Customer loyalty programs provide quick-service brands with good information about their repeat guests and reward fans with special deals. But the programs only go so far. Customers lose or forget their plastic mag-stripe cards. Or they forget to bring in the coupon they printed from their favorite brands' e-clubs. Some brands have begun testing mobile loyalty programs, including one from Tetherball that uses a contactless RFID sticker to track customers' purchases.
In June, an Indiana Dairy Queen began testing the device. Now, McDonald's, Arby's, Dunkin' Donuts and fast casual Qdoba have joined in the test, according to a story on NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com. Qdoba has had particular success with the program, seeing redemption rates of 16 percent to 40 percent.
From NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com:
Consumers who sign up for Tetherball's service are issued with an RFID tag that they affix to their mobile phone. The tag is activated by the customer by texting the ID number on the tag to a control centre. Then, each time they make a purchase at a participating retailer or food outlet, they are uniquely identified at either a contactless point-of-sale terminal or a dedicated kiosk so that they can gain or redeem loyalty points.Tetherball's back office system then also allows them to be sent targeted marketing and promotional offers based on their purchasing history, via either standard SMS text messages or via mobile coupons that are redeemable in-store.
