Leveraging your current customer base is so important since it costs businesses 5-10x more to acquire new business than it does to sell to existing ones. Current customers also spend 67% more than new customers because you have already established trust with them. A 5% increase in customer retention can lead to a 25%-100% increase in profit for your company. Loyalty programs are the perfect incentive for students to shop and spend more at your store.
Remember that whatever loyalty system you use should be simple and straightforward. Confusing reward strategies lead to a decline in customer participation, but if executed properly can have huge benefits.
Sources: blog.hubspot.com, shopify.com