How to Build a Referral Program in 2024 (With 80+ Examples)

What is referral marketing?

Referral marketing is one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies: using your current customers to spread the word about your brand to new customers.

We compiled a truly epic list of the best referral program ideas currently on the market, along with recommendations on what kinds of referral program software to use, incentives to offer, and current customers to target for your very own referral program.

If that sounds interesting to you, keep on reading.

‍

But hang on—there's a catch.

It's not always easy for your customers to do. Between their hectic work schedules and a never-ending list of social and family obligations, your marketing strategy is the last thing on their minds.

To turn your loyal customers into your biggest brand advocates, you have to make the referral process as easy as possible for them, and you have to stay top-of-mind with killer referral incentives, like free products and major discounts.

Instead of reinventing the wheel to come up with your own referral marketing ideas, you may want to take inspiration from top brands who are absolutely killing it with referral programs.

By the end of our list, you will have enough referral program ideas to launch your very own program and open the floodgates of another customer acquisition channel for your business.

Before we begin, let's break down some basic referral marketing definitions so that we know that we're all on the same page.

What is a referral program?

A referral program or a “refer-a-friend” program is a marketing strategy used by many top ecommerce brands to incentivize existing customers to recommend the brand and its products to their family and friends.

A referral program is a deliberate, systematic way of getting people to make referrals to your business. Referral programs are often called word-of-mouth marketing, because they reward existing customers for sharing and incentivize new customers to try out your brand.

Customers are rewarded with referral incentives, such as free cash, major discounts, or a free month of subscription. While there is an upfront cost to the business, referral programs significantly increase long-term revenue by making loyal customers out of your existing customer base.

If you are wondering why you should have a referral program and how to run one, let’s take a look at how the top ecommerce brands are running their referral programs and the results they have achieved.

Before we begin, let's quickly go through the basics of referral programs.

Why do I need a referral program?

One of the biggest stresses of any business is finding a solid customer acquisition channel, or basically, bringing in new customers. When you have a solid referral marketing program, however, you let your existing customers bring new buyers to your brand. 

This not only significantly reduces spending on bringing new customers to your shop, but also increases customer retention, which is a very good thing.

Why?

Because loyal customers have a higher conversion rate than new customers and spend more per transaction, making customer referral programs the most cost-effective and lucrative marketing strategy that your business can possibly employ.

How does a referral program work?

People don't make as many referrals as they intend to for a variety of reasons. A referral program helps make their mind up with a tangible reward for referrals.

Modern referral programs, or refer-a-friend programs, use software to track referrals made by happy customers through either a referral code, a rewards card, or a referral link.

Depending on the referral campaign, customers will usually receive some kind of referral bonus or benefit when they refer a friend. Referral marketing software automates the payout of these referral rewards.

This referral process creates a natural word-of-mouth marketing experience for your brand, which ultimately increases both your customer retention rate and your revenue.

To find out more, check out how ReferralCandy works.

How do I create a referral program?

The best way to bring in potential customers is to first focus on your existing satisfied customers. Rather than just offering cash rewards or free gifts in hopes that your customers will refer a friend to your shop, it takes a little bit of planning to set up a referral program that works.

1. Get clear about your goals

Before creating a complex ambassador program or launching tons of marketing campaigns (of any kind), it's important to be clear about what your goals are for the program. 

This will help guide you as you brainstorm referral marketing ideas. Some questions to consider are:

• What are you hoping to get out of your rewards program?
• Do you want more customers? Or just bigger purchases by your existing customers?
• Are you trying to get a higher conversion rate and increase sales?

You can certainly achieve each of these goals, but it might require a different referral campaign for each goal. So it's important to be clear about your goals before beginning.

Canopy makes the world's cleanest and easiest humidifier for optimal skin health and wellness.

It’s not unusual for brands to choose product incentives rather than cash or credit incentives, but they definitely belong to the minority. Canopy does a great job in closing the loop for existing customers and keeping them loyal. If I’m an advocate, it makes absolute sense for me to be incentivized by free filters since I already own the device. 

They’ve also made it enticing to click on the “Free Filter” button rather than to put “Refer-a-Friend Program” on their homepage. 

2. Make a list of your existing customer referral sources

Your referral sources are your happy customers, friends, and family. They are your biggest advocates and will be the lifeblood of your referral marketing program. Make a list of all of these groups and how you can easily contact them.

3. Make an outreach plan

Now that you have a list of referral sources, carefully make an outreach plan. It's not quite as simple as sending a blast email with a generic referral incentive.

The types of referral programs that you use will largely depend on your list, so plan accordingly.

For example, close friends and family will trust recommendations when they're coming from someone in their inner circle, so adding an offer to the referral program will increase conversion rates!

4. Determine the referral incentives you'll offer

While cash incentives likely seem like they’ll get the biggest draw out of your existing customer base, that’s not necessarily the case. One study found that non-cash incentives were 24% more effective with referral marketing than cash incentives. It’s best to offer something of tremendous value to your customers that will keep them coming back to your shop in the future.

Braxley Bands’ referral program reward structure:

• Advocate reward: 20% off and a chance for a $100 gift card
• Friend offer: 20% off

Beyond the conventional 20% for you, and 20% for me, Braxley Bands also introduced an additional perk of standing a chance to win a $100 gift card (that’s essentially 3 more bands for the advocate). 

That alone is an extra incentive at zero cost to the advocate, all he or she needs to do is to share via word of mouth. 

5. Tell your customers about it

Once you’ve settled on your referral lists and your incentives, it’s time to get people to spread the word both about your brand and your rewards! There are many different ways to do this, each of which brings in a different segment of potential customers.

Some of the most effective strategies are:

• Adding details about your referral program to your newsletter
• Having opt-ins on your website
• Capturing customer emails through  a pop-up widget on your home page
• Sending out specific referral emails to your most loyal audience
• Adding referral program reminders to your social media company profile
• Including physical cards in order packages that mention your referral program

Or a combination of all of these. Multiple channels tend to work better rather than only focusing on one, so you should take advantage of more than one.

Do a little research about the most effective way to grow your lists, and then test it out for yourself.

Like most ecommerce brands, Chāmpo puts a link to their referral program in their site footer. It’s accessible and easy to spot. 

6. Track the referrals and rewards

In order to run a successful rewards program, you need to keep track of all of the referrals being made. You need to be able to keep track of who referred whom, the date they were referred, whether or not a conversion was made, and the best way to follow up with both the referrer and the referee.

One of the easiest ways to do this is with referral program software, like ReferralCandy.

A system that not only facilitates the reward within your shop but also provides accurate data on the referrals is going to help you know exactly how successful (or unsuccessful) your program is. 

Some referral systems go one step further in making sure that your referrals are legit and not fraudulent. Here’s an example of what your referral report might look like on ReferralCandy!

Now that you have a clearer idea of referral programs, let's take a look at the referral programs of top brands and what we can learn from them.

How top brands are running their referral programs

1. Casper

Casper is a direct-to-consumer mattress company that was founded by five guys in 2014 with the goal of revolutionizing the mattress industry. Since then, Casper has grown into a global giant with over one million customers and a value of 750 million dollars.

A major contributor to their growth has been their referral program. The way it works is simple. When a new customer buys from Casper, they get a confirmation email. 

At the footer of the email, there is a referral link to refer friends.

Source

When a customer clicks on the ‘Refer & earn up to $75’ link, Casper explains to them how they’re able to earn an Amazon gift card in exchange for new referrals they make.

Plus, they make sharing the referral link extremely easy, which makes the program even more effective.

Casper’s referral program is something anyone can implement in any ecommerce niche. You don’t have to make the amount of money, as high as Casper has (earn up to $75), but you can use the same referral program style! 

Based on your own preferences, referral program software like ReferralCandy enables you to create your own rules for your referral program.

2. Harry’s

Harry's is an ecommerce store selling men's personal care products at a lower price point than many competitors, making it an attractive option for many.

Their Harry's Shave Club pre-launch program gained massive popularity and is still one of the most talked about referral programs in the industry.

Their idea was simple. Harry’s wanted to build a credible referral program that focused on helping people spread the word to their friends, instead of not just spending money on paid ads.

That’s what they did, and they did it quite successfully. With this simple, yet effective home page design, they were able to collect 100,000 email addresses for the campaign in just one week.

Source

To get people to this home page, Harry's used a "Milestone Referral Program," which involved instant prizes for people who reached a certain number of referrals. For example, if you refer 5 friends, you get a free shave cream.

Initially, this campaign helped Harry's get over 100 million dollars in funding, and they even bought their own razor blade factory to compete with the industry giants.

Also, they now have over 500 employees and are one of the fastest-growing companies in the industry.

3. Dia & Co

Dia & Co is a plus-size fashion brand that encourages women of all sizes to feel comfortable in their own skin. During their first referral program, they offered their customers a subscription box of five stylist-selected items for $20 a month. If an existing customer refers a friend, they receive a $20 credit. Customers who were referred received free personal styling or a free box.

Dia & Co relied on email marketing to encourage existing customers to join their referral program. In response, over 40,000 customers shared the referral links, and in the first month of the program, the company saw an average of 22 conversions per day from the referral program.

This is what their CEO mentioned about the referral program:

• “Creating a space where plus-size women can share their style and create friendships has been the most rewarding aspect of the business, so instating a referral program was a seamless fit. We’ve found that community begets community, and when customers feel welcomed, the experience is so much more special.”

This sums up why their referral program was such a success. A big part of their brand mission is to make all women feel comfortable in their own skin, so by combining this mission with a good referral program, they saw great results.

Since their first referral program, Dia & Co has updated its referral program with a new simple 'Give $25, Get $25' program that gets a $25 off coupon for your friend and for you once they order.

This new referral program is even more simple, so we’re sure it’s bringing them even greater results. It’s something anyone can implement with referral program tools, such as ReferralCandy.

4. Airbnb

When talking about the best referral programs, you can’t ignore Airbnb. While Airbnb’s referral program is not open for new referrals as of now, there is a lot to learn from what they did.

Their idea was simple. Airbnb’s referral program encouraged its users to invite friends onto the platform, which rewarded both the sender and recipient with $25 travel credits.

Source

Jason Bosinoff, Airbnb's director of engineering, wrote on Medium.com that their success metrics were:

• Monthly Active Users sending Invites
• Invitees per Inviter
• Conversion Rate to New User
• Conversion Rate to New Guest
• Conversion Rate to New Host

Since the launch of the program, the referrals increased bookings by up to 25% in some markets. After the first launch, the 2.0 version was launched, and the results were even more impressive. The 2.0 referral program produced 300% more signups and bookings than the previous version.

Their idea was simple, which is one of the main reasons it worked so well. With the help of referral marketing software, like ReferralCandy, anyone can implement a similar strategy.

5. Google Workspace

Google is one of the most familiar and used tech companies in the world, from its search engine to its suite of apps and video streaming services. They don’t need much of an introduction, but what most people may not be familiar with is their referral program.

Google's B2B referral program offers referrals a chance to earn $8 to $23 for every new business account signup. Their referral program idea is simple, which is one of the factors it is so successful.

In October 2020, Google shared that Workspace now has 2.6 billion monthly active users, up from 2 billion monthly active users in March. For a company as big as Google, this is a huge increase, and one of the main reasons for this growth was their referral program.

One big takeaway you can take from Google’s referral program is its structure. For example, a user may net a $23 reward from one referral. However, due to the way the referral program is structured, users can refer a whole domain (such as a business with 8 employees) and then the $23 will multiply by 8 and the referral will receive $184 in rewards.

If you’re building your own referral program, you might want to use a similar structure to encourage your users to refer more to a company or larger group as a whole.

6. Revolut

Revolut, founded in 2015, was one of the first "challenger banks" to use technology to disrupt the financial industry, so they had to stand out in terms of marketing and product. 

From the beginning, Revolut's goal was to build something so good that customers would do the marketing for them.

After just two years in the business, Revolut reached one million customers for their product. When asked about how they did this so fast in an interview, this is what their CEO Nikolai mentioned:

• On top of nice interface, we give great value to customers. No one in the world can offer the same bank rates than we do, so that's why people talk about us to their friends and families. We grow organically without any paid marketing

The key for them was to make it as easy as possible for someone to recommend Revolut to their friends and families. To do this, they launched a referral program, where if you invited your friend, you earned 60 euros.

While there were different steps involved to earn the 60 euros, they were all made very clear, which made the referral program more clear. Referrals also saw the potential earnings from the same page.

While the entire growth of Revolut cannot be attributed to the referral program, it has been a huge contributor. 

7. Canopy

Canopy is a cloud-based practice management suite for accounting firms. We wanted to include them in this article due to their unique referral program. As a part of their referral program, every friend you refer who completes Canopy's demo call receives a $50 gift card to Amazon. If they sign up for Canopy's software, the referral gets 10% commission on their subscription fee.

This is the landing page you can send for the people you want to refer to.

Quite unique, right? Even though Canopy hasn't publicly mentioned the results they have gotten from the referral program, we’re sure it has been successful for them.

The referral program has been running for years, and if there weren't any return on investment, Canopy wouldn't still give out $50 Amazon cards.

While Canopy is a SaaS company, even ecommerce brands can take inspiration from them. By combining a popular element (Amazon) with a valuable product (Canopy), they have been able to create a referral program that works incredibly well for them.

8. Dropbox

Dropbox's referral program is probably one of the most well-known examples of referral marketing. Dropbox grew by 3900% with this very famous referral program. 

Even today, almost ten years later, it is often used in case studies to demonstrate how referral programs may either assist or even act as the growth engine of a business.

Dropbox's referral program guiding principles are quite clear. Since the product provides cloud storage, it decided to give users more free space in addition to referral bonuses for both accepting invitations and referring friends. Dropbox users can get up to 16 GB for their referrals. So you basically get 500 MB for every friend who installs the Dropbox desktop app and the friend gets 500 MB too. They can sign up for any plan and you get your bonus storage the minute they download the app.

How Referrals Built The $10 Billion Dropbox Empire.

9. Dukaan

Dukaan is an ecommerce software that lets anyone create their first online store. Just recently, they launched their referral program, and in a Medium.com post, one of their product designers analyzed the process of building it and the results.

Their goal was to promote the referral program to their existing sellers and showcase it on their sellers' admin home page. The seller can copy a referral link to share with their friends, and if their friend signs up through the link, both get a reduced monthly rate.

‍

As part of building the referral program, Dukaan tested three different design versions until they landed on the final version.

‍

Source

After launching, Dukaan saw the following results:

• 10% more Dukaan sellers bought subscription plans
• 20% increase in new Dukaan sellers from the sellers who referred to the platform¨

For already established platforms like Dukaan, these results are incredible.

The learning here is that no matter your niche, don’t forget the importance of A/B testing in your referral programs. Dukaan tested multiple versions before landing on the final version, and for you as well, it can make or break your success.

A/B testing may be hard to do manually, but most top referral program software includes it as part of the software.

10. PayPal

When discussing referral-based viral growth, almost every blog post mentions PayPal’s referral program. PayPal was one of the first companies to use a referral campaign to achieve viral growth at such a massive scale, from “a 10% daily growth rate” to “A $1.5 billion buyout”.

All users need to do is send an invitation to a friend who doesn’t have PayPal and have them sign up and link their bank account or card. When they spend or send at least $5, PayPal sends both the advocate and the referred, $10. Users can invite up to ten friends and earn up to $100, and just need to make sure they spend/send at least $5.

11. Uber

Uber's referral program was the basis of its success. It was offered ever since the business began, and its quick expansion was largely due to it. The program has changed, but it still offers rewards to its users. 

To earn referral rewards, users have to follow their conditions. The program is eligible only for a customer who received a program email. Users need to share a referral code in your email with their friend. To earn referral rewards, a referee must complete the first trip with the referral code.

We've written more about Uber's many referral programs here:

How Uber Covered More Than 50 Countries In 3 Years

12. Airtable

Airtable is an online tool that combines elements from databases and spreadsheets. It's very adaptable and has a wonderful user interface. For each person users refer to Airtable, they'll receive $10 in credit. 

Only when the person invited registers and confirms their email will the users be given credit. Users can invite people to use Airtable, and access an Airtable-referral link, from the Referrals and credits section of the Account page.

13. DocSend

DocSend is a wonderful solution for safely sending important files while getting immediate feedback on how your recipients are interacting with your content. Their referral program is a way to show their customers’ appreciation for the tool to others while getting a $15 credit for each new user they invite.

14. Fiverr

A famous global internet marketplace for independent contractors, Fiverr also offers a referral program to its customers. The Fiverr platform links freelancers with individuals or companies looking to hire. 

They allow their users to earn up to $100 for every friend who signs up and makes their first order. You can share it by email or with a link via social sharing. When your friends sign up to Fiverr, they get 10% off their first purchase, and you get 10% off their first order amount, up to $100.

15. Duolingo

Every marketer’s favorite social media example Duolingo offers its referral program too. With their program, for every person you refer who signs up for a Duolingo account, you receive a free week of Super Duolingo! This is a simple and easy way to attract your friends to learn a new language and get rewarded.

How do different industries make use of referral programs

Ecommerce Referral Program examples

Fashion & Apparel Referral Program examples

1. The Clymb

The Clymb is an adventure gear brand that has many customers from around the world. 

They offer a referral reward structure to their loyal customers where you invite a friend to join The Clymb and you each get $10 in Clymb credit when they make their first order of $50 or more. They send your credit to your account when the first order ships.

They now even allow you to mass invite your friends and send them personalized messages.

2. Erin Condren's

Erin Condren is known for creating fun organization essentials for your home, office, and everything in between. They have an awesome referral program, where you can earn EC credits to spend in their online store. 

All you need to do is to send your friends a referral link. After your friend sign's up they get a 10$ coupon, and after their first purchase, you will get rewarded with 1000 EC points (a $10 equivalent). You can stack up these points and shop later.

Fashion Referral Programs – Erin Condren

3. Greats

GREATS is the first sneaker company to be founded in Brooklyn. They claim to produce high-quality, long-lasting sneakers with an excellent fit and feel using quality material. Their referral program GIVE $30, GET $30 is a win-win for existing and new customers, offering a great discount and rewards.

Footwear Referral Program Examples – GREATS

4. Rothy's

Rothy’s creates essentials from classic shoes to carry-everywhere bags. They get their inspiration from the strides that the community is making. Their Refer-a-Friend promises to give $20, get a $20 reward, as your friends get their first order.

5. Girlfriend Collective

Here’s a great example from the ethical brand Girlfriend Collective. They believe in sustainable manufacturing and recycled materials. They use old water bottles and fishing nets to produce their clothing, so they won’t be clogging landfills and polluting oceans. With their referral program, you can earn free leggings. Give your friends 30% off their first purchase of $150 or more and earn a Free Pair of Compressive Leggings when they buy. 

6. J. Crew Factory

J.Crew believes that shopping should be fun and provides high-quality clothing that helps you look and feel your best, whether you enjoy specific details, unique fabrics, or traditional colors. 

They offer their customers a classic GIVE $20, GET $20 referral program. Refer a friend and they’ll get $20 off their order, plus you’ll get $20 when they sign up for J.Crew Passport. What we like about their referral program is that it provides all of the information that potential advocates want to know, including the terms and conditions. Better to be safe than sorry! 

7. Outdoor Voices

Outdoor Voices brand designs its products through the lens of longevity and circularity to reduce our environmental impact. If you refer a friend to join the brand’s community, you’ll both get $20 off your next purchase of $100 or more.

It's also interesting how they've tied in a campaign specific hashtag #DoingThings with their referral program to maintain the consistency of their branding across the board.

8. Hanna Anderson

Hanna Andersson was established by a Swedish woman living in America. By embracing essentially Scandinavian ideas, such as iconic design that successfully combines form and function, a sincere commitment to sustainability, and a way of life that promotes contented happy lives, she aimed to furnish childhood adventures. 

If you refer a friend, then you'll both get a 20% off reward with Hanna’s generous referral program. See how the brand has also provided a cute hero image on the side to tap on the "share with friends" concept. And also added a bunch of links just in case potential advocates need them.

9. Boden

Boden is all about sustainability. Also, they offer a great referral program to their customers. All they need to do is to fill in the details on their form, next their friend receives 20% off their first purchase, and after they've ordered, customers get a $15 voucher.

10. Fabletics

Fabletics is a popular activewear, fitness, and workout clothing brand. Their goal is to design the finest stylish, high-performing, active-lifestyle goods in the world for every person and everybody at an affordable price. 

With their referral program, you can get $40 in store credit if you refer a friend and they sign up and become VIPs. What's great about their referral landing page is that they've provided a way for advocates to customize the content of their invite emails, which could be a great point for personalization!

11. Thinx

Thinx is a unique women's underwear brand. They make comfortable, absorbent products, and women around the world love their brand. Thinx offers a give $10, get $10 referral program. When you refer a friend and they make a purchase, you get $10 and they get $10 off their first order of Thinx.

12. Birdies

Birdies brand was created by a woman who believes there should be a comfortable pair of shoes in all of your life’s journey. Designed to take you everywhere, Birdies shoes combine elevated style, ultimate comfort, and everyday versatility. 

Their Give $30, Get $30 referral program pays to refer friends and family and enjoy shopping even more. Your friends will get $30 off their first order, and you’ll get $30 off your next order when they make a purchase. Again, Birdies strategically placed an image showing friends wearing Birdies shoes and it does help to paint the picture of referring the product to friends!

13. Hunter

Hunter is a forward-thinking British heritage company established in 1856 and known for its famous Original boot. The company has a long history of invention and continues to create products that are weatherproof and functional in a variety of environments. 

With Hunter’s referral program you can give your friends 20% off, and if they go on to purchase, they will also send you a 20% discount.

14. American Giant

American Giant was born when the founders were dissatisfied with the way clothes were created. So new technologies emerged that allowed for reduced supply chains and direct online sales to customers like you. 

The brand already has a lot of loyal customers and can use their Give $25, Get $25 refer a friend program to get rewarded.

Beauty & Grooming Referral Program examples

15. DMD Skin Sciences

DMD Skin Sciences is a skincare brand with a mission to solve patients’ skincare complaints in the comfort of their own homes. What began as a skincare clinic that was shut down during the Covid pandemic in 2020, has since evolved into a larger ecommerce brand.

Early on, the founder Ena Quitan noticed that new customers would contact her brand to arrange a skincare consultation because a friend referred them. This became one of the main customer acquisition channels for DMD Skin Sciences, so they decided to fully capitalize on it with a referral program.

They set up a simple referral program, where customers could give 10% off their first purchase to their friends, and receive a 10% off coupon code in return. They used ReferralCandy to send automated post-purchase emails to remind customers about their referral program.

After 6 months, DMD Skin Sciences saw the following results:

• $18,000 added in referral program sales in just 6 months
• Out of the all sales, 3% we’re referral sales
• 3,600+ social media posts shared about the referral program

The company's founder Ena explained that referrals are the only source of new customers they have at the moment, and it's working incredibly well for them.

16. Dermstore

Dermstore is an online skincare and beauty shop in the United States. Their customers get rewarded $15 for each friend they refer, also providing friends and family with discounts on their first order. 

Rather than allowing anyone to join their referral program, they've made it exclusive for people who have an existing account with them (pretty smart since now they have the data to reach out to them), but it could also deter non-customers from signing up as well.

17. Adore Beauty

Adore Beauty is the top pure-play online beauty retailer in Australia and an authorized supplier of more than 260 top-tier beauty brands. They have created a referral program, where you give $20, and receive $20 when your friend joins.

18. Thrive Causemetics

Karissa Bodnar founded Thrive Causemetics, a beauty company, and philosophy that goes beyond skin deep by uplifting various communities. 

Their beautiful online store offers a Give $10, Get $10 referral program, where you can give your friend $10 off their first purchase of $50 and more, plus free shipping, and get $10 in points for each successful referral.

19. Quip

Quip is an oral hygiene subscription-based service that provides customers with toothbrushes and other dental essentials. They have a $5 for you, $5 for a friend referral program for their users, and also offer free brush heads, floss, & paste in addition to that.

20. Madison Reed

Haircare brand Madison Reed allows their customers to earn up to $45 from their referral program. It’s a give $15 get $15 deal, and you get beautiful hair as a bonus. The referral program page has a simple form, advocates can easily sign up just by entering their email.

21. Boxycharm

BoxyCharm is a monthly subscription beauty box that comes with 5 full-sized skincare and cosmetics items. Existing customers can use the company's referral program to send a special link to friends. 

You will receive 500 charms (also known as points) for each new member who signs up. You can exchange the charms for cosmetics. It's also nice that they've explained the whole referral process from start to end so that advocates have a better idea of what's going to happen once they sign up.

22. Kari Gran

Kari Gran Skincare has been successful in the clean skincare market for ten years. The business is founded on a small number of essential, oil-based products. The referral program on their website allows you to give your friends $10 off. When your friends buy from your invite link, you get $10 off!

23. Murad Skincare

‍

Murad is the first brand of clinical skincare products, setting a new standard for high-performance skincare. Give a friend $10 off their first $50 purchase to get $10 off when they redeem. What's great about their referral program is that it's extremely easy to sign up, all they need to do is just fill in a very simple form.

24. Ohana Skincare & Beauty

Ohana provides beauty and skincare products and on their website they allow all of their clients to use the referral program. For every completed purchase you will receive 20% off.

Electronic & Gadget Referral Program examples

25. Pavlok

Pavlok sells a waking-up device that helps its customers become more productive, relaxed, and mindful. They have a referral program that allows you to earn $20 from each friend. 

26. MSI

MSI is a computer hardware manufacturer. If you refer a friend, you can get 300 points and a chance to win a big prize. This is slightly different from a default referral program because they've provided the added benefit of winning a prize on top of the purchase bonus.

27. Bose

Bose is an American manufacturer that specializes in selling audio equipment. They have a classic give $50, get $50 referral program on their website that inspires you to become everyone’s best friend. Bose made it clear and easy to understand the entire referral process by breaking it down into bullet points on their referral landing page.

28. Lulu & Georgia

Lightning and home decor brand Lulu & Georgia gives you and your friend 25$ for each successful referral. Again it's easy to sign up for it since it's a simple form which greatly reduces the friction for potential advocates!

F&B and Supplements Referral Program examples

29. Craft Coffee

Craft Coffee is a coffee subscription box that makes it easy to find good coffee at fair prices. With their referral program, your friends get 15% off, and you get a free bag of coffee. 

With a punchy headline using power words, Craft Coffee is able to capture the attention of coffee lovers—who doesn't want free coffee?

30. Soylent

Soylent is a meal-replacement product that has a combination of vitamins, minerals, and other necessary components. You can receive 25,000 points through their referral program for each referral that joins. 

31. Stop & Shop

Stop & Shop is an online food store. Customers can use email, Facebook, Twitter, Messenger, Pinterest, and Pinterest Messenger to share referral links with friends. Customers who successfully refer friends will receive $10 to put towards their next purchase, while referrals who sign up receive $10.

32. Hydrant

Hydrant is an online beverage store that sells refreshment drinks and its generous referral program gives you and your friends a 50% off coupon.

33. Muscle Food

Muscle food offers meal plans and prepped food with protein. They offer a referral program where your friend gets £10 off and you get £10 off.

34. Farm Fresh To You

Farm Fresh To You offers delivery service of organic fruits and veggies fresh from their farm and other local growers/artisans. You get to save $25 and your friend saves $15 with their referral program.

35. Flaviar

Flaviar gives you and your referred friend the possibility to choose an extra Tasting Box or bottle in case of a successful referral. Flaviar takes their branding so seriously, that even their referral program process is illustrated with branded images. And that works extremely well for them in helping advocates understand the referral process better.

36. Love With Food

Love with Food offers a huge variety of snacks to its customers. They have a referral program for all of their customers, where you can invite friends, and after they sign up, you get a free box of snacks and 1000 points to redeem at their store.

37. Happy Way

Happy Way is an Australian brand of organic and natural health snacks with a top-notch rewards system. Happy Way stands out in a crowded market that regularly takes itself too seriously by using vibrant color pops and upbeat visuals. With their Happy Way referral program, you and your friend get $10 if the referral was complete.

38. We Are Feel

We Are Feel offers safe and natural supplements—multivitamins, collagen, and more. Their referral program is a simple one but it taps on the altruistic mind of "keeping friends healthy" by introducing these supplements to them. It's an angle that is widely used in referral campaigns and they tend to do well too.

39. Seated

Seated is an app for restaurant and cafe reservations. The referral program on their website allows their users and referred friends to get credits that can be used toward future reservations. 

As seen above, Seated has a whole FAQ segment that fully answers all of the commonly asked questions from potential advocates.

40. fatty15

fatty15's referral program taps into the altruistic behavior of humans. Products like supplements tend to be on the personal side and recommendations from loved ones tend to do better than general advertising. 

Their referral messaging and slogan targets the main selling point which is to improve long-term health and wellness for loved ones. Their referral landing page details the process of signing up and provides clear benefits and even a referral FAQ segment to clarify doubts.

E-cigarettes and Vaporizers Referral Program examples

41. GPen

GPen's referral program gives your friends 15% off and a 20% discount to you.

42. Vampire Vape

Vampire Vape sells a variety of e-liquids, disposables, vapes, and pods. You can use their refer a friend feature so that you and your friend will get £5 off your next order.

43. Vape Loft

Vape Loft gives you and your friends a $10 coupon for each successful referral.

44. Vape Merchant

Vape Merchant offers a classic give $15, get $15 referral program to their existing customers and new friends.

45. Ripple+

Ripple+ has a well-designed referral sign-up page for their referral program. They offer a basic give 20% + get $10 off referral program. It's simple and straight to the point. It's also interesting how they've decided to provide different referral incentives for their advocates compared to their "friends". There's also a simple illustration of how the referral program works.

Pets Referral Program examples

46. PetFlow

PetFlow offers a classic give $10 get, $10 referral program to their customers and their furry friends.

47. Animal Friends

An animal pet insurance brand Animal Friends gives you and your referred friend a £25 voucher to boost their sales and attract more customers.

48. PetDirect

A pet food online store PetDirect gives you $10 and your friends $10 when you tell them about the store with your personalized referral link. Their referral landing page has a cute approach by using a pet pun to get the attention of people on the page—plus it does wonders for their branding!

49. Budget Pet Supplies

At Budget Pet Supplies, you and your friends get the chance to collect rewards together. All you have to do to earn thousands of reward points is recommend a friend or family member to Budget Pet Supplies. You will receive 500 reward points for one referral link, and your friend will receive 200 reward points in addition to a 15% sign-up and purchase discount.

50. Pet Releaf

Pet Releaf sells plant-based products for pet health. In their referral program, they give you and your friends $20 to shop on their website.

51. PetKind

Superfoods for pets brand PetKind gives your friends $10 off their first order and you get $20 (in points) for each successful referral.

Home and Care Goods Referral Program examples

52. A Box of Stories

A Box of Stories is a subscription box service in the United Kingdom that delivers four hand-picked novels for the price of a paperback (about £15).

As a relatively new brand (founded in 2018), A Box of Stories relied on Facebook advertising to acquire new customers. The cost of acquiring new customers was high, so they started looking for alternative ways to get their product out to new potential customers.

They got a recommendation that ReferralCandy could help them reach new audiences and decided to give it a chance in 2020.

A Box of Stories used ReferralCandy's coupon code feature to offer discounts on their products. Customers could offer their friends a £4 discount (about 25%) and receive an additional £4 discount once they make their next purchase.

Customers received this incredibly well. This is what Aasha, the founder of A Box of Stories mentioned on the results:

• "ReferralCandy did incredibly well on launch - in the first month, we had a referral rate of 7-8%."

In just a little over four months, close to 5,000 customers joined the referral program and the company saw a 3000% return on investment with ReferralCandy.

This is an ideal scenario when the right messaging and the right referral program tool are combined.

53. Five Good Friends

With the Five Good Friends program, you can refer a friend, and you and your friend will receive a $50 gift card when they join Five Good Friends and complete their first service visit. Sometimes, referral incentives don't just have to be strictly cash or products, they could come in the form of gift vouchers and gift cards!

54. QE Home

QE Home sells luxury bedding like duvet covers, kids' bedding, down duvets, quilt sets, weighted blankets, and more. You need to share $10 off that your friends can use towards their first order and get $10 off for each successful referral.

55. The Conran Shop

The Conran Shop is a home accessories and textile eCommerce store. They offer their users “give 15%, get 15% off” for referring a friend.

56. Baloo

Baloo makes weighted blankets and their referral program is easily accessible in the footer of their ecommerce site. It brings users to a referral sign-up page where there's a simple form for them to sign up for the referral program easily.

Since Baloo uses ReferralCandy for its referral program, it’s a great example of what you can do with our software.

Games, Software and Digital Goods Referral Program examples

57. World of Warcraft

In the WoW referral program, the player and their friends receive not only free game time but also exclusive in-game items. The conditions are also provided for new users who have not played World of Warcraft for a long time (more than 2 years). This increases the number of active players who show loyalty to earlier users.

58. Binance

Share your referral link with your friends to earn rewards. When an invited friend registers for a Binance account and makes his first deposit worth more than $50, you’ll both receive 100 USDT ($100) in trading platforms fee credit. 

59. Lunatic Capital

Lunatic Capital offers their members get discount for a monthly subscription by inviting 2 friends. For example, John invited 2 of his friends. And in case of a successful referral, John will get a $160 discount for the monthly subscription.

60. Cash App

Cash app lets customers and their friends get bonuses following these simple steps. They just have to download the application, enter their referral code in the profile, link a debit card, and spend within the given time frame to receive the referral bonus.

61. TransferGo

TransferGo is an app that can help you easily send money to over 160 countries. You can earn 22€ on your bank account every time your referral friends make their first transfer. 

62. Western Union

Instead of the usual cash or discount rewards, Western Union’s referral program introduced another incentive where customers and their referred friends can earn a $20 Amazon.com e-gift code. 

Travel Referral Program examples

63. Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles referral program

Turkish Airlines gives you 500 Miles for every invited friend. You can refer up to 5 friends and earn 2500 Miles.

64. Friendly Planet

Friendly Planet offers travel services. They offer their customers a generous referral program, where you and your friends can earn $100 each.

65. Travelink

Travelink gives you a $25 Gift Card for a first-time booking or when you refer friends and family.

66. Rooh Travel

All travel enthusiasts can refer a friend and they’ll both save £100 on your next trip with Rooh Travel.​

67. Holiday Vacations

With the Holiday Vacations referral program you can earn $200 in Refer a Friend credit for each new friend you refer.

68. Kensington Tours

Kensington Tours offers you and your referred friends or family members $250 each to spend on your next trip. Their referral landing page provides just the right amount of information for any customer-turned-advocate to understand what your referral program process is like and how they'll benefit from joining it.

Finance Referral Program examples

69. CapitalOne

CapitalOne also has a great referral program for its users. You need to sign in to your account to get your personal referral link, then share that link with family members or friends. If they’re a new Capital One cardholder and get approved using your link, you’ll earn a bonus for each friend approved.

70. American Express

American Express rewards their loyal customers if they refer a friend and get approved for the card.

71. Payoneer

With Payoneer’s referral program you can get a $25 reward when referring a friend or family member.

72. Chase Bank

Chase Bank offers up to 75,000 bonus points or up to $500 cashback per year in their referral program for each friend that gets referred.

73. Discover

Refer-a-Friend eligible users get Discover’s credit referral reward of $50 to $100 if their friend applies for the specific offer sent via the link provided. 

Phone Service Referral Program Examples

74. T-Mobile

By introducing friends and family to T-Mobile to open new postpaid accounts, current customers are eligible to win a $50 Virtual Express Prepaid MasterCard card.

75. Mint Mobile

Mint Mobile offers you 3 months of free usage for referring a friend. You can also earn up to $90 for each referral. The amount of credit you get will depend on which plan your friend picks.

76. Metro

If you refer your friends to Metro, you can earn up to $125 a year. For every friend who joins any Metro plan, you’ll receive a $25 virtual prepaid Mastercard.

77. FoneHouse

Earn £25 with the FoneHouse referral program. There are some steps you need to follow in order to refer friends and earn rewards.

Over to you

Building a referral program from scratch can be daunting at the start.

What referral incentives should I offer? How often should I promote my referral program? What if people are taking advantage of our referral campaigns? 

These are all legitimate questions that any business would have. What matters most is to really understand who your customers are, and what makes them happy? Not to forget make sure that your product itself is of good quality and easily referable.

What are your favorite ecommerce referral programs? If this list is missing your favorites, let us know!

P.S. If you enjoyed reading this article and want to grow your ecommerce store, subscribe to our newsletter to get our latest articles and roundups.

Further reading

• Why Referral Marketing Is Awesome
• How to Set Up a Referral Program for Your Ecommerce Store
• How to Design Your Referral Emails
• How to Get More Ecommerce Referrals
• How to Promote Your Referral Program
• How to Measure the ROI of Your Referral Program

The previous versions of this article were written by Visakan Veerasamy, Si Quan Ong, Darren Foong, and Marquis Matson, Alfred Lua, marketers at ReferralCandy. We update this article regularly to keep it relevant and useful to ecommerce merchants.

Frequently Asked Questions