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Loyalty & Rewards: what we optimize for, and when.

A sequenced phase plan for our rewards program — what loyalty can actually move, what product and ops must carry, and why the order matters.

Internal strategic document Owner  Brian Baldridge, Chief Loyalty & Rewards Officer
Market context

The scale of what we're operating in

$1.1T
Total U.S. dining market annually
~$400B
Independent restaurants (~37%)
~$700B
Chain restaurants (~63%)
65%
Consumers who say they prefer independents
Critical takeaway

Not all goals are equally loyalty-solvable

Rewards have real leverage in some phases — and almost none in others. Deploy them accordingly.

ObjectiveLoyalty impactPrimary driverPrimary KPI
Own independent walletHighProduct + rewards% of independent spend captured per user
Control decision entry pointMediumProduct% of dining occasions where Dynery is first app opened in decision window
Shift chain → independentVery highRewards + product% substitute-eligible occasions won by independents
Shift delivery channelMediumOps + pricing% of delivery orders routed through Dynery
Increase spendHighRewardsAvg monthly dining GMV per active user
Expand occasionMediumSupply + product# distinct dining occasions per user/month
The flywheel

Rewards are not a discount system — they are a network compounding mechanism across restaurants. More restaurants → better cross-restaurant rewards → more user usage → more data → better personalization → stronger substitution (Phase 3) → more restaurant demand. The flywheel only spins if loyalty is deployed in sequence.

Cost discipline

Reward cost discipline: funded by behavior change, not subsidized indefinitely. Phase 1: subsidy is acceptable while habit forms. Phase 3: rewards must become self-funding through the spend shift they create. Phase 5+: every reward must be margin-accretive. Teams that skip this default to blanket discounts and unsustainable CAC.

Phase roadmap

Six phases of loyalty deployment

1
Foundation
Own the independent dining wallet
Of all the dollars a user spends at independent restaurants, maximize how much flows through Dynery.
Loyalty optimizes for
  • Frequency across multiple independents
  • Habit formation — Dynery as default payment
  • Streak & cadence rewards (weekly dining)
  • Lock-in mechanics: "use Dynery or lose value"
Product must carry
  • Seamless dine-in payment (Dynery Pay)
  • Low-friction checkout & bill splitting
  • Restaurant density to make loyalty worthwhile
  • Category coverage — not just count, but cuisine breadth
Primary KPI% of independent restaurant spend captured per active user
Loyalty impact:High
Market base: ~$400B independent dining
2
Entry-point control
Control the entry point to dining behavior
Win the first touch — become the app users open before they decide anything. This is not discovery; it's decision initiation. Lose this and Phase 3 becomes expensive paid behavior change.
Loyalty optimizes for
  • Decision initiation (first-touch control)
  • Rewards for starting a session on Dynery before dining
  • Return-to-app habit anchored to the pre-decision moment
Product must carry
  • Best-in-class discovery & personalization
  • Coverage of all restaurants (including chains)
  • Search, maps, availability, social proof
Primary KPI% of dining occasions where Dynery is the first app opened within the decision window
Loyalty impact:Medium — product is primary driver
Influence surface: ~$1.1T total market
3
Highest ROI ✦
Change what users choose: chains → independents
Shift dining occasions from chains to independents. This is where loyalty functions as a behavioral routing engine, not just a discount system — and has its highest direct economic leverage.
Loyalty optimizes for

The real mechanism: real-time substitution

  • Comparative, not absolute: "Earn 2× vs this chain option right now"
  • Contextual: time of day, location (<0.5mi), group size, cuisine equivalence
  • Immediate: visible at the decision moment, not post-transaction
Product must carry
  • Close the convenience gap vs. chains (speed, clarity)
  • Surface comparable alternatives instantly
  • Make independent dining feel effortless
Primary KPI% of substitute-eligible occasions won by independents — comparable chain option exists within same distance + cuisine category
Loyalty impact:Very High — rewards' highest ROI moment
Realistic GMV shift: $40–60B at scale
4
Opportunistic — not foundational
Change fulfillment behavior: delivery via Dynery
Shift delivery orders from DoorDash / Uber Eats to Dynery-powered flow. ⚠ Phase 4 should not be aggressively pursued until Phase 3 is working. Without controlling demand first, you're fighting incumbents on their strongest axis — with worse logistics and less density.
Loyalty optimizes for
  • Channel-switching incentives (2–3× earn on Dynery delivery)
  • Delivery-specific credits
  • Subscription-style benefits (fee offsets)
Product must carry
  • Competitive delivery times, fees & reliability
  • Logistics integrations or white-label ops
  • Pricing parity — loyalty alone cannot win here
Primary KPI% of delivery orders routed through Dynery
Loyalty impact:Medium — ops & pricing are decisive
Pull forward only when Dynery already controls demand
5
Amplification
Expand share of wallet: increase total dining spend
Increase the total dining spend per user that flows through Dynery. ⚠ Emphasize only after Phase 3 shows measurable substitution success. Pulled forward too early, this optimizes for higher spend at chains — directly contradicting the core thesis.
Loyalty optimizes for
  • Earn → redeem → re-spend flywheel
  • Milestone rewards (monthly spend tiers)
  • Stored wallet value that drives return visits
Product must carry
  • Enable more occasions: groups, events, repeat visits
  • Adjacent experiences layered onto the core product
Primary KPIAvg monthly dining GMV per active user on Dynery
Loyalty impact:High — drives frequency & spend depth
Deepens per-user economics
6
Platform
Own the dining occasion: adjacent spend
Capture spend before, during, and after the meal — drinks, dessert, events, local experiences. Dynery becomes the operating system for going out.
Loyalty optimizes for
  • Bundled behavior across occasions
  • "Dinner + drinks + dessert" incentive chains
  • Time-sequenced rewards (pre → during → post)
  • Cross-merchant reward compounding
Product must carry
  • Expanded supply: bars, cafes, events
  • Multi-stop journey support
  • Network effect moat: more restaurants → better rewards → more usage
Primary KPI# of distinct dining occasions per user per month
Loyalty impact:Medium — supply expansion unlocks this
Full "going-out" platform play
Principles

Three acts of loyalty strategy

Build the habit

Phases 1–2. Loyalty forms the default behavior — Dynery becomes where users start every dining decision, not just where they pay.

Steer the choice

Phases 3–4. Loyalty steers behavior at the margin. Phase 3 is the highest-ROI moment — 65% of consumers prefer independents but chains win on convenience. Rewards close that gap.

Amplify the spend

Phases 5–6. Loyalty amplifies depth — more spend per user, more occasions captured, a compounding moat that makes leaving Dynery feel like losing real value.

Dynery Internal  ·  Strategy & Ideation  ·  Loyalty & Rewards Strategy Owner: Brian Baldridge, Chief Loyalty & Rewards Officer Not for external distribution