.jpg)
The surge of D2C brands in India has led to a crowded marketplace, offering consumers a plethora of choices across price points and preferences. In this environment, brand loyalty is becoming harder to earn - and even harder to retain. To stand out and encourage repeat buying behavior, many lifestyle brands are investing in rewards programs and cashback incentives that create a sense of belonging and value.
“If used well, cashback and points systems are powerful psychological tools that create a virtuous cycle. They transform the ‘goodwill’ of a purchase into an ongoing relationship with quantifiable benefits, effectively short circuiting the consumer's instinct to chase the next shiny object. In today's marketplace, brands that fail to reward loyalty are essentially inviting customers to shop elsewhere,” said Rubeena Singh, MD, NP Digital India.
Fashion and beauty brands are leading the adoption of loyalty and cashback programs because their business models rely heavily on frequent, repeat purchases. Unlike high-ticket categories like electronics or furniture, fashion and beauty items - such as skincare products, makeup, and apparel - have shorter usage cycles and lower price points, making customers more likely to buy again within weeks or months.
These are also emotionally driven categories where consumers seek personal expression and connection, so rewards that offer value, exclusivity, or a sense of community can significantly influence buying decisions. With intense competition and low brand stickiness in the D2C landscape, these programs help brands retain customers, increase lifetime value, and stay top-of-mind in a market flooded with choices.
Snitch, for instance, runs referral and rewards programs where loyal customers can earn credits for every successful referral. “We wanted to reward our high Average Cart Value (ACV) customers by creating a premium, value-driven experience. The loyalty programme was built to offer a seamless and convenient shopping journey, enhanced with exclusive perks like cashback, surprise gifts, and milestone rewards, making every interaction with our brand feel special and worthwhile,” said Chetan Siyal, Chief Marketing Officer at Snitch.
Beauty brands such as Deconstruct, Re’equil and La Pink also have dedicated loyalty programmes to enhance experiences for their loyal customers.
Vipul Gupta, Founder, Re’equil said that over the past 7 years, Re’equil has cultivated a loyal customer base and to give back to this growing community of repeat purchasers and organic promoters, they launched the Re’equil Re’wards Program — a loyalty initiative designed to recognize and reward customers for being their strongest champions.
Deconstruct has introduced a loyalty programme designed to reward repeat customers while fostering a sense of community and belonging through its website. Similarly, La Pink launched its own loyalty and cashback initiative to strengthen customer relationships and position the brand as an integral part of the consumer’s self-care journey.
Other notable examples include Nykaa’s ‘Nykaa Prive’ Loyalty Club, which has become a cornerstone of its customer retention strategy. The beauty retailer offers perks like early access to sales, birthday gifts, and redeemable points on every purchase—encouraging customers to return for future buys. Similarly, Tata CLiQ Palette, the beauty-focused app from the Tata Group, offers cashback rewards and tiered benefits that gamify the shopping experience, effectively converting occasional shoppers into loyal brand advocates. The Souled Store also leverages cashback promotions to drive engagement, including a 10% additional cashback incentive for users who download and shop via its app.
While most of the loyalty programmes are available on the online channel, few brands such as Snitch and La Pink have an omnichannel presence which ensures that all consumer touchpoints are covered.
Nitin Jain, Founder and Director at La Pink said, “Integration across digital and physical touchpoints ensures consistency, convenience, and clarity in how rewards are earned and redeemed. We’re building an ecosystem where loyalty is not bound by channel but led by experience.”
Do loyalty programs drive repeat purchases?
A bigger question at play here is - does these loyalty programs help in retaining customers or are they merely a gimmick?
Experts believe that they do if done correctly. Malini Adapureddy, Founder & CEO, Deconstruct said, “The Dcoins, which are the coins that we operate, have seen 15-20% increase MoM on redemption level, and increasing AOV. Thus, giving a major boost to retention.”
This was further reiterated by Siyal who said that since the launch, Snitch has seen a 30% increase in monthly retention, indicating that the program encourages repeat behavior and deepens customer loyalty.
For brands like Re’equil and La Pink as well, the loyalty program has proved to be a success. Gupta shared, “The high volume of coin redemptions is a strong indicator of our loyalty programme’s success.”
However, Singh believes that repeat purchases are just the starting point. A truly effective, metrics-based loyalty programme should go beyond transactions to evaluate deeper indicators such as Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), measuring whether loyal customers are spending consistently over time; retention rates, to assess if members are staying longer than non-members; and engagement metrics like app logins, reward redemptions, and participation in brand activities.
It should also track advocacy indicators such as referral rates, social media mentions, and Net Promoter Scores (NPS), while ensuring cost efficiency by comparing the savings on customer acquisition through word-of-mouth with the overall cost of running the program.
Emotional loyalty
According to Singh, while transactional loyalty buys the next purchase, emotional loyalty secures a customer for life. She believes that while cashback deals can secure a follow-up order, true brand stickiness comes from an emotional connection.
“Forming emotional loyalty means that brands tap into consumers' lifestyles or values, whether that is an environmental commitment, community giving, or simply a message that resonates in our little worlds,” she said, adding that customers will buy from you repeatedly, and if you get them to feel seen and understood, they will be advocates for the brand, too, not just repeat purchasers.
Singh added, “Surprise-and-delight moments (like exclusive founder Q&As, early access to limited editions or series, or invitation-only events) establish that emotional connection in ways points could never hope to compete with.”
What works best?
As brands experiment with different formats and features, the effectiveness of loyalty programs often boils down to what resonates most with their audience. From tier-based rewards to emotional touchpoints like birthday offers, D2C players are learning that personalization and timely nudges can significantly enhance customer engagement.
Adapureddy shared that they are seeing a major traction on Deconstruct’s Tier level loyalty program, which was introduced back in October’24. “It gives incremental rewards on specific tiers, which includes birthday rewards and incremental DCoins on each purchase . We also see that specific triggers around Coins expiry and a single nudge about coins amount in the wallet see higher callback of the customers also.”
While for Snitch, birthday offers and streak rewards have driven the highest engagement. Siyal said, “Over 40% of users have redeemed their birthday rewards, and the average turnaround time for streak-based redemptions is just 7 days, highlighting both interest and urgency in using these perks.”
This is also true for Re’equil which shared that customers show strong engagement with their birthday specials, tier-based rewards, and referral program—reflecting their enthusiasm for meaningful, value-driven experiences.
While, for La Pink cashback has also proved to be a game changer. Jain said, “Each feature resonates with our audience in its own way, but cashback and birthday offers stand out as top drivers. Cashback creates an immediate sense of value, while birthday offers tap into a deeper emotional connection — reminding customers that La Pink celebrates them as individuals.
Additionally, early access to new launches has seen rising traction, especially among our most loyal patrons who love being the first to experience what’s next.”
A true differentiator?
Singh believes that a well-executed loyalty program is a strategic call, not a tactical or operational one. She added that a mediocre loyalty program is worse than none at all; it creates expectations you can't fulfill while adding more operational work for the brand.
According to her, the true differentiators don't simply copy competitors' point systems - they build proprietary loyalty ecosystems that deliver unique value propositions aligned with their brand's DNA.
She further explained this with examples. Look at how Apple has created a loyalty ecosystem without traditional "points," or how Starbucks transformed coffee buying into a gamified experience that drives incremental purchases.
A brand must ask questions like, ‘What exclusive value can we deliver that customers can't get elsewhere?’ ‘How can we make membership feel like a privilege rather than just another discount mechanism?’
Singh added, “When executed well, loyalty programs can actually build a brand moat, widening the gap between you and your competitors by creating switching costs that go beyond rational economics into emotional and habitual territory that's nearly impossible to disrupt.”
Thus, as the competition intensifies, the real winners will be those brands that move beyond generic point systems to create tailored, emotionally resonant experiences that reflect their unique identity. Loyalty, after all, isn't bought - it's built.
.jpg)
