How A Headphone Site Operator Built Loyalty Startup Lantern To Solve His Own Problems
When it comes to loyalty, few understand customer retention like Andrew Lissimore — and that’s exactly how a headphone site operator built loyalty startup Lantern to solve his own problems. After nearly a decade running Headphones.com, Lissimore grew frustrated with the constant spending on Meta and Google ads just to attract new buyers. He wanted a smarter way to retain the customers he already had — without draining ad budgets.
Image Credits:Lantern
From Headphones.com To Lantern: Solving A Real Business Pain
While exploring the Shopify ecosystem for loyalty tools, Lissimore found that most programs focused on spending tiers and points — not genuine engagement. None of them felt flexible or human enough to fit his brand’s needs. So instead of settling, he built his own loyalty solution — a move that sparked the creation of Lantern, a startup now empowering other businesses to do the same.
Building A Loyalty System From The Ground Up
Lantern began as an internal experiment for Headphones.com. Lissimore and his team cobbled together various Shopify apps to test loyalty systems — stamps, referrals, spending rewards, and point systems. But the patchwork approach came with challenges. Managing multiple apps was time-consuming, and the fragmented experience hurt brand consistency.
That’s when Lissimore realized the opportunity: create a Shopify-native loyalty platform that delivers seamless integration, easy management, and a unified customer experience.
Lantern’s Edge: Native, Integrated, And Built For Brands
Unlike traditional loyalty tools, Lantern lets brands customize how they engage customers — whether through points, stamps, or referral rewards — all within Shopify’s ecosystem. This native approach simplifies management, preserves branding, and helps merchants keep more of their marketing spend focused on nurturing loyal communities instead of chasing new clicks.
Empowering Merchants To Build Lasting Loyalty
Lantern isn’t just another app — it’s a reflection of Lissimore’s philosophy that loyalty should feel natural, not transactional. By building the tool he wished existed, he’s helping small and mid-size Shopify stores transform retention from a marketing afterthought into a sustainable growth engine.
As more e-commerce founders look beyond ads for retention, Lantern’s story shows how solving your own pain points can lead to your next big startup idea.
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