The case for mobile wallet passes
A TRIBAL Case Study
Apple Wallet and Google Pay are, in my view, massively under-utilised by the hospitality industry. Apple first introduced Wallet in 2012, so we’ve had more than a decade of opportunity to exploit some of the fantastic features — but it’s still mainly used for contactless payments and for storing boarding passes. At Sugar Snap, we recently rolled out two campaigns which utilise mobile wallet pass technology. A ‘Student Pass’ scheme to offer student perks for ORTO Pizzabars, and a ‘Friends With Benefits’ club for TRIBAL.
How It Works:
The customer activates a pass on their smartphone, after seeing it on social media or by clicking a link in a marketing email. It is then stored in their mobile wallet, permanently.
We set deals, based on business objectives. For example, TRIBAL recently launched a Dirty Fries menu, so we are running a £5 Dirty Fries deal on the Friends With Benefits Pass. ORTO is too busy to cope in the evenings, but is quieter in the mornings, so we are running a time-based deal for a Flat White & Cinnamon Bun between 8:30am and 11:30am. The deals change monthly, without any need for customers to ever activate new passes — it’s seamless!
The customer is notified on their lock screen when they have a new deal, and (this is my favourite bit) geo-location-based notifications pop up on their phone when they come within 100 metres of the location. This keeps the brand front and centre when it matters most.
The customer visits the location and shows their pass at the point of sale to redeem their deal.
The response so far has been phenomenal. For both brands, we’ve significantly accelerated the collection of valuable customer data and mobilised thousands of ‘fans’ to actively help us to meet business objectives. The customer feels valued, and the business can optimise daily operations. It’s a win-win!
📸 Steven McAvoy
It gets better. We’ve spent a lot of time digging into the early figures and the £5 Dirty Fries deal I mentioned before has yielded some very interesting results already! The concern with a great deal like this is the extent of margin reduction. A 25% off deal means 25% less money in the bank — or so we thought. In practice, however, the average transaction value for orders that utilise this £5 offer has been around the £18 mark, which is on par with non-offer transactions, meaning that customers are effectively increasing their spend.
So, to summarise: with a well-managed mobile pass campaign — we’re rewarding customers, getting loads of tasty data, and boosting the bottom line.
To fully appreciate the tech, why not nab yourself a free TRIBAL Friends With Benefits Pass? That way you’ll see how it works in real life:
For as little as 10 pence per active pass per month, the Sugar Snap team can help you achieve similar results tailored to your business objectives with our fully-managed mobile wallet pass service. A one-off setup fee covers the necessary development licensing and certification, then your brand can roll out a delicious campaign that makes your customers feel loved.
As a dedicated hospitality marketing team, we’re always keen to hear from owners and operators in the industry who are interested in creative solutions. If you’re interested in finding out more about what we do, let’s chat.
