BON Loyalty Program & Rewards vs. Advocado: Loyalty & Rewards

Introduction

Selecting the right retention tools for a Shopify store often feels like navigating a maze of conflicting features, pricing tiers, and technical requirements. Every app promises to increase customer lifetime value, but the reality of implementation varies wildly based on a store’s specific operational needs and long-term growth trajectory. Choosing incorrectly does not just mean losing a monthly subscription fee; it often results in fragmented customer data, a disjointed user experience, and missed opportunities for repeat revenue.

Short answer: BON Loyalty Program & Rewards is a feature-rich, scalable solution ideal for stores needing advanced customization, B2B tiers, and headless commerce support. Advocado: Loyalty & Rewards focuses more on bridging the gap between offline and online environments with cashback-centric mechanics, though it currently lacks the transparent documentation and merchant feedback seen in more established competitors. For brands seeking to eliminate tool sprawl entirely, an integrated platform often provides a more cohesive path toward sustainable growth.

The purpose of this analysis is to provide a neutral, objective comparison of these two applications. By examining their core functionalities, pricing structures, and integration capabilities, merchants can determine which tool aligns with their current tech stack and future expansion plans.

BON Loyalty Program & Rewards vs. Advocado: Loyalty & Rewards: At a Glance

The following table provides a quick overview of how these two loyalty solutions compare across several critical performance and operational benchmarks.

Deep Dive Comparison

To understand how these tools function in a live retail environment, it is necessary to examine the mechanics behind their reward systems and how they handle the complexities of modern commerce.

Core Loyalty Mechanics and Reward Structures

Loyalty programs generally fall into two categories: point-based systems and benefit-based systems. Both apps in this comparison leverage points, but their execution and additional incentives differ significantly.

BON Loyalty Program & Rewards provides a traditional yet highly customizable points system. Merchants can reward customers for various actions, such as making a purchase, following social media accounts, or celebrating a birthday. The inclusion of an "Anti-Cheat" referral program in the free tier suggests a focus on security and high-quality acquisition. As a merchant scales, the complexity of rewards can increase, moving from simple money-off coupons to free shipping or specific product rewards. This flexibility allows a brand to test different incentives to see what most effectively drives repeat purchase behavior.

Advocado: Loyalty & Rewards approaches retention with a dual focus on points and cashback. Cashback is an increasingly popular mechanic because it provides a tangible financial incentive that feels more immediate than abstract points. By allowing customers to earn and utilize rewards interchangeably across offline and online channels, Advocado aims to solve the fragmentation problem many brick-and-mortar retailers face. However, based on the provided data, the specific mechanics of how these points are earned and redeemed are less detailed than those of its competitor.

VIP Tiers and Customer Segmentation

The ability to segment customers into tiers is one of the most effective ways to increase customer lifetime value. High-intent customers often respond better to exclusive status and accelerated earning rates than to simple discounts.

BON Loyalty Program & Rewards offers a dedicated VIP Tier program starting at its Growth plan. This allows merchants to create different levels of membership where customers in higher tiers earn more points per dollar spent or receive exclusive perks. Uniquely, the app also offers a B2B Tier Program. This is a significant differentiator for wholesale-focused brands that need to manage different reward structures for professional clients versus retail customers. The inclusion of an "Order Booster" further incentivizes larger transactions, aligning the loyalty program directly with average order value (AOV) goals.

Advocado also mentions membership tiers as a core feature. The strategic goal is to move customers through different levels of engagement, turning casual buyers into brand advocates. While the intent is clear, the provided data does not specify the number of tiers allowed or the specific customization options available for these tiers. For a merchant, the value of a tier system lies in its transparency and the ease with which a customer can understand how to reach the next level of benefits.

Multi-Channel and POS Readiness

Modern retail rarely happens in a vacuum. Customers expect their loyalty status to follow them whether they are shopping on a mobile app, a desktop site, or in a physical store.

BON Loyalty Program & Rewards is well-positioned for omnichannel operations. It integrates directly with Shopify POS, ensuring that in-store customers can earn and spend points just as easily as online shoppers. This consistency is vital for maintaining trust. Furthermore, the app provides support for headless commerce via Hydrogen and offers full API access on its Professional plan. This level of technical openness is rare in the loyalty category and makes BON a viable candidate for brands with custom-built frontends or complex technical architectures.

Advocado explicitly positions itself as a tool for turning offline customers into online advocates. Its focus on interchangeability between digital and physical storefronts suggests that its primary value proposition is the unification of the customer experience. For a retailer with a strong local presence that is trying to grow its e-commerce footprint, this focus is highly relevant. However, the lack of a specified "Works With" list in the provided data makes it difficult to verify which POS systems or third-party tools are supported beyond the core Shopify environment.

Customization and Brand Consistency

A loyalty program should feel like a natural extension of a brand, not a third-party add-on. Customization ranges from simple color changes to complete layout overhauls.

BON Loyalty provides several layers of customization. On the Basic plan, merchants gain access to a dedicated loyalty page and multi-language display options, which are essential for international expansion. For brands with more specific aesthetic requirements, the Growth plan unlocks custom CSS with support from the developer’s team. At the Professional level, the Software Development Toolkit (SDK) and API access allow for virtually limitless integration of the loyalty experience into the site’s design.

The customization capabilities for Advocado are not specified in the provided data. Generally, for apps focused on cashback and simple point mechanics, customization is often limited to the widget or the checkout interface. Merchants who prioritize a seamless, invisible integration of their loyalty program may find the lack of detailed customization data a point of concern when comparing these two options.

Pricing Structure and Total Cost of Ownership

The financial impact of a loyalty app involves more than just the monthly subscription; it includes the cost of order volume caps, integration fees, and the staff time required for management.

BON Loyalty Program & Rewards follows a traditional SaaS tiered pricing model:

• FREE FOREVER: Includes points, rewards, anti-cheat referrals, and automated emails. This is a robust starting point for new stores.
• Basic ($25/month): Adds a loyalty page, POS rewards, points expiration, and unlimited integrations with tools like Klaviyo and Fera.
• Growth ($99/month): Removes order limits, adds VIP and B2B tiers, and provides 24/7 live chat support.
• Professional ($349/month): Targets enterprise-level stores with Hydrogen support, API access, and custom development packages.

The pricing for Advocado: Loyalty & Rewards is not specified in the provided data. This creates a significant challenge for merchants attempting to calculate their return on investment. In the absence of transparent pricing, businesses must rely on direct inquiries, which can slow down the decision-making process. The 1.0 rating from a single review suggests that early adopters may have faced challenges, which is a critical consideration when evaluating the risk of implementation.

The Alternative: Solving App Fatigue with an All-in-One Platform

While choosing between specialized apps like BON and Advocado is a common path, it often leads to a phenomenon known as "app fatigue." As a Shopify store grows, the tendency is to add a new app for every individual need: one for loyalty, another for reviews, a third for wishlists, and a fourth for referrals. This approach, while modular, frequently creates a fragmented technical environment that can hinder growth.

App fatigue manifests in several ways that directly impact the bottom line. First, there is the issue of tool sprawl, where a merchant must manage multiple subscriptions, different dashboards, and varying support teams. This complexity often leads to inconsistent customer experiences; for example, a customer might receive a reward email from a loyalty app that doesn't reflect the social proof they just provided via a separate reviews app. Furthermore, every additional app script loaded onto a storefront can potentially slow down page load speeds, which negatively affects SEO and conversion rates.

The "More Growth, Less Stack" philosophy advocates for a unified approach to retention. By consolidating essential functions into a single platform, merchants can ensure that data flows seamlessly between different modules. When loyalty points, customer reviews, and wishlists are managed under one roof, the potential for sophisticated automation increases. A merchant can automatically reward a customer for leaving a photo review or send a targeted discount for an item on their wishlist, all without the need for complex third-party connectors.

Strategically, this integration reduces the total cost of ownership. Instead of paying for multiple mid-tier plans that each have their own order limits and fees, merchants can invest in choosing a plan built for long-term value. This consolidated spend often provides access to higher-level features, such as VIP tiers and incentives for high-intent customers, which might be cost-prohibitive when purchased as standalone services.

If consolidating tools is a priority, start by evaluating feature coverage across plans. This shift away from a "fragmented stack" allows marketing teams to focus on strategy rather than troubleshooting app conflicts. For example, collecting and showcasing authentic customer reviews becomes a much more powerful retention tool when those reviews are directly tied to a customer's loyalty profile.

Many brands have already found success by moving away from isolated tools. By seeing how other brands connect loyalty and reviews, merchants can learn how to create a more holistic customer journey. This approach ensures that every interaction—whether it is a referral, a review, or a repeat purchase—is tracked and rewarded within a single ecosystem.

The benefits of a unified platform extend to the technical side as well. Managing a single API or set of scripts is significantly more efficient for development teams, especially for those reviewing the Shopify App Store listing merchants install from to ensure compatibility. When a platform is built natively for the Shopify environment, it reduces the risk of data silos and ensures that the review automation that builds trust at purchase time works in perfect harmony with loyalty points and rewards designed to lift repeat purchases.

Ultimately, the goal of any retention strategy is to create a frictionless experience for the shopper while maintaining operational efficiency for the merchant. Platforms that provide real examples from brands improving retention often demonstrate that the most successful stores are those that simplify their tech stack. By comparing plan fit against retention goals, merchants can move away from the overhead of managing disparate apps and toward a more integrated, high-performance growth model.

Conclusion

For merchants choosing between BON Loyalty Program & Rewards and Advocado: Loyalty & Rewards, the decision comes down to the specific technical requirements and the desired reward mechanics of the storefront. BON Loyalty offers a highly structured, tiered pricing model with significant depth for B2B and headless commerce, making it a strong contender for high-growth brands on Shopify Plus. Advocado, conversely, focuses on the intersection of offline and online retail through cashback and points, though its lack of transparent pricing and low initial rating suggest a need for careful evaluation.

The trade-off between these two apps highlights a larger strategic question for e-commerce leaders: is it better to manage individual specialized tools or to adopt a unified platform? While BON Loyalty is excellent for those who strictly need loyalty and referral features with deep technical access, many merchants find that the cumulative cost and complexity of maintaining separate apps for reviews, wishlists, and rewards eventually slows down their ability to innovate.

Transitioning to an integrated retention stack can significantly reduce operational overhead and improve the consistency of the customer experience. By aligning VIP tiers and incentives for high-intent customers with other retention signals, brands can execute more sophisticated marketing playbooks with less effort. This holistic view of the customer journey is often what separates rapidly scaling brands from those struggling with stagnant repeat purchase rates.

When evaluating the long-term health of a store, it is helpful to look at customer stories that show how teams reduce app sprawl to understand the practical benefits of consolidation. Moving toward a "More Growth, Less Stack" approach allows merchants to spend less time on app configuration and more time on the creative strategies that drive brand loyalty.

To reduce app fatigue and run retention from one place, start by reviewing the Shopify App Store listing merchants install from.

FAQ

Which app is better for B2B Shopify stores?

BON Loyalty Program & Rewards is the clear choice for B2B operations based on the provided data. It includes a specific B2B Tier Program in its Growth plan, which is designed to handle the unique reward structures and tiered pricing often required for wholesale clients. This is a specialized feature not commonly found in entry-level loyalty apps.

Can I use these loyalty programs with Shopify POS?

Both apps provide support for omnichannel retail. BON Loyalty explicitly lists Shopify POS integration starting on its Basic plan, allowing in-store customers to redeem points. Advocado also focuses heavily on the "offline to online" transition, making it suitable for merchants with physical retail locations who want to unify their reward systems.

What are the risks of using an app with a low rating or few reviews?

An app with a low rating or very few reviews, such as those seen in this comparison, represents a higher operational risk. It may indicate that the software is in an early stage of development, lacks comprehensive support, or has bugs that haven't been widely reported yet. Merchants should look for checking merchant feedback and app-store performance signals when evaluating any new tool to ensure reliability and high-quality support.

How does an all-in-one platform compare to specialized apps?

A specialized app focus is beneficial if you only need one specific feature and have a very limited budget. However, an all-in-one platform reduces a clearer view of total retention-stack costs by bundling loyalty, reviews, referrals, and wishlists. This integration eliminates the need for multiple scripts on your site, which can improve page speed, and ensures that customer data is synchronized across all retention marketing efforts.