Build Loyalty and Increase Sales Without Direct Customer Relationships

If your products are sold through retailers, merchants, or third-party channels, building loyalty can feel impossible. You don’t control the checkout. You don’t know much about your end customers. And you don’t have direct access to data.
 

You’re not alone - and the good news is, there's a solution.
 

Leading brands across CPG, FMCG and manufacturing are using digital loyalty tech with tools like receipt scanning and QR code scanning to finally connect with their end customers. No storefront or direct sales channel required.
 

This article will show you how digital loyalty solutions close the gap between brand and customer by collecting first-party data, driving repeat purchases, and boosting engagement - even when you don’t own the checkout…

Why traditional loyalty programs don’t work for goods suppliers

If you're a manufacturer or consumer brand that sells through retail partners, marketplaces, or distributors, you’re missing out on a lot of valuable customer data like who’s buying, where, and how often.

This makes it nearly impossible to:
 

• Build a customer database
   
• Incentivize repeat purchases
   
• Run personalized campaigns
  
  
  That’s where modern loyalty tech comes in - and Activate is built specifically for brands in your position.

Meet Activate: loyalty tech for indirect sales channels

Activate is our solution for brands that want to run loyalty programs - without needing direct access to the point of sale.

It enables you to reward real customers, gather first-party data, and build long-term loyalty - whether your products are sold in grocery stores, trade counters, or online marketplaces.

How it works:

• Customers upload a receipt or scan a QR/promo code
   
• Activate extracts and validates the purchase details
   
• Customers get rewarded instantly - with points, vouchers, cashback, or exclusive perks (you choose)
   
• You gain insights: product bought, purchase location, frequency, and more (like what they also bought from your competitors…)
   
• Customers stay engaged through your own branded app, microsite, or SDK
   

Go beyond purchases: reward any action, anywhere.

Activate is powered by our event-based loyalty engine, which means you’re not limited to rewarding purchases. You can incentivize any customer behaviour that matters to your brand…
 

For example:
 

• 📸 Uploading user-generated content on social media
   
• 📦 Referring a friend or colleague
   
• 💬 Completing a survey or product review
   
• 🛠 Registering a product warranty
   
• 🎓 Attending a training session or webinar
   
• 🔁 Repeating a high-value behaviour (e.g. buying 3+ times in a month or making a purchase over £100)
  
   

Every interaction becomes an opportunity to reward, engage, and build loyalty - no matter where or how it happens.

 

Outcomes:

• ✅ Grow repeat purchases and brand loyalty
• ✅ Collect valuable first-party customer data
• ✅ Build a direct connection with previously anonymous buyers
• ✅ Incentivize transactions, higher spend, or product switching (or anything else)
• ✅ Run segmented, data-driven campaigns at scale
   

Choose how you capture data with Activate

Activate offers multiple ways to collect customer data. Choose the approach that fits your product, audience, and strategy…

Receipt Scanning: data from proof of purchase

Receipt scanning is ideal for brands that don’t control the POS but still want rich customer insights. Customers upload a photo of their paper or digital receipt to get rewarded - and you get validated purchase data, fast.

Benefits:

✅ Works at any retailer with any receipt or invoice (physical or digital)
✅ Collects SKU-level data (including full basket data)
✅ Captures shopper behaviour (like when and where they purchased your product)
✅ No need for POS integrations

🔍 Interested in a receipt-based loyalty program? Let’s talk.
 

QR code campaigns: connect online & offline

QR codes or product codes on packaging or in-store displays help you engage customers post-purchase. Scanning a code can lead to a reward, sign-up flow, or data capture journey.
 

Benefits:

✅ Launch digital journeys from physical products
✅ Drive engagement at scale
✅ Track campaign performance
✅ Offer seamless user experiences

🔍 Want to explore QR-based loyalty? Get in touch to find out more. 

Custom integrations: loyalty that fits your stack

Already capturing data elsewhere? Plug loyalty into your existing tools with our custom integrations - from CRM systems to eCommerce platforms.
 

Benefits:

✅ Automate data sync
✅ Avoid duplication and manual entry
✅ Centralise data for smarter targeting

🔍 Need loyalty to play nicely with your systems? Explore our integration options.

Why first-party data matters - especially for brands without a direct customer relationship

Activate helps you collect high-quality first-party customer data, direct from the source.
 

Why this matters:

✅ Run loyalty programs without direct sales access
✅ Collect first-party data without a CRM
✅ Stay fully GDPR-compliant
✅ Build long-term customer relationships
✅ Understand who’s buying, where, and when
✅ Reward real purchases with vouchers, cashback, or perks

And solves real challenges like:

• ❌ Retailers owning the customer relationship, leaving brands in the dark
   
• ❌ Limited visibility into who’s buying your products, where, or how often
   
• ❌ Inability to attribute sales to specific campaigns
   
• ❌ Struggling to personalise offers or messages without actionable data
   
• ❌ Over-reliance on third-party data that's becoming less reliable and harder to access
   

Engaging customers through third-party retailers: ideas and examples

You might not own the checkout - but you can own the relationship that comes after.
 

Examples of how leading brands are doing it:
 

🥤 Beverage brand - On-pack QR code campaign
 

• Customer buys a drink at Tesco, a petrol station, a vending machine, or anywhere else
   
• Scans on-pack code using their phone
   
• Lands on custom-branded microsite, invited to join the loyalty program
   
• Uploads receipt → Collects points to redeem rewards (or another loyalty mechanism of your choice)
   
• Brand gets contact info, purchase location, and SKU-level data
  
  🎯 Outcome: The brand builds up a database of loyal buyers, tracks repeat purchases, and boosts customer retention with exclusive offers.
  
   

🔧 Plumbing manufacturer - Trade rewards program
 

• Plumbers purchase from Toolstation or a local trade merchant
   
• Upload proof of purchase via a branded mobile app
   
• Activate validates the receipt and triggers instant value with a cashback voucher
   
• Brand tracks high-value users and sends targeted upsell offers
  
  🎯 Outcome: Increases product adoption, collect B2B installer data, and build long-term loyalty with trade customers.

🍪 Snacks brand - On-pack promo code campaign
 

• Brands launches into grocery stores with packs that include a unique promo code
   
• Customer visits the campaign site, enters the code + their contact information
   
• Instantly receive a discount voucher on their next purchase, or enter them into a competition to win a year’s supply
   
• Brand validates purchase, captures contact info, and tracks SKU + store data
  
  🎯 Outcome: Drives trial and new customer acquisition, builds customer database, and initiates re-engagement.

Ready to explore your options?

Whether your products sit on supermarket shelves or trade counters, the reality is this: your brand needs a way to connect with end customers.
 

- No eCommerce store? No problem.
Run a loyalty program without selling D2C. Reward customers wherever they buy - Amazon, Home Depot, or your local wholesaler.
 

- Get the data you’ve been missing.
Track real purchases. See who’s buying, where, and how often. Stop guessing.
 

- Stay front of mind (and wallet).
Gamified rewards, branded apps, and personalised offers keep you the brand of choice in crowded categories.

What to look for in loyalty tech

Your loyalty platform partner should do a lot of the heavy lifting. Choose a platform that offers:

• ✅ Smart receipt scanning (with AI-powered data capture & analytics)
• ✅ Custom rewards logic
• ✅ Custom-branded frontends like apps or microsites
• ✅ Live dashboards and real-time reporting
• ✅ Integrations so you can plug loyalty into your existing tech stack
• ✅ API-first and able to scale with your business