Digital Membership Relaunch for an Outdoor Gear Co-op
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Overview
What we built
A 22-store outdoor gear co-op ran its membership on a paper card and one letter a year. We relaunched it digitally, and members now return more often and redeem more of their dividend.
In plain terms: the co-op rewarded members with an annual dividend, but the whole programme lived on paper. Members carried a card in a wallet or lost it in a drawer, learned their dividend balance once a year when the annual letter arrived, and heard nothing in between. Younger shoppers were joining at declining rates, and the co-op could not see how membership related to what people actually bought across its stores.
We moved the membership into the digital tools members already use. A pass in Apple or Google wallets replaces the paper card, a member portal shows the live dividend balance and purchase history at any time, and benefits now unlock as annual spend grows. The results followed: 61% of active members added the digital card within 6 months, dividend redemption rose from 64% to 78% of issued value in the first year, and new sign-ups grew 24% year on year, led by under-35s.
The Problem
Paper-era membership, no returns
The co-op had run its membership the same way for decades: a paper card at the till, an annual dividend letter in the post, and silence for the rest of the year. Across 22 stores that consistency had become inertia. Members had no digital card to carry, no way to check their dividend between statements, and no prompt to come back between purchases.
The gap showed most clearly with younger shoppers, who joined at declining rates and expected a membership to live in their phone, not their filing drawer. Meanwhile the business side was flying blind: with no link between the membership record and the till, the co-op could not connect membership to buying behaviour, so it had no way to know which benefits mattered or which members were drifting away.
The dividend itself, the heart of the co-op model, was underperforming as a loyalty tool. Members who never saw their balance had little reason to plan a return trip around it, and a meaningful share of issued value simply went unredeemed. The one channel that did exist, the annual letter, arrived once and asked nothing of the member for another year.
Paper-only membership
The card lived in wallets and drawers, invisible to the till and to the member, with no digital counterpart on Apple or Google devices.
Silent dividend
Members learned their dividend balance once a year from a posted letter, so the programme's core benefit spent most of its time out of sight.
No behavioural link
Purchases and membership records never met, leaving the co-op unable to see which members shopped, what they bought, or who had quietly lapsed.
Ageing member base
Younger shoppers joined at declining rates, and a paper-era programme gave them little reason to see the co-op as relevant to how they shop.
What it was costing them
A membership programme is meant to be the reason customers come back, and this one had stopped doing that job. Members had no reason to return between purchases, unredeemed dividend value sat idle instead of driving store visits, and every year of declining sign-ups among younger shoppers made the member base older and the co-op's future revenue thinner.
The Solution
Wallet passes and spend tiers
We relaunched the membership as a digital programme built around the moments members actually experience: joining, shopping, checking a balance, and hearing from the co-op. Wallet passes for Apple and Google devices replaced the paper card, and a member portal now shows the live dividend balance and purchase history whenever a member wants to look, not once a year.
At the till, POS integration recognises members automatically, so every purchase is credited without a card being hunted for, and the co-op finally sees membership and buying behaviour in the same place. Tiered benefits unlock as annual spend grows, giving members a visible reason to consolidate their outdoor spending with the co-op, alongside early access to used-gear sales and store events.
The single annual letter gave way to lifecycle messaging: timely, personalised touches triggered by what a member does rather than by the calendar. A new member, a lapsing member, and a member approaching a new tier each hear something different, and each message has a job to do in bringing that person back to a store.
Key decisions
Meet members in their wallets
The digital card ships as Apple and Google wallet passes, so membership lives where members already carry payment cards, with no separate download required to be recognised in store.
Make the dividend visible
The member portal puts the live dividend balance and purchase history one tap away, turning the programme's core benefit from an annual surprise into a running reason to return.
Recognise members at the till
POS integration credits every purchase automatically, which keeps the member experience effortless and gives the co-op the behavioural link it never had.
Earn tiers through annual spend
Benefits unlock as spend grows across the year, rewarding the co-op's most committed members and giving occasional shoppers a clear path upward.
Message on behaviour, not the calendar
Lifecycle messaging replaced the single annual letter, so members hear from the co-op when something is relevant to them: a tier within reach, an event nearby, a dividend waiting.
Measurable Impact
What changed after launch
The clearest signal came from behaviour. Quarterly repeat-purchase rate among digitally activated members rose from 31% to 38%, while a matched cohort of non-activated members stayed flat over the same period, isolating the programme's effect from the general trading backdrop. Dividend redemption inside the co-op climbed from 64% to 78% of issued value in the first year, meaning more of the benefit members earn now returns to the tills as spend.
Adoption and growth followed the same curve. 61% of active members added the digital membership card within 6 months of launch, and new membership sign-ups grew 24% year on year, with under-35s the fastest-growing segment: exactly the audience the paper-era programme had been losing. The co-op now sees membership and purchasing in one place, so future benefit and event decisions rest on evidence rather than instinct.
Membership card
A paper card, easily lost and invisible at the till
Wallet passes added by 61% of active members within 6 months
Dividend visibility
Balance disclosed once a year by letter
Live balance and purchase history in the member portal
Repeat purchasing
No reason to return between purchases
Quarterly repeat-purchase rate up from 31% to 38%
New sign-ups
Younger shoppers joining at declining rates
Sign-ups up 24% year on year, led by under-35s
Headline results
Quarterly repeat-purchase rate among digitally activated members rose from 31% to 38%, while a matched non-activated cohort stayed flat
Dividend redemption inside the co-op rose from 64% to 78% of issued value in the first year
61% of active members added the digital membership card within 6 months of launch
New membership sign-ups grew 24% year on year, with under-35s the fastest-growing segment
Tech & Tools Used
What powered the build
Every tool below earned its place in this engagement. Here is the part each one played.
Node.js
Runs the membership services behind the relaunch, handling pass issuance, dividend balance lookups and the POS events that credit purchases to member records.
Next.js
Powers the member portal where members check their live dividend balance, purchase history and tier progress from any browser.
PostgreSQL
The system of record for members, tiers and dividend balances, keeping portal, passes and till in agreement on every account.
Apple Wallet PassKit
Issues and updates the Apple Wallet membership pass, so the digital card sits alongside payment cards and refreshes when a member's status changes.
Google Wallet API
Provides the equivalent pass for Android members, keeping the wallet experience consistent whichever device a member carries into a store.
Segment
Collects membership and purchase events into a single stream, giving the co-op the unified behavioural view it never had under the paper programme.
Klaviyo
Runs the lifecycle messaging that replaced the annual letter, sending timely, personalised touches based on each member's activity and tier progress.
Stripe
Processes payments in the online membership flows, so members can join and transact digitally as smoothly as they are recognised at the till.
React Native
Underpins the mobile experience of the member portal, putting dividend balance, tier progress and event access in members' pockets between store visits.
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