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Subscription-Based Loyalty Program

A subscription-based loyalty program lets customers pay a recurring fee in exchange for exclusive perks like discounts, special offers, or early access. This approach rewards your most loyal customers while creating predictable, recurring revenue.

Updated over 2 weeks ago

Prerequisites

Before getting started, ensure you have:

  • A POS with built-in discount and loyalty functionality (see Enhanced POS list)

  • Ability to create non-stock SKUs in your POS

  • Access to Customers > Audiences and Marketing > Discounts in AIQ

Before setup, decide:

  • Subscription price

  • Member benefits (discount %, $ off, exclusive perks, etc.)

  • Subscription cadence (monthly or annual)

Benefits of Subscription-Based Loyalty

  • Increased engagement
    Members interact more frequently with your brand

  • Predictable recurring revenue
    Subscription fees improve financial forecasting

  • Higher customer lifetime value
    Members tend to shop more often and remain loyal longer

  • Deeper customer insights
    Subscription activity reveals purchase behavior trends

  • Stronger ongoing relationships
    Recurring perks create continuous engagement

  • Competitive differentiation
    Member-only benefits give customers a reason to choose your brand

How to Set Up a Subscription-Based Loyalty Program in AIQ

Step 1: Create a Non-Stock SKU in Your POS

  1. Create a non-stock SKU in your POS to represent the subscription

  2. Save the exact SKU name — you will use this in AIQ

This SKU will act as the trigger identifying active subscribers.

Step 2: Create a Subscriber Audience in AIQ

  1. Navigate to Customers > Audiences

  2. Click Create Audience

  3. Configure the condition:

  • Performed Event → Purchased SKU

  • Contains → {{Membership SKU Name}}

  1. Adjust the date range based on your subscription cadence

Example:

  • Monthly subscription → Purchases within the last 30 days

  • Annual subscription → Purchases within the last 365 days

  1. Save the audience

This audience now represents your active subscribers.

Step 3: Create Subscriber Discounts

  1. Navigate to Marketing > Discounts

  2. Create a new discount

  3. Select the subscriber audience created in Step 2

  4. Configure your discount:

  • Dollar amount or percentage

  • Ecomm and/or POS settings

  1. Save and activate the discount

Now, only customers who have purchased the subscription SKU within the defined window will qualify for subscriber benefits.

Example Setup

Monthly VIP Club

  • $20/month subscription

  • 20% off all purchases

  • Audience condition: Purchased “VIP Membership” SKU within last 30 days

Annual Member Perks

  • $199/year subscription

  • $10 off every purchase

  • Audience condition: Purchased “Annual Membership” SKU within last 365 days

Need Help?

If you need help configuring subscription audiences or member discounts, reach out to AIQ Support via the chat widget in your AIQ Dashboard.

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