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Loyalty app lets customers 'walk-in to check-in'

LoyalBlocks, the first automated, mobile-based "walk-in to check-in" app for brick-and-mortar retailers and their customers, announced today the completion of the New York City pilot program and a planned nationwide launch.

The LoyalBlocks app provides customers with incentives to visit their favorite retailers, using a marketing tool that facilitates direct communication, according to a release.

Customers download the free LoyalBlocks app and join the retail clubs of their choice. When they visit these retail stores, the app automatically recognizes them (without needing to be opened), "punches" their mobile loyalty card and delivers customized promotions, called tokens, directly to their mobile device.

Merchants download the LoyalBlocks business app (only for Android-based handsets or tablets) and create an in-store interactive zone that detects club members as they walk in. The online dashboard allows program monitoring and the creation of a tailored customer experience.

"Consumers love loyalty programs, but fumbling with a phone to check in or scan a code is awkward, tedious, and not always worth the effort; punch cards get lost, forgotten, or never completed, so few customers ever receive their bonus and the time and effort put into creating the promotion by the merchant is all for nothing," said Ido Gaver, co-founder and CEO of LoyalBlocks. "We’ve created LoyalBlocks to be a total game-changer: a no-effort, rewards-based interaction for both the customer — who gets a seamless, hassle-free experience — and the merchant — who can create killer incentive programs that automatically work."

For more stories like this, visit the loyalty programs research center.