Summary
Key takeaways
- Painters and contractors choose the brand on most repaint jobs, but paint brands rarely know who they are. A loyalty program registers them and links each purchase to a named painter.
- Dealer schemes reward stock that moves into the shop. A painter program rewards product that gets used on a job, which is the demand dealers respond to.
- The two work together: dealers earn on billing, painters earn on scans and invoices, and the brand sees both sides in one place.
- Cash-linked rewards attract fraud. Single-use QR codes, device and account linking, and OCR checks on invoices stop duplicate and fake claims before payout.
- In live programs, a wall putty brand processed 1.9 million QR scans with a 36% repeat scan rate among painters and contractors, and a multi-category building materials brand cut rejected duplicate claims by 62%.
01 · What it is
What a painter loyalty program is
A painter loyalty program rewards painters and contractors for using a brand's products on real jobs. Each purchase or product use is verified through a QR scan, an invoice upload or dealer billing, and the painter earns points or cash for it.
It is different from a dealer trade scheme. Trade schemes pay dealers for buying stock and hitting targets. A painter program pays the people who decide which brand goes on the wall, so the brand builds demand at the job site instead of only pushing stock into shops.
A good program also gives the brand a record of each painter: who they are, where they work, which products they use and how often. That data is what most paint brands are missing today.
On Loyalife
02 · The channel
How paint reaches the wall
Decorative paint passes through several hands before it is applied. Each one affects which brand the homeowner ends up with.
- Paint brand: manufactures and sells to depots and distributors, and runs trade schemes and marketing.
- Depot or distributor: holds regional stock and supplies dealers on credit.
- Dealer or retailer: sells across brands, runs the tinting machine and advises walk-in buyers.
- Contractor: takes on repaint and new-build jobs, manages a crew and often buys the material.
- Painter: applies the product, recommends brands and shades, and is often the one who walks into the dealer shop.
- Homeowner or builder: pays for the job but usually follows the painter's or contractor's advice.
Where brand visibility stops
Most paint brands can see sales up to the dealer through ERP and distributor data. After that, the trail goes cold. The brand does not know which painter bought the product, which job it went on, or why the painter chose it over a rival brand on the same shelf.
On Loyalife
03 · The gap
The gap paint brands face today
- Painters are unregistered. Most brands have no list of the painters who use their products, so they cannot reach them directly with training, launches or offers.
- Loyalty is bought one job at a time. Painters switch brands for a small cash incentive at the dealer counter, and the brand that paid last time gets nothing for it.
- Paper coupons leak. Coupons inside buckets are copied, collected in bulk by dealers or claimed twice, and the brand pays out without knowing who actually used the product.
- Dispatch data is the only demand signal. Without scan or registration data, planning runs on what left the depot, not on what painters are applying by region and SKU.
The result is a brand that spends on painter incentives every year but owns no relationship with the painter at the end of it.
On Loyalife
04 · Who to reward
Who to reward in the paint channel
| Channel partner | Why they matter | What the brand wants from them |
|---|---|---|
| Painters | Apply the product and recommend brands and shades to homeowners | Registration, repeat use, a shift to premium SKUs, and loyalty that outlasts one job |
| Contractors | Run larger jobs and crews, and often buy in bulk | Brand preference across all their sites, and visibility into project volumes |
| Dealers and retailers | Control shelf space and advise walk-in buyers | Stock depth, display, and active push of the brand to painters at the counter |
| Tinting operators | Mix shades at the counter and influence the final product choice | Correct use of the brand's tinting system and recommendation of its bases |
Buying versus recommending
In paint, the dealer sells but the painter decides. A dealer scheme on its own moves stock without changing what painters ask for. A painter program on its own builds demand but leaves the dealer free to push another brand. Most brands get better results by running both and linking them, so dealers also earn when the painters they serve are active.
On Loyalife
05 · What to reward
What to reward and how to verify it
| Earning method | How it works | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| QR scan on pack | The painter scans a single-use code inside the bucket or on the label, and the scan is checked against the code, device and account | Painters buying or using product on the job |
| Invoice upload with OCR | The painter or contractor uploads a dealer invoice, OCR reads the SKUs, and rules check eligibility and dates | Bulk buys and products without a QR code |
| Dealer-confirmed billing | Dealer sales flow in from ERP or the dealer app and are tagged to the painter who bought | Dealers, and painters who buy on the dealer's account |
Earning rules that change behaviour
- Higher points on premium and high-margin SKUs, such as emulsions, exterior coatings and waterproofing
- A welcome bonus for the first verified scan after KYC
- Points for completing product training and application videos
- Referral points when a painter brings in another verified painter
- Tier multipliers that reward painters who stay active quarter after quarter
Rewards that work for painters
- Instant cash to a bank account or mobile wallet for small, frequent wins
- Tools, safety kits and branded merchandise from the rewards catalogue
- Gift vouchers and bigger milestone rewards for higher tiers
Some programs split each reward between instant cash and points. The wall putty brand in section 08 paid 80% as instant cashback and 20% as points redeemable for tools and kits.
On Loyalife
06 · The platform
What the Loyalife platform covers
Loyalife is a self-service loyalty platform. The brand's own team sets up and runs the painter program without waiting on IT for each change.
- Onboarding and KYC: painters register in the app or on WhatsApp, with KYC checks and trade profiling. Field teams can onboard and approve painters on site.
- QR codes: generate tamper-proof, single-use codes and activate them by batch. Each scan is linked to a device and an account.
- Claim management: invoice uploads with OCR, SKU eligibility checks, time limits and geo-fencing around registered dealers. Rejected claims show the reason.
- Rule engine: earning rules by SKU, region, campaign or tier, changed in real time.
- Tiers: tiers with multipliers and benefits that reward painters who stay active.
- Training and video: product and application videos that painters earn points for completing.
- Gamification: leaderboards, spin-the-wheel, scratch cards, badges and contests.
- Rewards and redemption: a rewards marketplace with tools, merchandise and vouchers, plus instant cash transfers.
- Reports: scan and claim dashboards by SKU and region, painter heatmaps, and redemption reports.
- Mobile app: a branded, multilingual app for painters, contractors and dealers.
Xoxoday is SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certified.
07 · Business outcomes
Business outcomes to expect
| Business outcome | Impact on the business | KPI to track |
|---|---|---|
| Sell-out growth | Painters specify the brand on more jobs, which lifts secondary and tertiary sales at their dealers | Sell-out volume from active painters vs non-members; dealer sales growth in high-activity territories |
| Gross margin expansion | Painter purchases shift toward premium emulsions, exteriors and waterproofing | Premium SKU share of painter volume |
| Lower incentive leakage | Trade spend reaches only verified product use, not duplicate or fake claims | Claim rejection rate; value of fraudulent payouts blocked |
| Painter retention and share of wallet | Painters stay with the brand across quarters instead of switching for one-time cash offers | Quarterly active painter retention; repeat purchase rate |
| Higher trade spend ROI | Incentive budgets move to the territories, SKUs and painter segments that respond, based on sell-out data instead of dispatch data | Incentive cost per unit sold, by territory |
| Lower cost of quality complaints | Trained painters apply the product correctly, cutting rework and complaint handling costs | Complaint and rework rate, trained vs untrained painters |
08 · Customer stories
Programs running on Xoxoday Loyalife
1.9M+
tamper-proof QR scans
Painters and contractors, rewarded on every bag of wall putty
A wall putty brand had no link to the painters applying its product, and cashback invited duplicate claims. Single-use QR codes tied to device and account changed that, driving a 36% repeat scan rate.
Read full case study16%
higher quarterly volume
Eleven thousand paint dealers, two ways to earn
A dealer scheme rewarded total turnover, so the biggest dealers earned most even when flat. Now 11,000+ dealers earn on SKU multipliers, growth bonuses, training and referrals, with invoices straight from ERP.
Read full case study62%
drop in rejected duplicate claims
On-site influencers, verified one scan at a time
A building materials brand could not tie influencer claims to purchases. Masons, contractors and plumbers now earn via invoice OCR and QR scans, with SKU, time and geo checks across 38,500 verified influencers.
Read full case study