Is Papa John's Enhanced Loyalty Program Strengthening Repeat Business?

Papa John's International, Inc. PZZA is aiming to turn first-time customers into repeat buyers in an increasingly competitive market. The company continued to see strong results from its revamped loyalty program in the second quarter of 2025.

Since the program’s enhancement in November 2024, which lowered the redemption threshold so members can unlock Papa Dough faster, Papa John’s has added approximately 2.7 million new loyalty accounts, bringing the total to about 38.8 million. This change is driving exactly what management anticipated, customers are returning more quickly, engagement levels are rising and repeat purchases are increasing.

During the second quarter, customer counts rose across almost every frequency cohort, with loyalty customer counts up 4.5% sequentially and 1% higher year over year. Notably, the super frequent loyalty segment, the brand’s most valuable group, placed more orders in the second quarter of 2025 than in a long time. Even light and medium-frequency members have been ordering more often, highlighting the program’s appeal across different customer types.

The company is integrating the loyalty platform with CRM and AI tools to deliver hyper-personalized offers, aiming to convert new and lapsed customers into active, repeat buyers. Papa John’s is also refining its app experience, which has already delivered a few hundred basis points of conversion improvement over the past year by enhancing navigation and highlighting loyalty rewards.

With a growing loyalty base, faster repeat ordering patterns and ongoing technology upgrades, Papa John’s is strengthening the foundation for sustained repeat business and positioning itself for a larger share of the market in the months ahead.

Other Companies Benefiting From Loyalty Growth

Other major chains, including Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. CMG and Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc. PLAY, are leveraging upgraded loyalty programs to boost engagement and drive repeat business.

Chipotle continues to expand its rewards program to boost participation and frequency. With about 20 million active loyalty members over the past year, the brand is using gamified campaigns like “Summer of Extras” to offer extra points, badges and milestone-based prizes. These efforts have driven higher engagement, more visits and greater spending, with Chipotle planning additional loyalty-focused promotions in the fall to sustain momentum.

Dave & Buster’s is leaning on its loyalty program as a key driver of guest engagement. The company sees the platform as a way to make its mobile app more relevant by allowing guests to complete challenges and earn rewards, ultimately encouraging more frequent visits. Alongside investments in mobile and digital initiatives, Dave & Buster’s is integrating loyalty into a fully self-serve, web-enabled guest experience now being tested in select stores.

PZZA’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates

PZZA’s shares have lost 3% in the past six months compared with the industry’s decline of 7.6%.

From a valuation standpoint, PZZA trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 0.73X, down from the industry’s average.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PZZA’s 2025 EPS implies a decline of 23.9% year over year. However, EPS estimates for 2025 have increased in the past 30 days.

Papa John's currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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