The figures and scenarios in this article are illustrative: adapt them to your margins and your own data. They are not EasyFid customer results. See how to measure your results.
"My summer customers — I never see them again." That's the observation many shop owners in tourist areas make, or anyone whose business depends on a season — the seaside, the mountains, a historic town center, a Christmas market. The natural instinct is to think that building loyalty with a passing-through customer is a waste of time: they're leaving in a week, so why offer them a loyalty card?
That's a miscalculation. A satisfied tourist may not come back to your street, but they often come back to your region, talk about it to people around them, and can even become a regular if they live within a couple of hours' drive. The real question isn't "can I get them to come back tomorrow?" but "did I capture this customer at the right moment, with the right tool, so they think of me the next time they pass through — or mention me to someone who lives nearby?"
Table of contents
- A passing-through customer isn't a lost customer
- Capturing attention from the very first visit
- The Wallet card: the only loyalty tool that follows a customer on the move
- Creating a concrete reason to come back
- Turning a satisfied tourist into a word-of-mouth ambassador
- Adapting your strategy to seasonal peaks
- Frequently asked questions
A passing-through customer isn't a lost customer
Three groups actually make up a "tourist" customer base: vacationers who return every year to the same resort town or village, local residents who only pass by your shop during the season (a summer market, a pedestrian street that's busy in summer), and one-time visitors who will never physically return but might recommend your address. Treating these three groups the same way wastes most of the potential.
The first group — the seasonal regulars — often makes up the core profitability of a business in a tourist area: they're the ones filling the shop year after year, sometimes for fifteen years. A well-designed loyalty program doesn't try to retain everyone; it tries to identify and take care of that core, while still giving the other two groups a reason to come back or talk about you.
Capturing attention from the very first visit
With a passing-through customer base, you only get one shot: the first visit is often the last one of the season. That's why signing a customer up for your loyalty program needs to be fast, right at checkout, while you're ringing up their purchase — a first name and, optionally, a phone number or email is all it takes.
- Zero friction: no long form, nothing to set up on the customer's side — just a first name and a number, entered by you in a few seconds.
- A gesture, not a task: the customer should have their card ready on their phone before they've even finished putting their change away.
- An immediate visual reminder: the card should show up on their phone, not in an inbox they'll never reopen while on vacation.
Practical tip: during peak periods (July-August, holiday weeks), train your staff to systematically offer to sign customers up for the loyalty card at checkout, with a short line: "This takes me two minutes on your phone, so next time you'll have a discount." The words "next time" already plant the idea of a return visit in the customer's mind.
The Wallet card: the only loyalty tool that follows a customer on the move
This is where the paper loyalty card shows its limits with a tourist customer base: it gets lost in a suitcase, stays in a different pair of pants, or simply ends up in the trash with the receipts once vacation is over. A customer who left their stamped card 400 km from home will never come back to redeem it.
A digital loyalty card solves this problem structurally: it lives on the customer's smartphone, in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, right next to their boarding pass or train ticket. It doesn't get lost, doesn't get forgotten, and stays accessible even eight months later, when the customer returns to the place they vacationed last year. That's the very principle EasyFid was built on: giving local shop owners a loyalty tool that genuinely follows the customer, wherever they are, with a points balance that updates live in their Wallet the moment they check out.
Practical tip: during a customer's last visit of the season, if you've identified them as a "regular vacationer," explicitly remind them that their card stays active year-round on their phone. It's a small detail, but it's reassuring: the customer knows they won't have to do anything again next summer.
Creating a concrete reason to come back
A tourist who leaves with "a few more points" has no particular motivation to come back just for that. You need to give them a goal they can reach during their stay, or a strong enough promise to justify a detour the following year.
- A stay-length reward: a points threshold reachable within one or two weeks of vacation (for example, a discount after 5 visits) rather than a goal designed for a local customer who shops year-round.
- A card-anniversary perk: a small gesture sent automatically a year after the first visit, right when the customer is likely planning their next trip.
- A start-of-season welcome: a welcome message with a small bonus at reopening, for customers with a card that was active the previous year.
Turning a satisfied tourist into a word-of-mouth ambassador
Even a visitor who will never physically return has value: the value of a recommendation. A customer with an active loyalty card on their phone keeps, without even thinking about it, a visual trace of your shop every time they open their Wallet — a discreet but regular reminder of their experience with you. That's fertile ground for them to spontaneously mention you to a friend planning the same trip, or to leave a review once they're back home.
This works even better when the checkout experience felt smooth and modern: a shop offering a digital card rather than a stamp booklet sends a signal of seriousness and modernity, which is especially appreciated by customers who are mentally comparing your shop to the ones they visit year-round back home.
Adapting your strategy to seasonal peaks
Seasonal loyalty isn't managed the same way as loyalty for a shop with steady year-round traffic. You need to think in cycles: an intense sign-up phase during peaks (summer, school holidays, Christmas markets), followed by a near-total quiet phase the rest of the year for most tourist customers, then a targeted re-engagement just before the next season for the customers you've identified as regulars.
It's also a chance to segment your base: shop owners who adjust their points scale or rewards by season (more generous in the off-season to bring back regulars, simpler and faster in peak season to avoid slowing down checkout) get the most out of their loyalty tool. To build a complete strategy suited to your sector and your activity rhythm, see our guide to merchant loyalty programs — it covers the points, tier, and outreach mechanics you can adjust to your calendar.
Build loyalty with your passing-through customers, not just your regulars
A Wallet card that follows your customers all year, wherever they are.
App Store → Google Play →Frequently asked questions about tourist and seasonal loyalty
Can you really build loyalty with a tourist who only comes back once a year?
Yes, as long as you adjust your goals: a reward threshold reachable during a vacation stay, a card that stays active year-round in the customer's Wallet, and a small welcome gesture on their next visit are often enough to turn an occasional vacationer into a regular of their destination.
What's the point of a loyalty card for a customer who will never come back to my shop?
Even without a physical return, the card stays visible on their phone and acts as a discreet reminder of their experience with you, which encourages word of mouth and online reviews — a real benefit even without a new visit.
Does a paper loyalty card work for a tourist customer base?
Much less well than a digital card: a paper card is easily lost on vacation (a suitcase, another set of clothes, sorting through things once home), while a card saved in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet stays accessible and up to date, even months later.
How do you manage loyalty during the quiet periods of a seasonal business?
By preparing a targeted re-engagement just before the season picks back up, aimed at customers identified as regulars, and by adjusting your scale (more accessible rewards in the off-season) to maintain a connection with your local customers between two tourist peaks.
Do I need a different loyalty program for tourists and for local customers?
Not necessarily a separate program, but adjusted tiers and messages: short, reachable goals for passing-through visitors, longer-term loyalty rewards for customers who shop with you year-round.