Birthday rewards convert better than any other automated trigger. Industry data: 28–35% redemption vs. 5–8% for generic promo emails. They're easy to set up, easy to budget, and customers genuinely appreciate them.
How birthdays get captured
Three paths:
- Customer enters at signup. Optional field on Branded App and microsite signup. Most check-out flows can also offer it ("Add your birthday for a free dessert each year").
- Customer enters in their loyalty profile. Adds a "complete your profile, get 25 bonus points" prompt for empty fields.
- Imported from your existing CRM. During migration, we'll pull birthday data from Toast, Square, Olo, or any system that exports it.
Birth year is optional — only birth month and day are required.
What to give
Common rewards:
- Free dessert — low cost, high perceived value, popular for casual restaurants
- % off — 20–30% off any single visit during birthday week
- Free entrée — for fine dining or operations with healthy entrée margins
- Free delivery — delivery-heavy operations
- Loyalty bonus points — 100–500 bonus points (no incremental cost)
Make it generous enough to bring them in
A "10% off" birthday reward is too small — most customers won't bother. 20–30% off, free dessert, or 500 bonus points is the sweet spot. The reward should make the customer feel celebrated, not nickel-and-dimed.
When to send
The morning of the birthday is the highest-converting send time. Some operations prefer "birthday week" (7 days, customer can use the reward any day) over "birthday day" (24 hours only).
7-day windows convert slightly higher (28–35% vs. 22–28% for 24-hour) because they accommodate "I'm at my mom's house tonight, I'll come tomorrow."
How to set it up
Open Marketing → Loyalty → Birthday Rewards
Toggle on. Pick the reward (free dessert / % off / free entrée / bonus points / custom).
Set the validity window
24 hours, 7 days, or 30 days. We recommend 7 days for most operations.
Set the message channel
Email, WhatsApp, push (if Branded App), or all three. WhatsApp wins on open rate; email is the fallback if customer hasn't opted into WhatsApp.
Approve the EatsyAI-drafted copy
EatsyAI writes the message in customer's language with your brand voice. Edit if needed, approve.
Done
Once enabled, the reward fires automatically every birthday for every customer with a birthday on file. No further action required.
Reading the results
Marketing → Loyalty → Birthday Rewards → Results. Shows redemption rate, average ticket on redemption, and incremental revenue (compared to non-birthday customer cohort).
Most operators see $25–80 of incremental ticket per redeemed birthday reward. If your monthly redemptions × incremental ticket is greater than the cost of the reward, the program is profitable. It almost always is.
See also: Loyalty Program Design, Win-Back Automation.