💡 Customer Loyalty Beyond Points — and the Founder Lens Behind It

Loyalty isn’t going anywhere — but it is being rewritten.

Not because points don’t work. They do.
But there’s room for so much more.

ethos founder and CEO Matias Marquez was clear in our recent Canada Now podcast conversation: the ROI is real — loyalty members often spend at least 30% more on average, return more often, and become more valuable customers over time.

The most disciplined consumer brands in the world track this obsessively — Starbucks, Sephora, and others regularly cite loyalty metrics as core business drivers.

The shift happening now isn’t about whether loyalty works.
It’s about what it can be.

In 2026, loyalty isn’t just a marketing program.

It’s infrastructure.
It’s community.
It’s participation.

And increasingly, it’s a growth engine.

Oh — and it’s not just for the big guys anymore.

One of the simplest reframes Matias offered was also the most human:

Customers don’t become loyal because they got five dollars off.
They become loyal because they feel like they’re part of something.

Matias said it simply:

That’s the shift.

Points may still be part of the equation — but the deeper loyalty is being built through connection.

This is where the conversation started to click for me as a host.

For years, loyalty at scale felt like something reserved for giants:

Starbucks-level systems.
Sephora-level perks.
Massive data teams.

But Matias is building ethos around a different idea:

That independent retailers — the Shopify merchants, the small brands, the local operators — should be able to create loyalty ecosystems just as compelling.

Not by copying enterprise rewards programs…
but by building community.

Matias outlined the arc:

It’s loyalty as participation — not just transaction.

And for independent retailers, especially in Canada, that matters.

Because community is something smaller brands can do better than anyone.

They can be closer.
More personal.
More real.

For Shopify merchants and independent retailers, this is a playbook worth watching.

Canada Now | Episode 15: Loyalty Beyond Points: Building Community-Led Brands

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One of the most surprising insights from Matias was this:

A truly engaging loyalty program doesn’t just reward existing customers.
It attracts new ones.

He said it “breaks people’s brains” when they realize it.

That’s a big deal.

Because most businesses still think loyalty is something you build after you have customers.

Matias lays out the opposite:
Community can pull people in before they ever buy.

That’s not just retention. That’s modern brand-building.

Another moment I loved was when Matias pushed back on the idea that this is simply about business owners “catching up.”

He doesn’t think the gap is awareness.
He thinks the gap is tooling.

Shopify didn’t succeed because it taught people e-commerce.
It succeeded because it made e-commerce accessible.

Matias believes loyalty is in the same phase.

That’s a founder’s insight.

And it’s exactly the kind of infrastructure shift that unlocks the next wave of independent business growth.

The conversation wasn’t only about loyalty.

It was also about what it feels like to build from Canada right now.

Matias spoke with real emotion about being proud to build here — but also honest about the friction:

But “hard mode” isn’t about ambition.
It’s about momentum.

Matias has watched Canadian founders leave for the U.S. — and seen resources feel harder to access.

And yet — what stayed with me most wasn’t frustration.
It was the deeper reason he chooses to build here:

But he also offered something important:
Canada’s path forward is likely not found by copying Silicon Valley.

It’s building the way Canadian founders often do best:

Sustainably. Thoughtfully. With real customers. Real customer feedback loops. Real revenue. Real staying power.

Hard mode, yes.
But maybe also… the model that lasts.

Matias also believes tides change quickly when Canadian entrepreneurs shine:

Matias pointed to one recent example that sparked a lot of discussion:

Y Combinator — one of the most influential startup accelerators in the world — had suggested it would exclude Canadian-domiciled startups.

He didn’t frame it as drama.
He framed it as signal.

What happens when resources get turned off?
When builders feel like they have to leave?

🔔 Just days after this conversation, Y Combinator reversed course and announced they will once again invest in Canadian startups — a meaningful reminder of how fluid (and important) these ecosystem decisions are.

🔎 (More info/links: YC announcement / BetaKit / Business Insider)

This episode was a conversation about loyalty. But it was also a conversation about leverage.

Because similar themes apply beyond ecommerce:

For independent retailers, especially here at home, the takeaway is simple:

You don’t need to be Sephora to build loyalty.
You need to build connection.

And the best part?
The tools to do it are no longer reserved for the giants.

🎧 You can listen to or watch the full conversation with Matias Marquez on the latest episode of Canada Now (ep. 15).

Matias Marquez is a Canadian tech founder and the CEO of ethos, a modern loyalty and membership platform helping Shopify brands rethink loyalty as something far more human than points and perks. Previously, Matias founded Buyatab — a global leader in digital gift cards — which was acquired in 2019. A BIV Forty Under 40 honouree, he brings a second-time founder lens to building enduring, community-led brands, and has supported early-stage companies as a board member, advisor, and investor.

Learn more:
Matias Marquez on LinkedIn | ethos Company Website

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— Ashley Smith (@ashleysmithnow)