One BonusReferral programs
Updated 31 August 2026
A referral program pays an existing customer for bringing a new one, and usually pays the newcomer too. It is the only acquisition channel where the cost per customer is a number you set yourself, and where the recommendation comes from someone the new customer already trusts.
Why referrals are cheaper than advertising
An advertisement is paid for whether anyone buys or not. A referral reward is paid only after a real purchase, which makes the cost per acquired customer exactly the reward you chose and nothing more.
The customers who arrive are also better. Someone who came because a friend recommended the place starts the relationship already believing it is good, which is a position no advertisement can buy.
Reward both sides
Rewarding only the referrer makes the referral feel like a sales pitch, and people are reluctant to send a friend into one. Rewarding only the newcomer gives the person doing the work nothing.
Give both. The referrer gets points or a reward once the newcomer actually buys; the newcomer gets a welcome bonus that makes the first visit worth making.
Paying out on a purchase, not a signup
A program that pays on signup will be gamed within a week, because signing up is free and creating accounts is easy. A program that pays only when the new customer completes a real purchase cannot be gamed profitably.
On One Bonus the referrer’s reward lands after the referred customer’s first genuine purchase, and both sides can see the status in the app.
Setting the reward
Work out what a new customer is worth over a year, and pay a fraction of it. Paying more than the first basket is fine if people come back; paying more than a year of margin is not.
One reward per referred person, and a sensible cap per referrer, keeps the arithmetic honest without insulting anyone who genuinely brings ten friends.
Common questions
How much should a referral reward be?
A fraction of what a new customer is worth over their first year. If a regular spends a hundred thousand dram a year at a thirty percent margin, a few thousand dram of reward is cheap acquisition — far cheaper than any advertisement with the same result.
How do you stop people abusing a referral program?
Pay on a real purchase rather than on signup, give one reward per referred person, and cap how many one account can claim. Once the reward requires money to actually change hands, abuse stops being profitable.
Should the new customer get something too?
Yes. A one-sided referral reads as a sales pitch and people will not send friends into one. Rewarding both sides turns it into a favour the referrer is happy to do.
Turn regulars into your best channel
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