Reward the 5th visit by default; move to 8 only if margin is tight
For a salon on a typical 5-week visit cycle, reward the 5th visit by default — it completes in about 25 weeks, gives a felt discount of roughly 20%, and is close enough that clients can picture reaching it. Move to an 8-stamp threshold only if that 20% discount is cutting too deeply into margin on your specific services, since 8 stamps drops the discount to roughly 13% at the cost of a longer 40-week cycle.
Both numbers work on the same stamp card mechanic — the choice is purely about balancing how generous the reward feels against how much margin you can spare and how long clients are willing to wait.
Whichever you pick, apply it consistently. Switching the threshold mid-program, or running different thresholds for different clients without a clear reason, breaks the trust a loyalty card depends on.
- Default: 5 stamps, ≈20% discount, ≈25-week cycle on a 5-week visit rhythm
- Margin-tight alternative: 8 stamps, ≈13% discount, ≈40-week cycle
- Don't go below 5 unless your service margin is unusually wide
- Don't go above 8–10 — the reward starts to feel too distant to motivate anyone
5-stamp vs. 8-stamp cards for a salon
The comparison is a straightforward trade between discount size and time to reward — there's no hidden third factor, which is why this decision is simpler than most of the mechanic choices a salon has to make.
| Threshold | Felt discount | Time to complete | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 stamps | ≈20% | ≈25 weeks | Standard color/treatment cycle, healthy margin |
| 8 stamps | ≈13% | ≈40 weeks | Tighter-margin services or higher-ticket treatments |
| 10 stamps | ≈10% | ≈50 weeks | Only for weekly-frequency services, rarely salon-appropriate |
A worked example: a 180 SAR color service
On a 5-stamp card, a client pays for four 180 SAR visits (720 SAR) and gets the fifth free — a 20% discount across the cycle, delivered in roughly 25 weeks. On an 8-stamp card, she pays for seven visits (1,260 SAR) before the eighth is free, a discount closer to 13%, spread across roughly 40 weeks.
If your margin on a 180 SAR color service is thin — say the product cost alone eats a third of the price — the 8-stamp version keeps more of that margin intact per cycle. If your margin is comfortable, the 5-stamp version's faster, more generous reward is worth the extra cost in client retention.
What changes if visits aren't evenly spaced
This math assumes a fairly consistent 5-week cycle. Clients who visit more sporadically — every 8–10 weeks for some services — will take proportionally longer to complete either threshold, and an 8-stamp card can start to feel genuinely distant for that slower group.
If your client base splits between a fast-cycle group and a slow-cycle group, it's worth checking the dashboard's visit-frequency view before locking in one number for everyone — a threshold that works for regulars may feel unreachable for occasional visitors.
A stamp-added message tuned to whichever threshold you pick
Whatever number you land on, the trigger message should count down to it specifically rather than using a generic line.
For a 5-stamp card: "Stamp 3 of 5 — 2 more visits to your free treatment." For an 8-stamp card: "Stamp 3 of 8 — 5 more visits to go." The specificity is what makes the countdown motivating.
Free plan lets you test both thresholds before committing
Free is 0 SAR forever, up to 100 customers, 1 stamp card, and 100 messages a month — enough to run one threshold with your current client base and watch the dashboard for a full cycle before deciding whether to adjust it. Growth at 85 SAR/mo is only needed once you want more than one card or more than 100 customers.
The threshold decision itself doesn't require any plan upgrade — it's a setting on the card you already have.
Decide between 5 and 8 in four steps
This is a five-minute calculation once you have your actual service price and margin in front of you.
- Step 1: check your margin on the service
Know how much of the price is product cost and stylist time before picking a threshold.
- Step 2: calculate the discount at 5 and at 8 stamps
Roughly 20% versus 13% on a uniform price.
- Step 3: check your average visit cycle
Confirm it's close to five weeks before assuming the time-to-complete numbers apply.
- Step 4: pick one number and apply it consistently
Avoid switching thresholds mid-program once clients are already tracking progress.
Frequently asked questions
Should a salon stamp card reward the 5th visit or the 8th?
Default to the 5th visit, which gives roughly a 20% discount over a 25-week cycle on a typical 5-week visit rhythm. Move to 8 stamps only if that discount is genuinely too costly given your margin on the service.
What discount does an 8-stamp card give compared to 5 stamps?
An 8-stamp card works out to roughly a 13% discount versus about 20% for a 5-stamp card, at the cost of a longer cycle — around 40 weeks instead of 25 on a typical salon visit rhythm.
Does the threshold need to change if clients visit less often than every 5 weeks?
The discount percentage stays the same, but the time to complete the card stretches proportionally. Check the dashboard's visit-frequency data if your client base varies widely in how often they book.
Can I change the stamp threshold after launching?
Technically yes, but avoid it once clients are actively tracking progress toward a specific number — changing the goalpost after clients have already started earning stamps damages trust in the program.