Restaurant chain Shake Shack saw a spike in new customers after joining the new Visa Commerce Network, a platform that connects consumers to multiple retailer discounts via mobile notifications.

Dunkin’ Donuts, Regal Entertainment Group, Shake Shack and Uber are some of the many retailers that were quick to join Visa’s network, providing customers with a series of deals when purchasing at partners through their credit cards. Mobile users will automatically receive discounts after using their Visa cards at partners to redeem at other retailers, without having to change their method of payment.

“Mobile is accelerating the pace of change in the payments industry and we believe now is a perfect opportunity to deliver products to merchants that can help them grow their businesses,” said Terry Angelos, vice president at Visa Inc. and co-founder of TrialPay. “With products like Visa Commerce Network, we can help merchants attract net-new customers, grow sales and drive loyalty.

“Many payment networks enable card-linking and often build destination sites and experiences where consumers can participate in those offers,” he said. “Only Visa Commerce Network enables these experiences inside a merchant’s own product, where it’s more natural for consumers to digest these promotions.”

Visa adopts retailers
The Visa Commerce Network is a good fit for many retailers in providing rewards that create returning customers but also opens the opportunity to onboard many new customers through partners in the system. The program prevents retail employees and customers from having to change their behavior, but instead is operated all behind the scenes.

For instance, users who are using the ride sharing service Uber pay as normal, but will later receive a deal for Shake Shack within the Visa mobile application or online. The customer automatically receives the reward by paying with a Visa credit card, which allows the financial service to track spending and provide loyalty deals based on purchases.

Many retailers have been a part of Visa’s network prior to its broad launch, and saw beneficial results. For instance, Shake Shack saw double digit numbers of new customers and an increase in spending levels, while Dunkin’ Donuts heard positive user feedback.

Now, Uber will be working with local grocery stores in providing Visa users with discounts, but riders will also be automatically entered in a contest for a chance to win a trip to the Super Bowl in San Francisco.

The program is also opening up an opportunity for retailers involved to gain better insights and perspectives on customers. Visa will be acquiring data on consumer behavior and purchasing habits, which allow retailers to serve more rewarding and tailored experiences.

Visa mobile prowess
Visa’s mobile payments service is also growing with a wide base of retailers. Walmart.com, Walgreens and NFL Shop are among many retailers that implemented Visa Checkout to drive mobile conversions, with 45 percent of the solution’s users completing purchases on mobile devices (see more).

The financial service is also testing a service that will take mobile payments one step further down the road toward reaching scale through connected vehicle commerce (see more).

“Our goal is to scale Visa Commerce Network to become one of the largest sources of new customers for our merchant clients,” Mr. Angelos said. “We want to help merchants and issuers grow their businesses with solutions built on the world’s largest electronic payments network.”