Every 100ms delay in page load costs you 7% in conversions. Every second costs you 11% in page views. Yet most loyalty apps dump hundreds of kilobytes of JavaScript onto every page of your store. The math is brutal: your loyalty app might be costing more in lost sales than it generates in retention.
The Hidden Tax on Every Page View
When you install a loyalty app, you're typically adding:
- A JavaScript bundle (the app itself)
- CSS styles (widget appearance)
- External API calls (fetching customer data)
- Tracking scripts (analytics)
These load on every page—not just where your widget appears. A customer browsing your catalog? Loading loyalty scripts. Checking their cart? More scripts. Every page view includes the full weight of your loyalty app, whether they interact with it or not.
The Script Size Comparison
We analyzed the JavaScript footprint of popular Shopify loyalty apps:
That's not a typo. Some loyalty apps add over 6x the JavaScript of Anchor. On mobile connections, this difference can mean seconds of additional load time.
Core Web Vitals Impact
Google's Core Web Vitals directly affect your search rankings. Heavy loyalty scripts impact:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Heavy scripts delay page rendering
- First Input Delay (FID): Large JavaScript bundles block user interaction
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Widgets loading late can shift page content
A poor Core Web Vitals score doesn't just hurt UX—it hurts your Google rankings. You could be losing organic traffic because of your loyalty app.
The Real Cost Calculation
Let's do the math for a store with 100,000 monthly visitors:
- If heavy scripts add 1 second load time:
- → 11% fewer page views = 11,000 lost browsing sessions
- → 7% lower conversion = lost sales on every order
- → At 2% conversion rate, 3% AOV of $80 = $5,280/mo lost
Your "free" or $20/mo loyalty app could be costing you thousands in invisible losses.
How to Test Your Current Setup
Want to see how your loyalty app affects your site? Here's how:
- Open Chrome DevTools (F12 or right-click → Inspect)
- Go to the Network tab
- Reload your page
- Filter by JS
- Look for your loyalty app's scripts
- Note the transferred size
Then temporarily disable the app and run Google PageSpeed Insights before and after. The difference may shock you.
Why Anchor is Different
We built Anchor with performance as a first-class concern:
- Lazy loading: Widget scripts only load when needed
- Code splitting: Only essential code on initial load
- No external dependencies: No heavy third-party libraries
- Optimized assets: Compressed, minified, efficient
The result? Anchor adds minimal weight to your store. Your customers get a fast experience, your Core Web Vitals stay healthy, and your SEO doesn't suffer.
See our detailed performance report →
Frequently Asked Questions
How much JavaScript do typical loyalty apps add?
Most loyalty apps add 300-800KB of JavaScript to your store, which can add 1-3 seconds to page load times and significantly impact Core Web Vitals scores.
Does Anchor affect my store's page speed?
Anchor is built with performance in mind. Our widget loads asynchronously and adds minimal JavaScript compared to competitors, preserving your Core Web Vitals scores.
How do I check how much a loyalty app affects my store speed?
Use Google PageSpeed Insights or Chrome DevTools to measure your page load with and without the loyalty app. Check the Network tab to see script sizes and load times.
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