Loyalty card for launderettes and dry cleaners: drop-off, collection and rewards

How a launderette or dry cleaner loyalty card works

A loyalty card for a launderette or dry cleaner records your regulars’ visits, the people who bring in shirts every week or duvets at every change of season, and after the target you choose it entitles them to a reward. Unlike a café, every job here has two moments days apart: the customer leaves the items and comes back to collect them. So the first decision is which of the two moments earns the stamp.

With a digital card customers do not need to keep a paper card next to their ticket: they open the card on their phone from the QR code on the counter or by the till. An authorised member of staff scans the card’s QR code, or types its code, and confirms the visit. Iterum does not read your shop software, the till or the ticket: it counts what staff confirm, under the rule you have written.

1. Choose when the stamp is given

   For example: «one stamp for every paid collection, however many items». It is an example to adapt, not a recommended rule.

2. Display the QR code where customers wait

   On the drop-off counter, where the ticket is written and the items are counted: customers sign up in the browser in a few seconds.

3. Stamp when you hand back the clean items

   At collection, after payment: staff scan the card on the customer’s phone and confirm the visit.

4. Record the reward on the next collection

   Once the target is reached, staff check the rule, apply the reward to the current job and record the redemption in the dashboard.

Drop-off or collection: when should a dry cleaner give the stamp?

At a dry cleaner the stamp belongs to only one of the two moments; otherwise every job is worth two and the card fills up twice as fast as planned. Collection is usually the simplest moment: the work is done, the customer pays and has their phone in hand. Stamping at drop-off also rewards items that then sit uncollected for weeks.

In the Iterum card settings you can set a minimum interval between two stamps on the same card, from 1 minute to 24 hours: it prevents an accidental double stamp on the same day, but it cannot tell a drop-off from a collection made on different days. That is why the rule goes in the «What a visit is worth» field, which staff and customers read on the card, and why staff need it explained.

Stamps per visit or points per item: what should a launderette count?

The same customer may bring in one shirt, or a bag of ten items and a duvet. An Iterum stamp card records visits confirmed by staff, not items: under the rule «one stamp per collection», the person collecting one shirt and the person collecting ten items each get one stamp. It is the quickest rule at the counter and works well when regulars bring similar jobs every week.

If you want the reward to follow the amount of work, Iterum also offers a points card: you decide what a point is worth, for example one point per item or one point per euro, and staff type the points in the counter app. Iterum converts nothing automatically and does not read the ticket. You can set a «Maximum points per operation» as a safeguard against typing errors, and staff can undo a mistaken addition within 10 minutes. The full comparison of the two mechanics is in the guide stamps vs points loyalty card.

Self-service launderette: does a loyalty card work without staff?

Many coin-operated launderettes stay open with nobody behind the counter. Honesty matters here: with Iterum every stamp and every point is confirmed by an authorised person in the counter app, and the card is not connected to the machines or to an automatic pay station. A fully unstaffed self-service launderette is not the right fit for this card.

If someone is there at certain times, for example in the morning for ironing and collections, the card can apply only during those hours: write it in the conditions («stamps only when staff are present, 8am to 12pm») and display the QR code only where staff can see it. For mixed services, self-service plus ironing, the stamp can follow the staffed service alone.

How much does it cost to have a shirt washed and ironed in Italy? August 2026 prices

In August 2026 the average price for washing and ironing a shirt ranged from 2.69 euros in Milan to 4.59 euros in Bari among the large Italian cities where the figure is available, according to the Italian government’s price observatory (Osservatorio Prezzi e Tariffe, MIMIT), which publishes price levels processed by Istat; Rome averaged 3.18 euros. For washing a duvet the averages ranged from 16.48 euros in Turin to 20.80 euros in Bologna.

These are one month’s figures, not a ranking. The observatory advises against using these levels to compare different cities or months, because the quotes may refer to different combinations of service and outlet; for the self-service item the page gives the unit as «1 pz» (one piece) without saying whether that means one item or one wash. Use them as an order of magnitude when you value a reward, not as a price list.

Which reward should a launderette or dry cleaner give?

The reward should be in proportion to the work the customer brings. A hypothetical example: someone collecting five shirts a week at the Rome average of 3.18 euros has spent about 159 euros after ten collections. A single free shirt is worth about 2% of that spend and may feel stingy; five free shirts are worth about 10%. With a points card, one point per item and a five-shirt reward at 50 points, the share is similar.

Word the reward precisely, because not all items are equal: «five shirts washed and ironed, suits and leather excluded» leaves no doubt. The reward cost calculator redoes the sum with your prices; more ideas are in the guide to loyalty card reward ideas.

Uncollected items and forgotten rewards: what to write in the conditions

Every dry cleaner knows the items that hang there for months. If the stamp is given at collection, an uncollected job is worth nothing on the card, which is the cleanest rule. If you give it at drop-off, write that the stamp only counts for jobs collected and paid for.

An earned reward can also be left waiting. In Iterum you choose how long it stays valid from the moment the customer earns it: no expiry, or 30, 60, 90, 180 or 365 days. For customers who come back each season a long validity avoids arguments; for weekly customers 90 days is enough. Write your choice in the reward conditions, which customers read on the card.

Duvets, curtains and changes of season: how to use them on the card

Seasons matter in this trade: spring and autumn bring duvets, blankets and curtains, large items a customer brings once or twice a year. You can use them in two ways: as a reduced-price reward in the months when the workshop is quieter, or with a points card that gives large items more points.

To remind your regulars about the season, Iterum lets you send messages only to customers who have given consent, within the plan’s monthly limit per location. One message at the start of the season is enough; what you may send, and with which consent, is covered in the guide loyalty card GDPR.

How to set up your launderette or dry cleaner loyalty card with Iterum

With Iterum you build the card before paying: in the card designer you choose the design, the number of visits and the reward wording, and see a preview on the phone. The laundry demo design uses made-up data: it does not represent a real customer or a result.

At the counter the customer scans the QR code and has the card in the browser, with no app or password; by adding it they accept the card Terms and confirm they have read the privacy notice, with no box to tick; on supported phones they can save it to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. Staff work from the counter app on a phone or computer, with accounts for the whole team. A connection is needed: Iterum does not stamp offline.

To get started there is a 7-day free trial: you pay €0 today, a payment card is required and, unless you cancel, the selected plan continues after the trial. New customers included each month and active cards per plan are on the pricing page, with unlimited total customers; the whole process is in how Iterum works.

Sources and method

Sources consulted on 11 October 2026: Osservatorio Prezzi e Tariffe, Italian Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MIMIT), archive of monthly price surveys for everyday goods and services (in Italian), type «Servizi», August 2026 (the latest month published), one page for each of the nine provinces in the table. Cells marked «—» are items not surveyed in that province.

Spending, shares and rewards are hypothetical calculations using Rome averages and quantities chosen as examples, not data collected from real launderettes or dry cleaners. The information about Iterum describes the product as of 11 October 2026, as shown on its public pages and in the dashboard, and does not promise more customers or more work. Iterum is loyalty card software and has no connection with the observatory.