Gamifying Retention: How Flaunt Reimagined Loyalty for a Mission-Driven Shopify Merchant 🧩
When Puzzles of Color approached Flaunt, they weren't just looking for another points-for-purchases program. They needed a loyalty strategy that could match their mission of amplifying underrepresented artists while driving sustainable DTC growth.
Founded in 2020, Puzzles of Color promotes tech-free family entertainment through puzzles featuring framed art created by Black artists. With multiple sales channels including their DTC website, retail partnerships, and events, they faced a common challenge: figuring out how to increase retention and reduce reliance on in-person events without compromising their brand values.
This is exactly the type of challenge Flaunt's managed service approach was built to solve…
Digging Deep to Find Hidden Growth Opportunities
Our first step was conducting a comprehensive loyalty audit that went deeper than surface-level metrics. We immersed ourselves in every aspect of Puzzles of Color's business, from their brand story to their customer experience across all channels.
The audit revealed crucial insights:
- Strong seasonal performance (October-December)
- Success with non-discount campaigns
- Diverse customer base including gift-buyers and wholesale accounts
- Unique brand assets including founder story and artist relationships
- Opportunity to increase touchpoints with new customers
Most importantly, we identified two key customer segments requiring different loyalty approaches:
- New customers (Months 1-6): Needing increased brand touchpoints and personalized content
- Churned customers (Months 7+): Requiring compelling reasons to return and make subsequent purchases
Designing a Loyalty Program with Purpose
Armed with these insights, we created the "Stay @ Home & Puzzle Club," a loyalty program that transforms every customer interaction into an opportunity for deeper engagement.
The program goes beyond traditional loyalty mechanics with:
- Strategic Challenge Design
- Welcome to the Family Challenge: Drives first-party data collection while immersing new members in the brand story
- Puzzle Collector's Challenge: Uses gamification to encourage exploration across collections
- Limited-Edition Challenges: Creates urgency and exclusivity around new releases
- Value-Driven Benefits
- Free puzzles and gifts earned through engagement
- Up to 7% of sales directed back to artists
- Exclusive opportunities to influence future collections
- Focus on creating frameable family memories
- Elevated Welcome Series
- Personalized touchpoints over the first seven days
- Deliberate storytelling that connects products to purpose
- Strategic incentives to drive first and second purchases
Turning Program Design into Profit
The program design targets specific KPIs that matter to retention-focused teams:
- Increasing M1-M6 returning customer rate 3x
- Growing M7+ customer reactivation 5x
- Driving AOV increases across both segments
But beyond the metrics, this program exemplifies how loyalty can serve both business goals and brand mission. Every element, from the challenge design to the benefit structure, reinforces Puzzles of Color's commitment to supporting artists and creating meaningful family experiences.
What This Means for Your Brand
This case study offers valuable lessons for brands looking to elevate their loyalty strategy:
- Look Beyond Transactions
- Your loyalty program should reflect your brand's unique value proposition
- Consider how every challenge and reward can reinforce your mission
- Segment Strategically
- Different customer cohorts require different loyalty approaches
- Design your program to address specific behaviors at each stage
- Connect Program to Purpose
- Loyalty programs can drive both community engagement and business growth
- Use your unique brand assets to create differentiated experiences
- Focus on Implementation
- Success requires more than just program design
- Consider how your program will integrate with existing marketing channels and tech stack
Want a Loyalty Program That Drives Real Growth?
Puzzles of Color's story demonstrates the power of a managed service approach to loyalty. By combining strategic insights, custom program design, and ongoing optimization, Flaunt helps brands create loyalty experiences that drive real results.
Want to learn how Flaunt can transform your approach to customer retention? Discover how your retention team can accomplish 10x more with Flaunt. Book a call to see how our managed service makes it possible.
