Yogurty’s addresses the adoption challenges faced by some mobile wallets with the integration of its loyalty program as an incentive to propel mobile payments.

The quickly growing frozen yogurt chain has recently launched Yogurty’s Mobile, an application that empowers customers to pay for their purchases while earning loyalty points, redeeming rewards, participating in contests and also sending gifts to friends and loved ones, all from their smartphones. The company worked with D1 Mobile to develop the app.

“Smartphones have become the most important item in people’s everyday lives, so when consumers are given the opportunity to pay for services with their phone, it is just an added level of convenience and yet another reason to interact with their most trusted device,” said Daniel Ezer, president and founder, D1 Mobile Corp., Toronto.

“But it is not all about convenience,” he said. “There are several brands that have offered mobile pay but have failed. Simply ‘going mobile’ is not a precursor for guaranteed success. The program itself must be well-designed and integrated with the in-store experience.

“Mobile is experiential. Games, loyalty points, rewards, deals and other engaging factors must also be considered for brands looking to successfully establish a footprint in a consumer’s mobile wallet.”

Sweet rewards
Yogurty’s lets frozen dessert lovers pile on as much frozen yogurt and toppings as can hold in a cup.

Anyone who downloads the new application will automatically be rewarded with 500 bonus points.

D1 Mobile’s Appetite Platform is a pay, reward and engage platform that allows any merchant the ability to accept mobile payment, administer loyalty rewards and promote in-store deals.

Pay right from your smartphone

Currently in use by Yogen Fruz, Freshii, and William’s Fresh Café, Appetite also facilitates hard gift and loyalty cards for brands to combine their gift card, reward card and mobile initiatives into one overall provider.

For instance, Yogen Fruz rewards clients not just through purchases but also through monthly photo contests. With Yogurty’s, an in-store, interactive game will also be deployed that allows users to accrue additional reward points and various rewards.

Real-time redemption
Mobile wallets face several hurdles including data security and a growing number of players in the space.

The convergence of mobile wallets and loyalty offerings support a fully integrated experience, where customers do not have to differentiate between ordering, payment and loyalty.

Loyalty programs annually manage billions of dollars in points and rewards, and are an exceedingly popular tool to incentivize purchases and payments and may help propel the adoption of mobile wallets.

Just as MP3 technology needed a vehicle to educate consumers on its features and benefits, loyalty programs can create comfort for consumers seeking to use mobile payment services.

Most consumers enjoy seeking out opportunities to earn more points and free merchandise or rewards, and mobile wallets allow shoppers to more seamlessly earn, track and burn.

With the option to leave tactile loyalty cards at home, consumers can earn rewards more frequently through mobile wallets which may in turn increase mobile spending.

“Using a mobile wallet drastically improves customer service and loyalty,” ” Mr. Ezer said. “In the past, loyalty programs consisted of a stamp card, where consumers would hand over their card and receive an ‘X’ or some kind of stamp from the cashier.

“With that type of system, there was no tracking, no customer information provided, and not to mention the process was well open for manipulation amongst both cashiers and customers alike,” he said.

Later manifestations, including the mag swipe card, added a greater level of protection but were more costly to produce.

Digital database
While vendor focused mobile payment systems appear to be promising, consumers are choosy with using multiple, separate applications.

Though single merchant programs such as Starbucks are seeing success, the most lucrative mobile wallets will be the ones that integrate loyalty offerings from several stores. As a database is built, consumers will be more likely to make that mobile payment service his or her preferred app, while other similar mobile wallets will be used less or even abandoned.

“Mobile wallets are 100 percent going to be a fabric of our everyday life — the traditional wallet will no longer exist,” Mr. Ezer said.

“Credit card companies will all have mobile payment functionality built in,” he said. “Banks continue to add functionality to their mobile apps. Telecom companies, tech companies, government agencies, hardware manufacturers and others are all strategically planning their mobile wallet initiatives.”

Final Take:
Michelle is editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York