Wallet Loyalty Launch Checklist

How to use this checklist

This is the 30-day launch plan as a working checklist you tick off on the page: four weekly blocks, 34 checks. Work top to bottom — each week assumes the one before it is done. It is written to be vendor-neutral and works whether you run your program on PushNotice or another wallet platform.

Three of these checks are the ones most launches skip and later regret. The failure test in Week 2 (try to break your own program before a customer does). The both-platforms device test in Week 2 (install the real pass on both an iPhone and an Android phone, not just the on-screen preview). And the paper-card conversion step in Week 3 (transfer your regulars' existing stamps so your most loyal customers are not reset to zero). Do not skip them.

Before Week 1, agree on one thing: who owns this launch. A program with no named owner drifts. Write the name down.

Week 1 — Decide and design (before you build anything)

Design decisions are cheap now and expensive after launch. Settle these before a single pass exists.

• Name the one behavior you want to change

  Repeat visits, bigger baskets, or slow-day traffic — pick one. A program that chases all three measures none of them well.

• Choose your reward structure

  Points, stamps/punches, or tiers. Stamp cards convert most naturally from paper; points suit stores with variable basket sizes.

• Set the reward economics

  Know the cost of the reward against the incremental margin per visit. If the reward costs more than the extra margin it drives, the program loses money.

• Decide the enrollment moment

  At checkout, a QR on the counter, or a receipt link. The fewer taps between interested and pass-added, the higher the capture rate.

• Write the exact sentence the cashier says

  "Scan this to get your fifth coffee free" enrolls people; "join our loyalty program" does not. Script the words, not the concept.

• Pick your KPIs and record today's baseline

  Enrollment rate, repeat-visit rate, redemption rate. Write down today's numbers so Week 4 has something to compare against.

• Shortlist wallet vendors against your own criteria

  Score candidates on neutral lines: works on both Apple and Google Wallet, supports lock-screen campaigns, per-message cost, and self-serve setup.

• Confirm what customer data you may collect and store

  Check the consent language required for phone or email capture in your region before you design the enrollment flow.

• Set the launch date and a review date 30 days out

  A fixed review date is what turns a one-time launch into an ongoing program. Put both on a calendar now.

Week 2 — Build and test the pass

The pass is the product. Build it, then try hard to break it before any customer can.

• Build the pass with real brand assets

  Logo, colors, and a strip image sized to spec. Oversized images can make a pass fail to download — check each raster against the platform limit.

• Write the back-of-pass fields

  How to earn, how to redeem, store hours, and contact info. The back of the pass is your only always-available help screen.

• Add a location or relevant time so the pass can surface

  Lock-screen relevance is the entire point. A pass that never appears is just a paper card living inside a phone.

• Install the real pass on an iPhone (Apple Wallet)

  First half of the both-platforms device test. Do not trust the design preview — add the actual pass to a real device.

• Install the same pass on an Android phone (Google Wallet)

  Second half of the both-platforms test. Rendering differs across platforms; verify logo, colors, and text on both before anyone else sees it.

• Run the failure test — try to break your own program

  What happens if a customer deletes the pass, switches phones, or presents the wrong one? Write down the answer for each case now.

• Send yourself a test lock-screen campaign

  Confirm the message arrives and reads correctly. Note that Google may only show it after the wallet next syncs, so check timing on both platforms.

• Test a full redemption at the counter

  Have a staff member scan, mark, and confirm a reward on their own phone. Every fumble you find here becomes a queue at launch.

• Proofread every customer-facing string once more

  Typos on a wallet pass feel permanent — customers cannot refresh their first impression. Read it out loud.

Week 3 — Prepare the store and the staff

The program lives or dies at the register. Spend this week making the ask effortless for the people who have to make it.

• Convert your existing paper-card holders

  The paper-card conversion step: offer to transfer current stamps so loyal regulars start where they left off, not at zero.

• Print counter and window signage with a scannable QR

  One clear call to action at the point of decision beats five competing posters. Test that the code scans from a normal standing distance.

• Train every cashier on the one-sentence pitch

  Role-play it until it sounds natural. A pitch that feels awkward gets skipped whenever the line is long.

• Train staff on redemption and edge cases

  Expired reward, customer without a phone, wrong pass presented — give each a short scripted answer so no one improvises under pressure.

• Brief staff on why it matters, not just how

  Staff who understand the goal enroll customers; staff who only know the steps drop the ask when it gets busy.

• Set up the enrollment station

  A propped QR, a short link, or a tablet — whatever needs the fewest taps. Remove every friction point between counter and installed pass.

• Run a soft launch with staff, friends, and regulars

  Enroll 10 to 20 real people and watch exactly where they hesitate or get stuck.

• Fix what the soft launch surfaced

  If several people stall at the same step, that step is broken — repair it before the public date, not after.

Week 4 — Launch and measure

Going live is the start of measurement, not the finish line. Watch the numbers that reveal whether the program actually changed behavior.

• Go live on your announced date

  Turn on signage, brief the opening shift, and enroll the very first customer yourself to confirm the flow works in the wild.

• Track enrollment rate daily for the first week

  Enrollments divided by transactions. A low number usually means the ask is missing at the register, not that the offer is weak.

• Watch redemption rate, not just sign-ups

  Enrollments with no redemptions mean the reward is too far away or customers forgot they had the pass. Redemption is the real health signal.

• Send one well-timed lock-screen campaign

  A slow-day nudge or a "you're one stamp away" message. Avoid over-sending — frequent pings train people to mute or delete the pass.

• Ask three enrolled customers what they thought

  One honest sentence from a real customer finds friction faster than any dashboard.

• Compare KPIs against your Week 1 baseline

  Enrollment, repeat visits, redemption — did the one behavior you chose in Week 1 actually move?

• Decide keep, adjust, or stop for each element

  Cut the parts that did not work. A smaller program that runs reliably beats a bigger one that does not.

• Schedule the next review and confirm the owner

  Put the next review date on the named owner's calendar. A program without a scheduled check-in quietly fades.

Baseline scorecard — fill this in during Week 1

Record these on the page before launch. Without a baseline, Week 4 has no honest way to tell whether the program worked.