BON Loyalty Program & Rewards vs. Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards Comparison

Introduction

Choosing the right loyalty software is a pivotal decision for any Shopify merchant aiming to improve retention and drive repeat sales. The marketplace offers a variety of specialized tools, each claiming to provide the most efficient path toward customer engagement. Selecting between two popular options requires a clear understanding of how their feature sets, pricing models, and integration capabilities align with specific business goals.

Short answer: Both apps offer robust loyalty and referral frameworks, but they cater to different merchant priorities. BON Loyalty Program & Rewards emphasizes deep customization and B2B capabilities, while Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards focuses on speed, modern Shopify technology, and high-growth DTC agility. For many, the choice depends on whether the store requires specialized tiered rewards for wholesale or a streamlined, modern interface for rapid consumer scaling, though both paths often lead merchants to consider how an integrated platform might eventually reduce operational overhead.

The purpose of this analysis is to provide a neutral, feature-by-feature comparison of BON Loyalty Program & Rewards and Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards. By examining the data-driven strengths and potential limitations of each, merchants can determine which tool provides the right foundation for their customer retention strategy.

BON Loyalty Program & Rewards vs. Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards: At a Glance

Core Features and Loyalty Mechanics

The fundamental goal of a loyalty program is to incentivize repeat behavior by rewarding customers for their engagement. Both apps offer a structured approach to points and referrals, yet the specific mechanics they prioritize can influence how a brand interacts with its audience.

Point Systems and Earning Rules

BON Loyalty Program & Rewards provides a comprehensive points system that allows customers to earn rewards through various actions. A notable aspect of their framework is the inclusion of "Order Boosters" and limited-time points offers, which are designed to create urgency and increase average order value during specific windows. This flexibility is particularly useful for brands that run seasonal promotions or want to clear inventory by incentivizing purchases on specific collections or products.

In comparison, Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards focuses on a streamlined loyalty points program that emphasizes ease of use for the end consumer. Their approach centers on "ways to earn and redeem" that are updated weekly to leverage the latest Shopify technology. While both apps allow for standard point accumulation, Rivo positions its updates as a way to stay ahead of ecommerce trends, ensuring the earning mechanics feel modern and frictionless for the customer.

VIP Tiers and Customer Segmentation

VIP tiers are essential for identifying and rewarding high-value customers. BON Loyalty Program & Rewards offers a tiered system that includes accelerated points and rewards for top-tier members. A standout feature in this category is their B2B Loyalty Program, which specifically targets wholesale sales with exclusive tiered rewards. This makes the app a strong candidate for merchants who operate a hybrid model, serving both retail and wholesale customers from the same Shopify instance.

Rivo also offers VIP tiers, particularly in its Scale plan. Their focus is on metrics-driven retention, using tiers to move specific customer behavior data points. While not explicitly highlighting a B2B-specific tier system in the provided data, Rivo emphasizes that its tiers are built for fast-growing DTC brands that need to scale their loyalty logic as their customer base expands.

Referral Programs and Anti-Cheat Mechanisms

Word-of-mouth marketing is a powerful growth lever, and both apps include referral programs to capitalize on this. BON Loyalty Program & Rewards includes an "Anti-Cheat" referral program as part of its free offering, which is a critical consideration for merchants concerned about program integrity. By preventing self-referrals and fraudulent claims, the app ensures that the rewards given out are actually driving new, legitimate customer acquisitions.

Rivo treats referrals as a core pillar of its platform, integrating them alongside loyalty and rewards. The focus here is on "moving metrics," meaning the referral system is designed to be easily shareable and highly visible within the customer journey. For brands looking to lower their customer acquisition costs, a robust referral loop that integrates seamlessly with the rest of the loyalty stack is indispensable.

Customization and Brand Identity

For a loyalty program to be successful, it must feel like a natural extension of the storefront. A disjointed user experience can lead to confusion and lower participation rates.

User Interface and Visual Integration

BON Loyalty Program & Rewards emphasizes a brand-tailored loyalty page and cross-platform integration. Their customization services allow merchants to align the loyalty widget and pages with the store’s unique aesthetic. For more advanced needs, the app provides access to custom CSS on its Growth plan, supported by their development team. This level of control is vital for brands that have a specific visual identity and do not want a generic "out of the box" appearance.

Rivo also offers branding capabilities across all plans, but advanced branding features like custom fonts and CSS are unlocked at the Scale plan ($49/month). Their design philosophy is centered on utilizing Shopify’s latest tech, ensuring that the loyalty interface is responsive and follows modern UX standards. This approach is beneficial for merchants who want a high-end look without necessarily needing to write custom code themselves.

Multi-Language and Internationalization

In the context of global ecommerce, the ability to communicate with customers in their native language is a significant advantage. BON Loyalty Program & Rewards explicitly lists multi-language display as a feature starting from its Basic plan. This allows international merchants to localize the loyalty experience, which can lead to higher engagement in non-English speaking markets.

While Rivo focuses heavily on shipping new updates and modern technology, the provided data does not explicitly detail a multi-language feature set. Merchants operating in multiple regions should verify the current localization capabilities of any app to ensure it supports their global expansion strategy.

Integration Ecosystem and Tech Stack Compatibility

No Shopify app exists in a vacuum. The ability to connect with email marketing, helpdesk, and page builder tools determines the overall efficiency of the merchant’s tech stack.

Email Marketing and Automation

Both apps prioritize integrations with Klaviyo, which is the industry standard for ecommerce email marketing. BON Loyalty Program & Rewards offers automated emails for points and referrals even on its free plan, ensuring that customers are notified of their rewards without manual intervention. As merchants move up to the Basic plan, they gain unlimited integrations, allowing for deeper data syncing with tools like Klaviyo and Fera.

Rivo also lists Klaviyo as a primary integration, along with other high-growth tools like Gorgias, Postscript, and Attentive. Their integration strategy is built around "instantly integrating with your stack," which is a key value proposition for DTC brands that rely on a tight loop between loyalty data and SMS or helpdesk interactions. For example, knowing a customer's loyalty tier when they contact support via Gorgias can allow for more personalized service.

Advanced Development and Headless Readiness

As brands grow, they often require more flexibility than standard apps provide. BON Loyalty Program & Rewards offers a Software Development Toolkit (SDK) and full API access on its Professional plan. They also highlight compatibility with Hydrogen and headless commerce, making them a suitable choice for enterprise-level stores that have moved beyond the standard Shopify liquid themes.

Rivo offers a similar path for advanced merchants with the Rivo Developer Toolkit, available on its Plus plan. This allows for full customization and the creation of bespoke loyalty experiences. The emphasis on weekly product updates suggests that Rivo is continuously expanding its API and developer-facing features to keep pace with the evolving Shopify ecosystem.

Pricing and Total Cost of Ownership Analysis

Understanding the cost of a loyalty app requires looking beyond the monthly fee and considering the value provided at each tier, as well as potential "stacked" costs from needing additional apps.

Entry-Level and Free Options

Both apps offer a "Free Forever" plan, which is excellent for new stores or those testing the waters of loyalty programs. BON's free plan is quite generous, offering points, referrals, anti-cheat mechanisms, and automated emails without a specified order limit in the initial data. This provides a low-risk entry point for merchants who want to establish a basic retention framework.

Rivo’s free plan includes a loyalty points program and automated email campaigns but is limited to 200 monthly orders. This makes it a great starting point for smaller boutiques, but merchants will need to plan for a transition as their volume grows. The focus here is on providing a high-quality experience for those 200 orders, encouraging the merchant to see the value before upgrading to the Scale plan.

Mid-Tier and Growth Plans

The mid-tier is where the most significant differences in philosophy emerge. BON’s Basic plan starts at $25/month and adds multi-language support and POS rewards. Their Growth plan at $99/month is aimed at larger stores, offering unlimited orders and the B2B tier program. This pricing structure suggests that BON is designed to grow with a merchant's specific functional needs, such as adding wholesale capabilities.

Rivo’s Scale plan is priced at $49/month and offers access to all features, including VIP tiers and advanced branding. This is a competitive price point for brands that want a full feature set early in their growth journey. By offering all features at $49, Rivo appeals to merchants who want to avoid a "pay-per-feature" model and instead focus on scaling their order volume.

Enterprise and High-Volume Tiers

At the enterprise level, both apps offer high-end plans designed for Shopify Plus merchants. BON’s Professional plan is $349/month and includes custom development packages and support priority. Rivo’s Plus plan is $499/month and focuses on checkout extensions and advanced analytics.

When evaluating these costs, merchants should consider the total cost of ownership. If a merchant needs loyalty, reviews, and a wishlist, using single-function apps means paying three separate subscriptions. This leads to "tool sprawl," where costs stack up quickly and data remains siloed between different dashboards. This is a common point where merchants begin evaluating feature coverage across plans to see if a more unified approach might offer better long-term value.

Customer Support and Operational Reliability

A loyalty program is a customer-facing asset; if it breaks, it can damage brand trust. Therefore, the quality of support and the reliability of the app are paramount.

Support Availability and Responsiveness

BON Loyalty Program & Rewards places a heavy emphasis on its 24/7 support team, which is available via live chat on the Growth plan and with priority on the Professional plan. Their high rating (5.0) suggests that they are meeting merchant expectations for responsiveness and technical assistance. For a global merchant, having 24/7 access to help can be the difference between a minor glitch and a significant loss in revenue during a sale event.

Rivo also highlights a "world-class live chat support" team that focuses on driving retention metrics. Their customer success team is positioned as more than just technical support; they are partners in the merchant's growth. With a rating of 4.8, Rivo demonstrates a strong track record of keeping its users satisfied, even as they ship weekly updates that change the app's functionality.

Performance and Reliability Signals

The review counts for both apps are currently low in the provided data, with each having one review. While the ratings are high, merchants should keep an eye on how these apps perform as they scale. Reliability in the Shopify ecosystem often comes down to how well an app plays with the "core" Shopify functions. Both BON and Rivo are built to work with Shopify POS, Checkout, and Flow, which indicates they are following Shopify’s best practices for stability and performance.

Operating a loyalty program also requires maintaining a light footprint on the storefront to avoid slowing down page load times. Both apps mention "effortless setup" and "instant integration," which usually implies that they are optimized for performance. However, as customization increases—especially with custom CSS or heavy visual widgets—merchants should monitor their site speed to ensure the retention benefits are not outweighed by performance hits.

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

While specialized apps like BON and Rivo provide excellent loyalty features, many growing brands eventually encounter "app fatigue." This occurs when a merchant's tech stack becomes a fragmented collection of single-function tools, leading to high monthly costs, inconsistent user experiences, and data that doesn't talk to itself. When loyalty points live in one app, product reviews in another, and wishlists in a third, the merchant loses the ability to create a truly unified customer journey.

Growave offers a different philosophy: "More Growth, Less Stack." By integrating loyalty points and rewards designed to lift repeat purchases with reviews, wishlists, and referrals, the platform eliminates the need for multiple subscriptions. This approach ensures that a customer's activity—like leaving a review or adding an item to a wishlist—can immediately trigger loyalty rewards without needing complex third-party integrations. This synergy is a key reason why merchants look toward selecting plans that reduce stacked tooling costs as they scale.

Furthermore, an all-in-one platform provides a consistent aesthetic across all customer touchpoints. Instead of having a loyalty widget that looks different from a review request email, everything is managed from a single dashboard. This level of cohesion builds brand trust and makes the shopping experience feel more professional. For brands that have reached a certain level of maturity, real examples from brands improving retention show that consolidating these functions often leads to better conversion rates and a higher lifetime value.

The strategic benefit of a unified stack extends to data analysis as well. When you use loyalty programs that keep customers coming back alongside collecting and showcasing authentic customer reviews, you can see the direct correlation between a customer’s engagement levels and their ultimate spend. This holistic view of the customer journey is difficult to achieve when data is spread across various apps. Brands looking to streamline their operations often find that customer stories that show how teams reduce app sprawl provide a clear roadmap for their own growth.

In addition to operational efficiency, an integrated platform can significantly boost the power of social proof. By rewarding customers with loyalty points for review automation that builds trust at purchase time, you create a self-sustaining loop of engagement and content creation. This integrated strategy is often a more effective way of choosing a plan built for long-term value than trying to patch together disparate tools.

For those curious about how a consolidated stack could fit their specific business model, a focused demo that maps tools to retention outcomes can provide clarity on the implementation process. Seeing the platform in action helps stakeholders understand how moving away from a fragmented stack can simplify daily management while planning retention spend without app sprawl surprises. Ultimately, the goal is to spend less time managing software and more time building relationships with customers, which is much easier when your product walkthrough aligned to Shopify store maturity shows a path toward simplification.

Conclusion

For merchants choosing between BON Loyalty Program & Rewards and Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards, the decision comes down to the specific nature of the business and the desired level of technical agility. BON Loyalty Program & Rewards is an exceptional choice for merchants who require specialized B2B loyalty tiers and extensive multi-language support, providing a tailored experience for diverse customer bases. On the other hand, Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards is ideal for fast-paced DTC brands that value weekly product updates and a modern, high-performance interface that stays ahead of the latest Shopify developments.

While both apps excel in their respective niches, it is important to consider the long-term impact of adding multiple single-purpose apps to your Shopify store. As your business grows, the complexity of managing separate tools for loyalty, reviews, and wishlists can lead to fragmented data and higher costs. Transitioning to a unified platform can simplify your operations, providing a seamless experience for your customers and a clearer overview of your retention strategy. By mapping costs to retention outcomes over time, you can ensure that your technology stack remains an asset rather than an obstacle.

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

FAQ

Is BON Loyalty Program & Rewards better for wholesale businesses?

BON Loyalty Program & Rewards is highly suitable for businesses with a wholesale component because it offers a dedicated B2B tier program. This allows merchants to create exclusive rewards and point-earning structures specifically for their wholesale customers, which is a feature not always found in standard DTC-focused loyalty apps.

How does Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards handle app updates?

Rivo is known for its high development velocity, shipping product updates every week. This ensures that merchants are always using the most current Shopify technology and features. This is particularly beneficial for brands that want to stay on the cutting edge of ecommerce trends without having to manually update their loyalty infrastructure.

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

A specialized app focuses deeply on a single function, such as loyalty or reviews, often providing a very specific set of advanced tools for that one area. An all-in-one platform, however, integrates multiple retention tools into a single ecosystem. This reduces the number of apps you need to manage, lowers the total cost of ownership, and ensures that data flows seamlessly between loyalty programs, reviews, and wishlists, creating a more cohesive customer experience.

Can I use these loyalty apps with Shopify POS?

Both BON Loyalty Program & Rewards and Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards are compatible with Shopify POS. This means you can reward your in-store customers just as you would your online shoppers, providing a unified omni-channel loyalty experience that encourages customers to shop with you across all your sales channels.