Toys & Hobbies
·
Mid-market
How Burbank Sportscards built a top-tier loyalty engine on top of 40 years of community
70%
redemption rate (3x Smile's top-performing threshold)
70%
redemption rate (3x Smile's top-performing threshold)
70%
redemption rate (3x Smile's top-performing threshold)
70%
redemption rate (3x Smile's top-performing threshold)
93%
reward usage rate
93%
reward usage rate
93%
reward usage rate
93%
reward usage rate
3x
higher purchase frequency from members
3x
higher purchase frequency from members
3x
higher purchase frequency from members
People are very hungry for their rewards because of how generous the program is. Some of our higher-spend customers will bank their points and do one large redemption. The gist is: people are very engaged with the rewards.
Carson Dowhan
Data & Insights Lead, Burbank Sportscards
People are very hungry for their rewards because of how generous the program is. Some of our higher-spend customers will bank their points and do one large redemption. The gist is: people are very engaged with the rewards.
Carson Dowhan
Data & Insights Lead, Burbank Sportscards
Burbank Sportscards is a family-run sports cards and collectibles retailer based
Industry
Toys & Hobbies
Platfrom
Shopify Plus
Merchant Size
Mid-market
Smile Features
Points
·
Referrals
·
VIP Tiers
·
POS Loyalty
·
Checkout Extension
·
Analytics
·
Smile API
Region
North America
The Story
A family shop. Four decades. A collector institution.
Burbank Sportscards is a family business that has been a Burbank, California institution for nearly 40 years. The shop sells premium sports cards, trading card games, entertainment cards, and sealed boxes to a passionate customer base of longtime locals, fellow card shops, hobbyists, and active buyers and sellers in the collectibles space. Founder Rob Veres built the brand into one of the most trusted voices in the hobby, and an exclusive partnership with Fanatics Collect has opened the doors to a new generation of collectors.
The Challenge
Loyalty was there. The infrastructure wasn't.
Burbank Sportscards already had loyal customers. The shop has one of the highest repeat purchase rates in the category, with longtime locals, fellow card shops, hobbyists, and dedicated collectors who treat the store as part of their week. Hardcore collectors line up online every morning for the 10am singles drop, and higher-profile buyers regularly place orders in the thousands, with some reaching six figures.
What the team didn't have was a way to formally recognize that loyalty. Burbank's give-back philosophy, set by founder Rob Veres, lived in conversations at the till and in quiet deals extended to longtime collectors. The team needed a structured rewards program to scale that generosity across every customer, every visit, online and in store.
A formal loyalty program was the way to reward the existing base, welcome new customers into the community, and turn 40 years of trust into a system that could grow with the brand.
The Solution
Four tiers, one app, every touchpoint covered.
Burbank chose Smile.io to power their rewards program. As the leading loyalty platform purpose-built for Shopify, Smile gave the team a generous, flexible foundation they could run on their own, with the API and SDK depth to build a fully custom experience on top.
The program is unmistakably generous. A four-tier VIP structure (Rookie, All Star, Hall of Fame, G.O.A.T) ladders up to a 5% store-wide discount for the deepest collectors, a reward almost no shop in the category offers. Burbank's existing Shop integration plugs straight into Smile, so when a customer pays at the till, an account is created, and they're enrolled in loyalty automatically. That single hand-off is a big reason membership now sits at 62%, above the Smile benchmark.
Burbank Cards app for seamless in-store points redemption
From there, Burbank went further than most merchants on the platform. Using the Smile API and SDK, the team built a custom mobile app, Burbank Cards, to make rewards effortless in-store and on the go. The app surfaces each customer's profile, available points, the rewards they can redeem, and any unused rewards. Coupons render as a barcode that staff scan at the till, or a code customers can paste into mobile checkout. Customers can add their rewards card to Apple Wallet, and a tier progress bar shows exactly how close they are to the next VIP level, a feature built directly using Smile.io's API.
One-tap redemption, at the till or on mobile
The original goal of the app was to solve one pain point. Customers without a Shop account had to type their email at the till while the line built up. Now, a customer opens the Burbank Cards app, scans a barcode at the register, and their points apply instantly. The same coupon works at mobile checkout as a copyable code, and the rewards card lives in Apple Wallet for use anywhere.
For a shop balancing local walk-ins with out-of-state collectors, the impact has been immediate. Floor staff move faster, customers redeem more often, and the core base has migrated from the website to the app as their daily way to shop with Burbank.
Burbank Sportscards's checkout with points earning extension enabled
Earning and redeeming, embedded directly in checkout
Burbank uses Smile's Checkout Extensions to embed loyalty directly inside their Shopify checkout. Members can select and apply a points-based discount in one click, and non-members see exactly how many points they'd earn if they signed up before the purchase clears.
For Burbank, that's loyalty meeting the customer at the exact moment of intent. Merchants who use Smile's checkout extensions typically see more than 2x higher revenue influenced by their loyalty program compared to those who don't.
What Smile enabled for Burbank:
A generous four-tier VIP program, capped by a 5% store-wide discount for the most loyal collectors
Automatic enrollment through the Shop integration, lifting membership to 62% of the customer base
A custom Burbank Cards mobile app, built directly on the Smile API and SDK
Frictionless redemption across every touchpoint: in-store at the till, at checkout, and inside the app
Hands-on technical support from the Smile team, all the way up to the CTO, during the custom app build
The Results
Top of the leaderboard across every metric.
Burbank's program ranks top-performing across every Smile engagement benchmark: a 70% redemption rate (more than 3x Smile's top-performing threshold of 20%), 93% reward usage, a 67% order earning rate, and a 62% membership rate that pulls the majority of shoppers into the program.
Members spend 460% more annually than non-members and shop 177% more often.
Beyond the numbers, the qualitative signals are just as strong. The core base has shifted from the website to the Burbank Cards app as their daily way to shop. Customers are actively adding their rewards card to Apple Wallet. And inside Smile, Burbank has become an internal reference point, the example the team reaches for when a new sports card merchant asks what a great loyalty program looks like.
The results reflect both a passionate customer base and how Burbank has run the program: generously, with constant attention, and now extended through their own app. Floor staff use the Burbank Cards app on the shop floor to check inventory, deepening how the team runs day to day.
460%
higher CLV from loyalty members
25x
higher annual spend from redeemers
460%
higher CLV from loyalty members
25x
higher annual spend from redeemers
Why Smile
Off-the-shelf wasn't enough. Smile was.
Burbank's program is a model for how a passionate niche business can use loyalty to deepen what's already working. The Shop integration enrolls members automatically at the till. Smile's points and VIP structure reward them generously. The Smile API and SDK gave the team room to build the Collectors Club app on top, putting redemption in-app, in-wallet, and on the till in a single tap. And when technical questions came up, support went all the way to Smile's CTO.
As the leading loyalty platform purpose-built for Shopify, Smile gives merchants like Burbank Sportscards the depth, flexibility, and API access to build a loyalty experience that fits how they actually run, from the 10am daily singles drop to a six-figure order, online and across the till.
Burbank Sportscards is a family-run sports cards and collectibles retailer based
Industry
Toys & Hobbies
Platfrom
Shopify Plus
Merchant Size
Mid-market
Smile Features
Points
·
Referrals
·
VIP Tiers
·
POS Loyalty
·
Checkout Extension
·
Analytics
·
Smile API
Region
North America
The Story
A family shop. Four decades. A collector institution.
Burbank Sportscards is a family business that has been a Burbank, California institution for nearly 40 years. The shop sells premium sports cards, trading card games, entertainment cards, and sealed boxes to a passionate customer base of longtime locals, fellow card shops, hobbyists, and active buyers and sellers in the collectibles space. Founder Rob Veres built the brand into one of the most trusted voices in the hobby, and an exclusive partnership with Fanatics Collect has opened the doors to a new generation of collectors.
The Challenge
Loyalty was there. The infrastructure wasn't.
Burbank Sportscards already had loyal customers. The shop has one of the highest repeat purchase rates in the category, with longtime locals, fellow card shops, hobbyists, and dedicated collectors who treat the store as part of their week. Hardcore collectors line up online every morning for the 10am singles drop, and higher-profile buyers regularly place orders in the thousands, with some reaching six figures.
What the team didn't have was a way to formally recognize that loyalty. Burbank's give-back philosophy, set by founder Rob Veres, lived in conversations at the till and in quiet deals extended to longtime collectors. The team needed a structured rewards program to scale that generosity across every customer, every visit, online and in store.
A formal loyalty program was the way to reward the existing base, welcome new customers into the community, and turn 40 years of trust into a system that could grow with the brand.
The Solution
Four tiers, one app, every touchpoint covered.
Burbank chose Smile.io to power their rewards program. As the leading loyalty platform purpose-built for Shopify, Smile gave the team a generous, flexible foundation they could run on their own, with the API and SDK depth to build a fully custom experience on top.
The program is unmistakably generous. A four-tier VIP structure (Rookie, All Star, Hall of Fame, G.O.A.T) ladders up to a 5% store-wide discount for the deepest collectors, a reward almost no shop in the category offers. Burbank's existing Shop integration plugs straight into Smile, so when a customer pays at the till, an account is created, and they're enrolled in loyalty automatically. That single hand-off is a big reason membership now sits at 62%, above the Smile benchmark.
Burbank Cards app for seamless in-store points redemption
From there, Burbank went further than most merchants on the platform. Using the Smile API and SDK, the team built a custom mobile app, Burbank Cards, to make rewards effortless in-store and on the go. The app surfaces each customer's profile, available points, the rewards they can redeem, and any unused rewards. Coupons render as a barcode that staff scan at the till, or a code customers can paste into mobile checkout. Customers can add their rewards card to Apple Wallet, and a tier progress bar shows exactly how close they are to the next VIP level, a feature built directly using Smile.io's API.
One-tap redemption, at the till or on mobile
The original goal of the app was to solve one pain point. Customers without a Shop account had to type their email at the till while the line built up. Now, a customer opens the Burbank Cards app, scans a barcode at the register, and their points apply instantly. The same coupon works at mobile checkout as a copyable code, and the rewards card lives in Apple Wallet for use anywhere.
For a shop balancing local walk-ins with out-of-state collectors, the impact has been immediate. Floor staff move faster, customers redeem more often, and the core base has migrated from the website to the app as their daily way to shop with Burbank.
Burbank Sportscards's checkout with points earning extension enabled
Earning and redeeming, embedded directly in checkout
Burbank uses Smile's Checkout Extensions to embed loyalty directly inside their Shopify checkout. Members can select and apply a points-based discount in one click, and non-members see exactly how many points they'd earn if they signed up before the purchase clears.
For Burbank, that's loyalty meeting the customer at the exact moment of intent. Merchants who use Smile's checkout extensions typically see more than 2x higher revenue influenced by their loyalty program compared to those who don't.
What Smile enabled for Burbank:
A generous four-tier VIP program, capped by a 5% store-wide discount for the most loyal collectors
Automatic enrollment through the Shop integration, lifting membership to 62% of the customer base
A custom Burbank Cards mobile app, built directly on the Smile API and SDK
Frictionless redemption across every touchpoint: in-store at the till, at checkout, and inside the app
Hands-on technical support from the Smile team, all the way up to the CTO, during the custom app build
The Results
Top of the leaderboard across every metric.
Burbank's program ranks top-performing across every Smile engagement benchmark: a 70% redemption rate (more than 3x Smile's top-performing threshold of 20%), 93% reward usage, a 67% order earning rate, and a 62% membership rate that pulls the majority of shoppers into the program.
Members spend 460% more annually than non-members and shop 177% more often.
Beyond the numbers, the qualitative signals are just as strong. The core base has shifted from the website to the Burbank Cards app as their daily way to shop. Customers are actively adding their rewards card to Apple Wallet. And inside Smile, Burbank has become an internal reference point, the example the team reaches for when a new sports card merchant asks what a great loyalty program looks like.
The results reflect both a passionate customer base and how Burbank has run the program: generously, with constant attention, and now extended through their own app. Floor staff use the Burbank Cards app on the shop floor to check inventory, deepening how the team runs day to day.
460%
higher CLV from loyalty members
25x
higher annual spend from redeemers
Why Smile
Off-the-shelf wasn't enough. Smile was.
Burbank's program is a model for how a passionate niche business can use loyalty to deepen what's already working. The Shop integration enrolls members automatically at the till. Smile's points and VIP structure reward them generously. The Smile API and SDK gave the team room to build the Collectors Club app on top, putting redemption in-app, in-wallet, and on the till in a single tap. And when technical questions came up, support went all the way to Smile's CTO.
As the leading loyalty platform purpose-built for Shopify, Smile gives merchants like Burbank Sportscards the depth, flexibility, and API access to build a loyalty experience that fits how they actually run, from the 10am daily singles drop to a six-figure order, online and across the till.
Burbank Sportscards is a family-run sports cards and collectibles retailer based
Industry
Toys & Hobbies
Merchant Size
Mid-market
Region
North America
Platfrom
Shopify Plus
Smile Features
Points
·
Referrals
·
VIP Tiers
·
POS Loyalty
·
Checkout Extension
·
Analytics
·
Smile API
The Story
A family shop. Four decades. A collector institution.
Burbank Sportscards is a family business that has been a Burbank, California institution for nearly 40 years. The shop sells premium sports cards, trading card games, entertainment cards, and sealed boxes to a passionate customer base of longtime locals, fellow card shops, hobbyists, and active buyers and sellers in the collectibles space. Founder Rob Veres built the brand into one of the most trusted voices in the hobby, and an exclusive partnership with Fanatics Collect has opened the doors to a new generation of collectors.
The Challenge
Loyalty was there. The infrastructure wasn't.
Burbank Sportscards already had loyal customers. The shop has one of the highest repeat purchase rates in the category, with longtime locals, fellow card shops, hobbyists, and dedicated collectors who treat the store as part of their week. Hardcore collectors line up online every morning for the 10am singles drop, and higher-profile buyers regularly place orders in the thousands, with some reaching six figures.
What the team didn't have was a way to formally recognize that loyalty. Burbank's give-back philosophy, set by founder Rob Veres, lived in conversations at the till and in quiet deals extended to longtime collectors. The team needed a structured rewards program to scale that generosity across every customer, every visit, online and in store.
A formal loyalty program was the way to reward the existing base, welcome new customers into the community, and turn 40 years of trust into a system that could grow with the brand.
The Solution
Four tiers, one app, every touchpoint covered.
Burbank chose Smile.io to power their rewards program. As the leading loyalty platform purpose-built for Shopify, Smile gave the team a generous, flexible foundation they could run on their own, with the API and SDK depth to build a fully custom experience on top.
The program is unmistakably generous. A four-tier VIP structure (Rookie, All Star, Hall of Fame, G.O.A.T) ladders up to a 5% store-wide discount for the deepest collectors, a reward almost no shop in the category offers. Burbank's existing Shop integration plugs straight into Smile, so when a customer pays at the till, an account is created, and they're enrolled in loyalty automatically. That single hand-off is a big reason membership now sits at 62%, above the Smile benchmark.
Burbank Cards app for seamless in-store points redemption
From there, Burbank went further than most merchants on the platform. Using the Smile API and SDK, the team built a custom mobile app, Burbank Cards, to make rewards effortless in-store and on the go. The app surfaces each customer's profile, available points, the rewards they can redeem, and any unused rewards. Coupons render as a barcode that staff scan at the till, or a code customers can paste into mobile checkout. Customers can add their rewards card to Apple Wallet, and a tier progress bar shows exactly how close they are to the next VIP level, a feature built directly using Smile.io's API.
One-tap redemption, at the till or on mobile
The original goal of the app was to solve one pain point. Customers without a Shop account had to type their email at the till while the line built up. Now, a customer opens the Burbank Cards app, scans a barcode at the register, and their points apply instantly. The same coupon works at mobile checkout as a copyable code, and the rewards card lives in Apple Wallet for use anywhere.
For a shop balancing local walk-ins with out-of-state collectors, the impact has been immediate. Floor staff move faster, customers redeem more often, and the core base has migrated from the website to the app as their daily way to shop with Burbank.
Burbank Sportscards's checkout with points earning extension enabled
Earning and redeeming, embedded directly in checkout
Burbank uses Smile's Checkout Extensions to embed loyalty directly inside their Shopify checkout. Members can select and apply a points-based discount in one click, and non-members see exactly how many points they'd earn if they signed up before the purchase clears.
For Burbank, that's loyalty meeting the customer at the exact moment of intent. Merchants who use Smile's checkout extensions typically see more than 2x higher revenue influenced by their loyalty program compared to those who don't.
What Smile enabled for Burbank:
A generous four-tier VIP program, capped by a 5% store-wide discount for the most loyal collectors
Automatic enrollment through the Shop integration, lifting membership to 62% of the customer base
A custom Burbank Cards mobile app, built directly on the Smile API and SDK
Frictionless redemption across every touchpoint: in-store at the till, at checkout, and inside the app
Hands-on technical support from the Smile team, all the way up to the CTO, during the custom app build
The Results
Top of the leaderboard across every metric.
Burbank's program ranks top-performing across every Smile engagement benchmark: a 70% redemption rate (more than 3x Smile's top-performing threshold of 20%), 93% reward usage, a 67% order earning rate, and a 62% membership rate that pulls the majority of shoppers into the program.
Members spend 460% more annually than non-members and shop 177% more often.
Beyond the numbers, the qualitative signals are just as strong. The core base has shifted from the website to the Burbank Cards app as their daily way to shop. Customers are actively adding their rewards card to Apple Wallet. And inside Smile, Burbank has become an internal reference point, the example the team reaches for when a new sports card merchant asks what a great loyalty program looks like.
The results reflect both a passionate customer base and how Burbank has run the program: generously, with constant attention, and now extended through their own app. Floor staff use the Burbank Cards app on the shop floor to check inventory, deepening how the team runs day to day.
460%
higher CLV from loyalty members
25x
higher annual spend from redeemers
Why Smile
Off-the-shelf wasn't enough. Smile was.
Burbank's program is a model for how a passionate niche business can use loyalty to deepen what's already working. The Shop integration enrolls members automatically at the till. Smile's points and VIP structure reward them generously. The Smile API and SDK gave the team room to build the Collectors Club app on top, putting redemption in-app, in-wallet, and on the till in a single tap. And when technical questions came up, support went all the way to Smile's CTO.
As the leading loyalty platform purpose-built for Shopify, Smile gives merchants like Burbank Sportscards the depth, flexibility, and API access to build a loyalty experience that fits how they actually run, from the 10am daily singles drop to a six-figure order, online and across the till.
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