Visit frequency
Updated September 30, 2026
In one sentence
Visit frequency measures how often a customer comes back, for example twice a week or once a month.
How to measure it
Two measures work together. The first: the number of visits per customer over a period. The second: the typical time between two visits, called the median. The median is less skewed by the few regulars who drop by every day. To measure, you need to recognize the customer on every visit: that’s what the card does when it gets scanned.
Why it sets up your card
Choose the number of stamps based on how often your customers really come. A card that takes too long to fill discourages people. FaveCard studied 1,013 small businesses: a card that fills in 2 to 4 weeks gets completed 11.4% of the time, versus less than 1% past 16 weeks. And the reward brings people back faster. In a café studied by Kivetz, Urminsky and Zheng, the time between purchases shrinks by about 20% as the free coffee gets close.
What it’s worth
A customer who comes back often brings in more. According to Square, a regular who visits 4 or more times a year brings in 6 times more than a one-time customer. Track frequency month after month: you’ll know whether your regulars are staying regulars.
A café sees that its regulars come back every 3 days, on median. A 10-stamp card then fills in about a month. That’s well under the recommended 8-week limit.
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