In today’s fast-growing consumer culture, competition to catch public attention is getting fierce. Every day new products, businesses and brands are popping up; each with an arsenal of creative strategies in place to fight for, and capture the interest of millions of customers.
Loyalty programmes are one such tool that has proven effective in helping businesses with customer retention. They’ve done even more for customer acquisition. Although they can offer great savings and rewards, physical loyalty cards are becoming less popular for their unfortunate tendency to take up a little too much wallet space.
In September 2016, the Zapper app introduced digital loyalty cards as a solution to this dilemma. Six months in, over half a million Zapper users couldn’t be more thankful.
Through the app people can now download hundreds of loyalty cards that have been made available to them by restaurants and retailers, without any unnecessary clutter. All are saved in their Zapper inbox, with the added benefit of not taking up any additional phone storage space.
Zapper loyalty cards function as a form of virtual currency, allowing patrons to receive a freebie or discount voucher after a certain number of visits or cash is spent at a merchant’s business. Unlike traditional print cards that must be presented each time a user pays a bill; the Zapper app automatically detects if a customer has downloaded a loyalty card when paying a bill.
“There are so many times when you are rushing to pay, or you have something more pressing on your mind, that you forget to collect your loyalty card points. Our digital cards are updated automatically, without any effort on the customer’s behalf. Once the loyalty card is completed, a voucher is immediately sent to a user’s inbox, ready to be redeemed,” said Jessica Fowlds, Marketing and Communications Manager for Zapper South Africa.
For Zapper tribe members in 14 countries around the world who already use the app to pay at restaurants, settle bills, donate to charities and shop online, this digital rewards system is simply another addition to their lifestyle of convenience. For merchants, however, it changes the game.
In an age where understanding customer spend habits and frequency are beneficial to increasing profits, Zapper provides the insight to help a merchant make better businesses decisions. Through the loyalty cards they can let regular customers know that they are valued, and keep them coming back. They also help to spark the interest of new clientele who may not have been interested in a merchant’s business before; increasing sales and turning a one-time customer into a lifetime customer.
As far as loyalty cards go, Zapper has hit the mark; understanding that a lifestyle of convenience is the ultimate benefit you can offer to loyal customers.
To download the app and discover a world where loyalty is rewarded, visit the app store on your smartphone. Merchants can also learn more by going to www.zapper.com or calling +27 87 150 1001.
