How to Get Customers to Come Back: A Plan for Local Businesses

To get customers to come back, give them a specific reason to return (a reward they can reach in a few visits), know who your regulars are, invite them back at the moments they're deciding where to go, and aim your best offers at your slowest hours. Then compare return visits with your numbers from before, so you know what worked.

Why is it harder to get customers to come back right now?

Customers are making fewer trips. The Fiserv Small Business Index for September 2026, released Oct. 5, found that small-business transactions, which Fiserv uses to track customer traffic, fell 2.0% from a year earlier, the eleventh straight monthly decline. Sales still rose 2.2%, largely because average tickets were up 4.2%.

The missing trips aren't spread evenly. Placer.ai, a location analytics firm, reported on July 9 that weekday visits to U.S. retail corridors between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. were still running 20% to 30% below pre-pandemic levels in the second quarter of 2026. Evenings looked better: Friday visits from 8 p.m. to midnight came in 2.0% above the same quarter of 2019.

Owners feel it. In the Federal Reserve Banks' 2026 Report on Employer Firms, 57% of small employers said reaching customers and growing sales was an operational challenge.

What makes customers come back?

Good service and a good product come first; nothing below replaces them. Beyond that, customers return when they have a reason to choose you again and a reminder at the right time. Rewards are one of those reasons. In the National Restaurant Association's 2026 State of the Restaurant Industry report, 63% of limited-service restaurant customers said being a member of a loyalty or rewards program is important when choosing where to go.

The practical version for a local business:

1. A reward within reach. Something specific that a regular can earn in a few visits.
2. A list of your regulars. You can't invite back people you can't identify.
3. An invitation before they decide. A short message the evening before gives people time to plan a visit.
4. A consistent routine. A standing perk customers can remember beats a new deal every week.
5. Something to look forward to. A reward program that's fun to use, for example one with games, gives customers another reason to think of you between visits.

How do you get a first-time customer to come back?

The first visit is when a customer is easiest to sign up. Invite every new customer to join your rewards program at checkout, and make the first reward close enough that the second visit already counts toward it. A one-line invitation that every employee says the same way works better than a sign on the counter. Our loyalty program setup guide covers choosing that first reward.

How do you win back customers who stopped coming?

First, find them. A paper card can't tell you who has stopped visiting; a program customers join by name can (see digital vs. paper punch cards). Then:

• Pick a cutoff, such as 30 or 60 days without a visit, that fits how often your regulars usually come.
• Send one short, friendly invitation, only to customers who agreed to hear from you, with a reason to return, such as a reward they've already earned.
• Don't flood them. One invitation and one follow-up is plenty; then stop.

How do you get customers in on slow days?

Don't guess which days are slow. Pull four to eight weeks of sales by hour and day from your register or payment system, then:

1. List each day of the week in rows and each hour you're open in columns.
2. Fill in the average number of transactions for each block.
3. Circle the two or three lowest blocks that you staff anyway.

A quiet hour you're already paying staff for is the cheapest one to fill. Start with a single window, like Tuesday 2 to 5 p.m., so it's clear what worked.

Which offers work best to bring customers back?

Extra rewards are usually the safest choice, because the customer has to come back again to use them. Keep slow-day offers out of your busy hours, spell out the days and times in every message, and set an end date.

When should you remind customers to come back?

Reach regulars shortly before the window, not during it. The evening before or the morning of a slow day usually works, and with evening traffic gaining, an evening message about the next afternoon is often well timed. Keep it to one line: what, when and how long. Only message people who agreed to hear from you, and stop when anyone asks. Our guide to text and email reminders covers wording and timing.

How do you know if it's working?

Compare each window with the same window in the weeks before, not with your busy days. Track transactions in the target window, transactions in your busy windows (to catch customers shifting visits rather than adding them), rewards redeemed and what they cost, and how many customers returned after 30 days or more away. Run any change for at least four weeks before judging it. With traffic falling across the market, a flat month can still be a good result. The measurement guide shows the math.

How does Touch Won help bring customers back?

Create your own coin on Touch Won, or join businesses already doing it. Touch Won is a customer loyalty rewards program for local businesses. According to the company's site, each business gets its own coin code, customers sign up under that code in the Touch Won app, and the customers who sign up stay on the business's own list. A vendor dashboard shows every customer under the code, with date-range activity reports, and a 7-step customer guide covers inviting shoppers to join. Touch Won also gives customers games to play in the app. According to the company's site, every game has its own bonus skill round built for that game, rather than the same game repeated with new art. In the Samurai game, for example, the bonus skill round asks customers to pick a fortune cookie. The first week is free, then $79 a month. There's no cap on what you can collect.

Frequently asked questions

What is the fastest way to get customers to come back?

Invite every customer to join a rewards program at checkout and make the first reward reachable within a few visits, so the next visit already counts.

What makes customers want to come back to a business?

A good product and service first, then a specific reason to return, such as a reward they're close to earning, and a timely reminder from a business they've agreed to hear from.

How do I win back customers who haven't visited in a while?

Identify regulars who haven't visited in 30 to 60 days, then send one short invitation with a reason to return, only to customers who agreed to hear from you.

Are discounts or extra rewards better for bringing customers back?

Extra rewards usually cost less, because the customer has to return to use them, and they don't train customers to wait for a sale.

What should I do when business is slow?

Find your slowest staffed hours in your sales records, aim one time-limited reward at that window, tell regulars ahead of time, and run it for at least four weeks before judging it.

Do games help bring customers back?

They can add a reason to keep using a rewards program. Touch Won's games each have their own bonus skill round built for that game, rather than the same game with new art, according to the company's site.

How often should I remind customers to come back?

One or two well-timed reminders a week is plenty for most small businesses, sent the evening before or the morning of the offer.

---

Want a second set of eyes on your plan? For a limited time, Touch Won offers a free 30-minute coaching call with Calvin Burke, a consultant with more than 15 years in the industry. It's a conversation about your business and your rewards, with no screen-share or sales walkthrough. Book a free coaching call.

Sources

1. Fiserv, Fiserv Small Business Index for September 2026, news release via GlobeNewswire (copy on Stockhouse), Oct. 5, 2026. https://stockhouse.com/news/press-releases/2026/10/05/fiserv-small-business-index-shows-small-business-sales-rise-in-september-as-back
2. Placer.ai, Retail Corridors Emerge as Evening Destinations in 2026, by Ezra Carmel and Lila Margalit, July 9, 2026. https://www.placer.ai/anchor/articles/retail-corridors-emerge-as-evening-destinations-in-2026
3. Federal Reserve Banks, 2026 Report on Employer Firms: Findings from the 2025 Small Business Credit Survey, March 3, 2026. https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/reports/survey/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms
4. National Restaurant Association, 2026 State of the Restaurant Industry (report PDF), Feb. 2026. https://go.restaurant.org/rs/078-ZLA-461/images/SOI-2026-Report.pdf?version=0
5. Touch Won, Homepage, viewed Oct. 10, 2026. https://touchwon.com/
6. Touch Won, How It Works and FAQ pages, viewed Oct. 10, 2026. https://touchwon.com/how-it-works