Restaurant Loyalty Schemes in the UK: How to Turn First-Time Diners into Regulars

Why restaurants need repeat customers

Marketing brings people through the door once. What keeps a restaurant busy is the diners who come back every week or every month. A loyalty scheme gives them a reason to choose you again when they decide where to eat.

In a SumUp survey of 2,000 UK adults (April 2026), 68% said they sometimes or always spend more than planned when they are close to earning a reward.

What makes a loyalty scheme work in a restaurant

• It is quick at the table or counter. Staff are busy, so joining must take seconds.
• It needs no new equipment. No card machine upgrade, no tablet required.
• The reward feels generous. A free dessert or main course is easy to understand.
• It is hard to cheat. Paper cards can be stamped by anyone with a similar stamp.

How it works with MyDigiStamp

1. Place the QR code on tables, at the till or on your takeaway bags.
2. Diners scan it with their phone camera – no app download.
3. They enter a first name and phone number, or start without any details.
4. Each visit adds a stamp, up to one a day. When the card is full, the reward is unlocked.

If you prefer, staff can add the stamp from the dashboard by searching the customer's name or phone number.

Reward ideas for restaurants and takeaways

You choose the reward and the number of stamps, for example:

• free dessert after 5 visits
• free main course after 10 meals
• free side or drink with the next takeaway order
• free starter for the table on the next visit

Stop code sharing with a dynamic QR

A printed code can be photographed and shared. On the Unlimited and Premium plans, you can show a dynamic QR code on a tablet or phone by the till. It changes every 60 seconds, so old photos of the code no longer work.

Birthdays and referrals bring new tables

• Birthday bonus stamps – 2 extra stamps on a diner's birthday, a good reason to celebrate with you.
• Refer a friend – customers earn a bonus stamp when a friend they invited makes a first visit.

See who your regulars are

The dashboard shows your customers and who is nearly at a reward, and the stats page shows how many visited in the last 7 days. You can export customers and reports to CSV at any time.

Ready in minutes

Add your restaurant name and logo, set the reward and print the QR poster. MyDigiStamp is built for UK local businesses and supports English and Polish.