Link in bio and loyalty program glossary
Plain definitions of the terms that come up when you set up a link in bio or a loyalty program — written to answer the question, not to sell you something.
Ver en español →Link in bio
A link in bio is a single URL placed in a social media profile's bio field that opens a landing page containing every other link the account owner wants to share. It exists because Instagram, TikTok, and most social platforms allow only one clickable link per profile.
Link in bio vs. website
A link in bio is a single mobile-first page that routes traffic arriving from social profiles to a handful of destinations. A website is a multi-page site built to be found in search engines and to host content of its own. They serve different traffic sources, and most businesses eventually run both.
Digital stamp card
A digital stamp card is a loyalty card held on a customer's phone instead of on paper, where each qualifying visit or purchase adds one stamp and reaching a set number of stamps unlocks a reward. It replicates the classic buy-nine-get-one-free punch card without the card to lose.
Digital loyalty program
A digital loyalty program is a system that tracks a customer's repeat purchases electronically and grants rewards when they hit defined thresholds. It covers stamp cards, points balances, tiers, and cashback — the common factor is that the business, not the customer, holds the record.
How digital stamp cards work
A digital stamp card works in three steps: the customer enrolls once by scanning an enrollment code, staff scans the customer's personal code at each qualifying visit to add a stamp, and when the stamp count reaches the program goal the customer redeems a reward, which resets the card.
Stamps vs. points vs. cashback
Stamps count visits toward a fixed goal, points accrue in proportion to how much a customer spends, and cashback returns a percentage of spend as store credit. Stamps suit frequent purchases of similar value, points suit varied ticket sizes, and cashback is the simplest to grasp but functions as a permanent discount.
QR code loyalty program
A QR code loyalty program uses scannable codes instead of cards or POS integration to identify customers and record loyalty activity. The customer holds a unique member code, and the business scans it at each qualifying visit to award a stamp or points.
Wallet pass
A wallet pass is a digital card — a boarding pass, ticket, coupon, or loyalty card — stored natively in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet on a phone. Passes can be updated remotely by their issuer and can trigger lock-screen notifications based on time or location.
Dynamic QR code
A dynamic QR code encodes a short redirect URL rather than the final destination, so the destination can be changed at any time without reprinting the code. A static QR code encodes the destination directly and is fixed once printed.
Customer retention rate
Customer retention rate is the percentage of customers a business keeps over a given period, calculated as (customers at end of period − customers acquired during the period) ÷ customers at start of period × 100. It measures how well a business holds the customers it already has.
Customer lifetime value (LTV)
Customer lifetime value (LTV) is the total profit a business expects from a customer across the whole relationship. The simple form is average purchase value × purchase frequency × customer lifespan, adjusted for gross margin.