One BonusA loyalty program for a barbershop
Updated 31 August 2026
A haircut is one price on a predictable cycle, which makes a barbershop the cleanest stamp card in existence. Every fifth or sixth cut free, nothing to explain, and no arithmetic at the chair.
Five or six, not ten
A haircut cycle is three to five weeks, so ten cuts is most of a year. That is too far away to change what anybody does. Five or six is one or two seasons, which a customer can picture.
A card of six is a sixteen percent give-back, but only to somebody who came six times — and the alternative, a standing discount, gives the same money to everybody including the man who came once.
Stopping the card being shared
Paper cards get filled by friends, by the same person with two cards, and occasionally by a pen that matches the stamp. There is no way to police it and no way to know how much it costs.
A stamp on One Bonus is on the customer’s account, and the free cut at the end is consumed once at the till. Nothing to copy, nothing to argue about.
Booking and the barber
Rewards are recorded against the barber who gave them, which matters in a shop where each chair effectively runs its own client list. It is the simplest way to see whether the new barber is building a following or serving walk-ins.
Common questions
How many cuts should a barbershop stamp card have?
Five or six. A cut happens every three to five weeks, so a card of ten takes most of a year — too far off to influence anybody. Six is a couple of seasons and stays believable.
How do I stop customers sharing a loyalty card?
Keep the stamp on the customer’s account rather than on a piece of card. On One Bonus the free cut is consumed once at the till and there is nothing physical to pass around or copy.
Every fifth cut, counted properly
Read next
- By industryA cafe, a pharmacy and a car wash need different programs. Visit frequency, basket size and margin decide the mechanic — pick your trade and see the fit.
- CafeA coffee shop is visited daily and sells cheaply, so a stamp card beats points. How many stamps to ask for, what the free cup costs you, and how to run it without paper.
- RestaurantA restaurant is visited rarely with a large bill, so points and levels fit better than stamps. Where to set tier thresholds and how to reward a booking, not just a bill.
- BakeryBread is bought on the way home, every day, in cash. A stamp card on a phone survives what a paper card does not, and it tells you which hour of the day sells.
- Bar and pubA bar lives on regulars and on quiet weeknights. Reward the visit rather than the spend, and use coupons to move the nights that need moving.
- Grocery storeA grocery basket is frequent and varied, which is exactly what a points rate is for. How to set the percentage, and why the checkout queue decides the design.
- ShopA small shop cannot ask people to install an app for it alone. Joining a network means the card is already in the pocket before the first purchase.
- Clothing storeFashion sells in bursts and goes quiet between them. Levels hold the gap, and a coupon timed to a new arrival beats a permanent discount that trains people to wait.