Marketing, loyalty are keys to NFC success
12 April, 2011
category: NFC
Payment is the most hyped aspect of NFC, but the technology’s other offerings – in-store personal marketing, merchandising and loyalty – could be the key for mass adoption, according to VentureBeat.
While contactless payment promises to be more convenient for consumers, the real game changing aspect of NFC lies in its ability to help businesses grow through offering innovative loyalty and marketing programs. Tap and pay is just the icing on the cake.
NFC offers merchants the ability to deliver high-value, personalized offers directly to customers in-store, as they shop. Merchants can use data from your previous transactions to deliver offers tailored to your specific buying habits, ensuring you receive coupons for items you actually want. While SMS can offer similar services, NFC holds a clear advantage in that it’s faster, cheaper, more secure, easier to use and more interactive in-store, says VentureBeat.
What this all will amount to is an entirely new way to shop, dominated by mobile couponing, loyalty and advertising.
“NFC mCommerce is going to be huge. It will much bigger and grow much faster than ecommerce ever did,” writes Michael Mullagh, CEO of ViVOtech. “Your smart phone is in some ways a much more powerful commerce device than your computer. It knows who you are. It knows when you are near or in your favorite stores. It can quickly access your search and purchase history. And best of all, it delivers instant gratification.”
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