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Should You Reward Reviews, Follows, and Sign-Ups?

Points can reward any action you track - reviews, referrals, follows. Reward the ones that give you something back, price them honestly, and keep purchases the main event.

By haris.velic

August 11, 2026

4 min read

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Most loyalty programs reward one thing: spending money. Earn points per dollar, redeem for a discount, repeat. But points can reward any action you can track - writing a review, following on social, joining your list - and used well, non-purchase earning fills the long gaps between orders and deepens the relationship. Used badly, it hands out real value for actions that don't move your business. The difference is knowing which actions are worth points and which aren't.

Here's how to decide.

Why Reward Anything Other Than Purchases

Purchases are the goal, so why pay points for anything else? Two reasons.

First, timing. Most customers buy infrequently, which means long stretches where a purchase-only program has no reason to engage them. Non-purchase actions give the program something to reward - and a reason to stay in touch - between orders. Second, value creation. A review, a referral, or a social follow has real marketing value to you, so rewarding it isn't a giveaway - it's paying for something useful at a points rate you control.

The principle: reward non-purchase actions that either keep customers engaged between buys or produce something genuinely valuable to your store.

The Actions Worth Rewarding

Some non-purchase actions earn their points clearly:

Product reviews - reviews drive conversion for every future shopper, so a review is content you'd otherwise pay for. High value, worth rewarding.
Referrals - a referral brings a pre-qualified new customer at a fraction of ad cost. The single most valuable non-purchase action there is.
Account or profile completion - captures data and consent that make every later message more effective.
Newsletter or SMS sign-up - opens a marketing channel you own, worth a modest one-time reward.
Birthday capture - unlocks a high-performing personalized touch later.

Each of these gives you something back, which is what separates a smart earning rule from a cost.

The Actions to Be Careful With

Social follows and similar low-commitment actions sit in a grey zone.

A social follow is easy to give and easy to fake, and a follow doesn't reliably translate into value the way a review or referral does. It's fine as a small, one-time earn - but keep the points low, and don't let low-effort actions be worth more than a purchase. The failure mode is a customer racking up a redeemable reward entirely from follows and sign-ups without ever buying anything. Non-purchase earning should supplement purchase earning, never replace it.

Keep the Rate Honest

The cost discipline is the same as any reward pricing: what does the action return, and what are you paying for it?

A referral that brings a paying customer justifies a generous reward. A social follow justifies a token one. Set each action's points value in rough proportion to what it's actually worth to you, and cap one-time actions so they can't be farmed. If a customer can earn a $10 reward from actions that cost you nothing but also return you nothing, the rule is set wrong.

Make Purchases Still the Main Event

The healthiest programs keep purchase earning as the dominant path and treat non-purchase actions as a supporting layer.

A good test: could a customer reach a meaningful reward without ever buying? If yes, your non-purchase points are too generous. Non-purchase actions should shorten the path to a reward for engaged customers and keep the program alive between orders - not become an alternate currency that bypasses buying entirely.

The Short Version

Reward non-purchase actions that give you something back - reviews and referrals first, sign-ups and profile completion second, social follows only as a token. Price each by what it's actually worth, cap the one-time ones, and keep purchases the main way to earn. Done right, non-purchase earning keeps customers engaged between orders without turning your program into a giveaway.

Want flexible earning rules for your program?

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Frequently Asked Questions

Two reasons: timing and value. Most customers buy infrequently, so non-purchase actions give the program a reason to engage them between orders. And actions like reviews and referrals have real marketing value, so rewarding them is paying for something useful at a points rate you control, not a giveaway.

Reviews and referrals first, because both return clear value - reviews drive future conversion and referrals bring pre-qualified customers cheaply. Then account or profile completion, newsletter or SMS sign-up, and birthday capture, which unlock data and channels that make later marketing more effective.

Social follows are easy to fake and don't reliably translate into value, so keep them a small, one-time earn. The risk is letting low-effort actions be worth more than a purchase, so a customer could earn a reward entirely from follows and sign-ups without ever buying. Non-purchase earning should supplement purchases, not replace them.

Price each action in rough proportion to what it returns you. A referral that brings a paying customer justifies a generous reward; a social follow justifies a token one. Cap one-time actions so they can't be farmed. If a customer can earn a $10 reward from actions that return you nothing, the rate is wrong.

Run this test: could a customer reach a meaningful reward without ever buying? If yes, your non-purchase points are too generous. Keep purchase earning the dominant path and use non-purchase actions as a supporting layer that shortens the path for engaged customers, not an alternate currency that bypasses buying.