Customer lifetime value

The big number at the top of your Overview is average customer lifetime value, or LTV. It is the reason the whole system exists.

What it means

A guest who buys a $25 meal once is worth $25. A guest who takes your card and comes back twice a month is worth hundreds over the year. LTV is the average of what your members are actually worth, based on their real visits and tickets.

The line under the number puts it in context: "A captured customer is worth $161 over time, not one $26 ticket." That is the sentence to remember when you're deciding whether a free-fries coupon is worth running.

How it's calculated

• Every scanned visit with a ticket amount adds to that member's total.
• LTV is the average total across your members, weighted toward the guests who keep coming back.
• It only counts real scans, so it never includes guesses or projections.

Why it matters

• Ad decisions. If a new member costs $17 in ad spend and is worth $161 over time, the campaign pays for itself many times over. The Cost per new member tile shows the $17 and does that arithmetic for you.
• Offer decisions. A generous first-visit offer looks expensive on its own and cheap next to LTV.
• Location decisions. On a multi-location brand, compare LTV by location to see where the loyalty program is working hardest.