Considering Embargo?
Embargo, compared honestly
Embargo is a loyalty and CRM platform for UK coffee shops, bakeries, and casual spots, with ordering attached - the pitch is repeat visits driven by points, stamps, and customer data.
Their positioning, in their words: “UK's no. 1 loyalty, CRM & ordering platform” - loyalty-first, cafés and coffee shops
Where Embargo is a strong choice
- Coffee shops and bakeries whose primary goal is a stamp-card replacement
- Operators who want CRM campaigns first and ordering second
If that is your situation, they deserve a fair look. Here is where the two platforms genuinely differ.
Where the two differ
Ordering-first vs loyalty-first
Loyalty works when there are orders to be loyal about. Storekit is the ordering platform - eight channels, EPOS integration, capacity control - with loyalty, guest profiles, and email/SMS marketing built in on top of the order flow.
The whole restaurant, not just the counter
Café loyalty tools are shaped for counter service. Storekit runs table service (QR order-and-pay, pay-at-table, tabs), off-premise (takeaway, delivery, collection), and catering - the full shape of a restaurant operation.
Data from every order
Every Storekit order - any channel - builds the same guest record, owned by you and exportable. Loyalty campaigns are only as good as the order data underneath them.
Five questions to ask both of us
Whatever you choose, put the same questions to every platform on your shortlist - including Storekit - and get the answers in writing.
01
Can you export your customer list today, without asking?
This is the ownership test. If the answer is no, you are renting a marketplace with your logo on it.
02
Is the fee a flat per-order rate or a percentage of the basket?
Percentages scale with your prices and your success. Flat rates do not.
03
Does it cover every channel you run - or will you need a second system?
Takeaway, delivery, collection, at-table, and catering off one menu, or you will maintain five menus.
04
Does it drop orders into your EPOS, or does someone re-key them?
Re-keying is the hidden labour cost of most ordering systems. Ask for the integration list in writing.
05
What happens on your busiest night?
Ask about capacity controls per time slot, pausing a channel mid-service, and what support answers at 7pm on a Friday.
Weighing the rest of the field
Embargo and Storekit, asked directly
What is the difference between Embargo and Storekit?
Embargo leads with loyalty and CRM for cafés, with ordering attached. Storekit leads with direct ordering across eight channels, with loyalty and marketing built on top of the order data. If ordering is the revenue channel, start with the ordering platform.
Does Storekit have loyalty like Embargo?
Storekit includes an integrated loyalty programme plus email and SMS marketing, driven by the guest profiles every order creates. Storekit also integrates with dedicated loyalty platforms - Como, Leat, Glu, and others - if you already run one.
Test it against
your shortlist
Storekit is free to set up and live the same day - run a real order through it before you decide anything.