Loyalty members against non-members: the real value gap
What the answer looks like
Illustrative output on sample data
Illustrative example: how Lexi answers this for a salad chain with 35 locations. It compares loyalty app members with matched non-members over the past 12 months, using POS and app orders.
- Members: 3.2 visits a month, $15.40 average check, 68% returned within 12 months
- Non-members: 1.1 visits a month, $14.10 average check, 31% returned
- Raw gap: about $520 a year per guest
What the data shows
Members visit almost three times as often and return at more than twice the rate.
What it means
Before joining, the same members already visited 2.1 times a month. The program likely adds about one visit a month, worth around $185 a year.
What to do
Report the $185 as the program's value, and focus sign-up offers on guests who visit about once a month.
Want me to show members' visits before and after joining?
Why it matters
Members almost always look more valuable, partly because your best guests are the ones who join. Comparing the two groups, and checking members' behavior before they joined, shows how much value the program actually adds and whether its cost is earning a return.
Frequently asked questions
Are loyalty members really worth more?
Usually, but part of the gap would exist without the program, because frequent guests are the most likely to join. Compare members' behavior before and after joining, or against similar non-members, to see the value the program adds on its own.
How should restaurants compare members and non-members?
Use the same period and the same measures for both groups: visit frequency, average check and return rate. Match non-members by guest record so card and cash visits count properly, otherwise non-members will look less frequent than they are.
Who should restaurants target for loyalty sign-up?
Guests who visit occasionally and could visit more often gain the most from joining. Your most frequent guests will visit anyway, so sign-up offers aimed at them mostly add cost. Look at who increased visits after joining in the past.