Digital Loyalty Wheel: A Practical Guide for Local Shops

A digital loyalty wheel is the online version of the classic prize wheel: the customer scans a QR code, spins a wheel on their phone and leaves with a voucher for their next visit. Set up well, it gives people a concrete reason to come back and fills your customer list with everyone's agreement. Set up badly, it costs a fortune in prizes or creates legal problems. This guide explains how it works, how to calibrate prizes, the legal framework and the mistakes to avoid.

The short answer

A digital loyalty wheel is a free promotional game, opened from a QR code with no app, that randomly awards prizes to use on a future visit. It does two jobs: bringing the customer back and collecting their contact details with explicit consent so you can follow up. It must stay free, be transparent about prizes, and be kept completely separate from any request for online reviews.

How a digital loyalty wheel works

The customer journey takes less than a minute and happens entirely in the phone's browser. On the business side, everything is set up once in advance, then the wheel runs on its own until prizes are validated.

1. The customer scans a QR code on the table, the counter, the till or the receipt.
2. They enter their details (first name, phone number or email) and, if they wish, tick the separate boxes to receive your offers by text or email.
3. They spin the wheel. The result depends on the odds you set.
4. They receive their voucher, with a unique code, the conditions of use and the expiry date.
5. On their next visit, your team checks and validates the code, which can only be used once.

Several settings prevent abuse: one play per day, week or month for the same customer, a stock limit per prize, and a no-win slot that keeps costs under control.

What the wheel is for, and what it must never be used for

The wheel serves two loyalty goals. The first is the return visit: a voucher valid for a few weeks gives a specific reason to come back. The second is contact: every participant leaves their details, and those who agree can receive your follow-ups.

That contact is valuable because it belongs to you. You can then send a birthday message, announce something new or follow up with a customer you have not seen for a while, without going through a platform. That same list also lets you announce a referral offer to your regulars, so they bring in new customers.

However, the wheel must never be used to obtain online reviews. Google prohibits offering incentives in exchange for posting a review, and a chance to play or a prize won is an incentive. Do not offer the wheel "after your review", do not show it on the same page as a review request, and do not train staff to chain the two. Keep it for what it does well: building loyalty.

Calibrating prizes without wrecking your margin

Good calibration combines many small low-cost prizes, a few more desirable ones and a no-win slot. Work out the average cost per play before launch, not after.

Here is an example for a café-restaurant, with illustrative odds and costs to replace with your own:

In this example, 100 plays cost at most €70 in prizes, and less in reality since not every voucher is redeemed. Compare that cost with the customers who came back and the contacts collected.

Three rules for prizes:

• Perceived value over face value. A dessert or a trial treatment leaves a stronger impression than an equivalent cash discount.
• Prizes usable only on a future visit. That is what turns the game into a loyalty tool.
• Short but realistic validity. Two to six weeks for a café or restaurant, one appointment cycle for a salon.

Each sector adapts its prizes: a restaurant will offer a coffee or dessert, as detailed in our restaurant loyalty program guide, a salon a treatment or fringe trim, as in our hair salon loyalty card ideas.

The legal framework for promotional games in France

A prize wheel in a shop is a promotional lottery: it awards a prize through chance. It is allowed, provided you follow a few simple principles.

Article L121-20 of the French Consumer Code (in French) only prohibits promotional operations based on a draw or a random element when they are unfair within the meaning of article L121-1. In other words, the game must not mislead or unduly pressure the consumer.

In addition, in force since 1 January 2020, article L320-1 of the French Internal Security Code (in French) prohibits gambling, defined as operations offered to the public that create the expectation of a gain due to chance and for which participants must make a financial sacrifice. Hence the most important practical rule: participation must be free.

In practice:

• No payment to play. Never charge for participation, even with a later refund.
• Rules visible before playing. Prizes on offer, conditions of use, validity period, play limit, identity of the organizing business.
• Prizes that can really be won. Do not advertise a prize whose stock is at zero.
• Freely given consent for offers. France's CNIL (in French) requires free, specific consent given through a positive action for SMS or email marketing. Offer a separate, unticked checkbox rather than making the game conditional on accepting offers.

Two markers for what follows the game: the CNIL keeps prospect data to 3 years from the last contact coming from that person (questions and answers on the commercial reference frameworks, in French), and a customer receiving unwanted marketing texts in France can report them free of charge to 33700 (CNIL, SMS marketing, in French). A clean list beats a long one.

For a larger operation (high-value prizes, advertising beyond your premises, partners), have your rules reviewed by a legal professional.

The most common mistakes

Most wheels that disappoint suffer from the same setup or rollout flaws, which are easy to fix once you have spotted them in your own business.

• An invisible wheel. A QR code lost on the counter gets few scans; a table card and one sentence from staff change everything.
• Prizes that are too generous. Without calculating the average cost, the wheel becomes a permanent discount.
• Fake big prizes. A trip shown with a 0% probability can be judged misleading, and therefore unfair.
• A voucher valid immediately. If it can be used the same day, it brings nobody back.
• A list that is never used. Collecting contacts without following up is pointless; a welcome message and a reminder before expiry are enough to start.
• A link with reviews. Tying the wheel to a review request breaks Google's rules.

Launching your wheel in four steps

A wheel can be set up in a day if you prepare the prizes and the team's pitch before printing the QR code.

1. Set prizes and odds, calculate the average cost per play, fix the validity period and play limit.
2. Write the displayed rules and the form with separate consent boxes for text and email.
3. Place the QR code where customers naturally wait: table, counter, till. Announce the game in the updates on your Google Business Profile too.
4. Measure after a month: plays, vouchers redeemed, returning customers, contacts who accepted offers. Change one setting at a time.

The wheel is only one building block: our customer loyalty guide for local businesses explains how to combine it with your customer list, follow-ups and return rate tracking.

Putting it into practice

Ma Belle Note offers a branded loyalty wheel: adjustable prizes, odds, stock and validity, plays limited per day, week or month, a unique code staff can verify, and contacts stored with their consent. Free 7-day trial, no credit card required.