000 in referral revenue.
OSEA Malibu reported a $167 AOV among loyalty redeemers, 40% above total site AOV, alongside a 77% repeat purchase rate among redeemers and 5.5x more orders compared with non-members.
nuuds reported a 3.2x higher lifetime repeat purchase rate for paid members, 3.1x higher customer lifetime value, and 37% higher AOV on member orders.
These results are individual Rivo customer case studies, not guaranteed outcomes for every merchant.
Bain has long connected customer retention with improved economics, including research showing that even relatively small improvements in retention can significantly increase profitability in some industries. Actual effects depend on margins, customer behavior, acquisition costs, and other business-specific factors.
Migration Considerations
For brands currently using another platform, migration requirements depend heavily on program complexity and the data that must be preserved.
Rivo offers migration and onboarding support. Individual migrations can vary substantially.
Partners Coffee moved its paid membership program to Rivo in three weeks, including more than 640 paid members. The case study describes the project as covering design, migration, implementation, and launch.
Loyoly also advertises free migration on its current pricing page, so migration assistance itself is not unique to Rivo.
Brands considering a switch should confirm exactly which balances, tiers, referral data, membership records, historical activity, and custom integrations can be transferred before setting a migration timeline.
Modern Shopify Architecture Compatibility
Shopify's checkout and customer-account architecture has changed substantially in recent years, making compatibility with current Shopify extension systems important for Shopify Plus merchants.
Rivo's Memberships product explicitly uses Shopify checkout extensions and stackable discounts rather than Shopify Scripts or checkout.liquid.
Rivo also supports Shopify Flow and Shopify-native metafields through its developer tooling.
Loyoly likewise offers Shopify checkout extensions, customer-account extensions, Shopify Flow integration, and Shopify POS support.
The distinction is therefore not “modern versus legacy.” Both platforms currently support modern Shopify capabilities. The practical question is which platform's architecture, developer access, and adjacent products fit the merchant's requirements.
Platform Pricing Approaches
Pricing differs considerably between Loyoly and Rivo, and merchants should compare both feature access and order-volume thresholds.
Loyoly currently lists three principal tiers on its official pricing page:
- Lite: £99/month on the UK pricing page
- Premium: £449/month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing with unlimited volume
Loyoly also offers separate Loyalty and Referral options and a combined bundle. Lite allows up to two integrations, while Premium and Enterprise list unlimited integrations. Store credit and cashback appear beginning with Premium, and Developer Toolkit Access is listed for Enterprise. Loyoly offers a seven-day trial on Lite.
Rivo pricing currently lists:
- Scale: $49+/month, with pricing from $49 to $499 depending on usage and 200 to 2,500 monthly orders
- Plus: $499/month for up to 2,500 monthly orders
- Enterprise: Custom pricing with unlimited order volume
Rivo lists unlimited integrations across paid plans and month-to-month billing. Its pricing table currently shows a seven-day trial for Scale.
For price-sensitive brands, the relevant comparison is not simply starting price. Teams should compare the exact tier required for VIP functionality, cashback, integrations, checkout extensions, developer access, support, and any adjacent products they plan to deploy.
Integration Ecosystem
Retention platforms work best when loyalty data can move into the rest of a merchant's marketing and commerce stack.
Rivo currently advertises 50+ native integrations. Its directory includes Klaviyo, Postscript, Attentive, Gorgias, Recharge, Skio, Loop Subscriptions, Okendo, Junip, Judge.me, Shopify POS, Shopify Flow, Tapcart, Zendesk, and other tools.
Loyoly currently advertises more than 30 integrations covering ecommerce, CRM, reviews, POS, subscriptions, support, surveys, translation, and social platforms. Its listed integrations include Shopify, PrestaShop, Shopify POS, Klaviyo, Braze, HubSpot, Omnisend, Gorgias, Recharge, Judge.me, Trustpilot, and others.
Rivo therefore has a larger published integration directory, but both platforms support many of the major tools used by ecommerce brands.
Why Rivo Fits Fast-Growing Shopify Plus Brands
For Shopify Plus brands that view retention as a strategic growth function, Rivo offers a Shopify-focused platform spanning loyalty, referrals, memberships, cashback, accounts, store credit, and related retention experiences.
One of the strongest differentiators is product breadth beyond a traditional loyalty program. Rivo Memberships provides recurring paid memberships for qualifying Shopify Plus brands, while Rivo Accounts provides a dedicated personalized customer-account layer.
Rivo also gives technical teams access to a documented Developer Toolkit covering REST API, JavaScript API, metafields, webhooks, and Shopify Flow.
Pricing for the core loyalty platform currently starts at $49+ per month on Scale, with unlimited integrations across paid plans and month-to-month billing.
Loyoly has become a substantially more capable competitor than a basic points app, particularly after adding cashback, wallet functionality, checkout extensions, and broader automation. For Shopify Plus companies whose roadmap specifically includes native paid memberships, a dedicated customer-account product, deeper developer tooling, and a Shopify-focused retention stack, however, Rivo offers a combination of capabilities that is worth evaluating.
If those capabilities align with your retention roadmap, you can request a Rivo demo to evaluate the platform against your program requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does passwordless account activation improve loyalty program participation?
Passwordless account activation can reduce the number of steps customers need to take before viewing loyalty benefits or account information. Rivo Accounts officially supports passwordless login, and Rivo reports that some nine-figure brands have experienced 500% to 1,000% increases in newly activated accounts after using its account activation technology. Because this is a Rivo-reported result rather than an independent benchmark, brands should treat it as a vendor case-performance claim rather than an expected outcome.
Can platforms support paid membership programs similar to Amazon Prime?
Capabilities vary by platform. Loyoly's current public product and pricing materials do not list a dedicated native paid-membership product. Rivo Memberships supports customized membership products with recurring monthly or annual billing, stackable discounts, checkout extensions, and subscriber self-service. Rivo currently states that the product is intended for Shopify Plus brands above $5M GMV and that it limits new membership installations to four per month.
What happens to customer data during platform migrations?
The data that can be transferred depends on the source platform, program design, and migration process, so brands should not assume every historical element will automatically move. Rivo provides migration support, and its Partners Coffee case study documents a three-week migration involving more than 640 paid members. Loyoly also advertises free migration. Merchants should confirm the treatment of points balances, tiers, referral records, membership data, historical activity, and integrations before setting a launch date.
How do cashback programs differ from traditional points systems?
Cashback generally presents rewards in a currency-denominated value, while points programs use a separate reward currency whose redemption value depends on program rules. Both Rivo and Loyoly currently support store-credit-based cashback. Loyoly says its store credit can be credited to the customer's wallet and automatically applied at checkout, while Rivo describes its cashback as ledger-backed store credit with configurable earning percentages, expiry settings, account balance visibility, and analytics.
What checkout integration features improve loyalty redemption experiences?
Modern loyalty platforms can place rewards and program information directly within Shopify's shopping and checkout journey. Loyoly's Premium and Enterprise plans list product-page, customer-account, and checkout extensions, while Rivo documents more than seven checkout extensions and the ability to use loyalty points during checkout. The best option depends on the exact redemption, account, membership, and merchandising experiences a merchant needs rather than the extension count alone.
