A Universal Bluetooth Savings Club
By
Staten Island, NY Posted: 2/14/2015 1:00:00 AM
Carrying dozens of loyalty cards are a pain in the neck. Wouldn't it be better if stores recognized our card number the moment we walk in?
The original idea behind loyalty cards was to give customers discounts in exchange for letting them track our purchases. It's a simple relationship where both sides benefit. The stores get to see the kinds of products you like, and you get a discount.
The key to the whole system is that each customer has their own unique account number. Every time they scan your card (or look it up by phone number), they know what you like, so they can potentially offer sale items coupons for the kinds of things they feel you might like on a future visit.
The trouble is, every store has their own card, so you could potentially have a dozen or more cards to manage.
Since all they really need is a unique identification number, any unique number will do, including a digital number stored inside your SmartPhone, which can be transmitted via BlueTooth the moment you walk in.
A number of companies have created Apps that store your loyalty card numbers so you don't need to carry them, but frankly, it's still pretty awkward, because you are still using a dozen or more card numbers. The only difference is that you are not physically holding the cards.
An easier solution would be to create a simple App that lets members have just one loyalty membership number, regardless of what store they shop in. This means that instead of the customer signing up for dozens of loyalty programs, they can simply join the Bluetooth club once, and use the same membership number in every store that joins the network.
Technically, since the main idea is to have a single unique number that you can use in any store, so you don't need more than one card, the unique number could also be a regular card. The SmartPhone just simplifies this by transmitting the number for you.
The immediate benefit is that you don't need to carry any additional cards, and since your phone is always with you, you never forget it.
Another potential benefit is that as you shop, loyalty benefits could be shared among participating stores. So you could earn points whenever you shop at stores that accept your club membership. If this sounds like a crazy option, think again. That was the core idea behind Green Stamps, where shoppers earned stamps in countless stores that offered the stamps.
Joe Crescenzi, Founder
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