The four-unit ShortStop convenience-store group of Boulder, Colo., is using mobile commerce technology from Mocapay Inc., and eight-unit ink! Coffee of Denver has agreed to try the technology as well.
Boulder-based Mocapay said ShortStop anticipates launching a mobile device loyalty program in this year’s second quarter, after a successful 90-day trial of the vendor’s mobile gift program. Smart Transaction Systems of Boulder, a provider of card-based payment systems and loyalty and customer relationship management programs, also is involved in the ShortStop project.
Mocapay’s loyalty program enables participants to use their cell phones to track their progress in reaching award levels and to redeem incentives. The mobile gift function permits consumers to make transactions in ShortStop stores by using their cell phones to tap into balances on pre-paid gift cards, or “convenience” accounts, and use their phones to monitor those balances and load additional monies into their accounts. The technology also lets users find the closest location of the business involved. To use the loyalty or payment function, consumers access the Mocapay area in “mobile wallets” in their cell phones and then pass the information on their phones’ display screens over or under compatible payment card readers.
“Mocapay's mobile gift transaction solution was seamlessly integrated with our existing plastic gift transaction process, which made it very easy and simple for our employees to ensure a smooth customer experience at point-of-sale," ShortStop co-owner Tony Dageenakis said. “Our upcoming loyalty program will allow us to reward our best customers and we will be able to target one-to-one communication with them through Mocapay's opt-in mobile marketing services.”
ShortStop reportedly saw mid-single-digit consumer adoption rates for the mobile gift offering, high single-digit mobile transaction volumes, and low double-digit mobile gift-account load amounts.
In addition to complementing his chain's plastic gift card line, ink! Coffee owner Keith Herbert indicated that he expects the pending deployment of Mocapay's technology to improve communications with loyal patrons.