LoyalCoin: The New Age of Loyalty
Everybody wants more bang for their buck.
In the digital age where consumerism is ubiquitous and accessible, it is especially necessary to keep customers happy. One of the most neglected and undervalued aspects of shopping today is the customer loyalty and reward programs. People rarely take advantage of these programs due in part to...
Lack of knowledge and enthusiasm towards the benefits of your finite rewards points.
The complexity of keeping track of rewards that are earned and used.
And most importantly...
- Restrictions and limitations set by loyalty program providers that ultimately impinge on both merchants and consumers alike.
For example,
Let's say you have been shopping at Store X for some time now, earning yourself some reward points (money). By standard practices, you would have to capitalize on your points only at Store X, otherwise they would simply go unused or you would lose them altogether, and that's if you were even aware of the rewards you were accumulating.
So what does LoyalCoin have behind it that gives it a shot at success?
For one thing, the Philippine startup behind $LYL, Appsolutely, is already well established in the eCommerce industry, and already has partnerships with several companies and organizations. Appsolutely was founded in 2013, and is nearing five years of experience developing rewards programs, apps, and other digital services for some well-known clients in the Philippines, including Starbucks and Familymart. It currently works with over 30 retail brands, and has over two million subscribers across different rewards programs for brands that it works with.
Supported by blockchain technology, Appsolutley has created LoyalCoin, a cryptocurrency medium of exchange and denomination that will be empowered by the Loyal Coalition. Loyal Coalition - companies and merchants that support and have integrated Appsolutley's app-driven loyalty program, which is focused on giving you - the customer - complete, transparent, and profitable control over your rewards, making it possible for you to use your rewards points anywhere.
On October 18, Appsolutely announced that it has already secured partnerships with a bus company in Thailand and a university in the U.S. to start using the LoyalCoin platform by the first quarter of 2018. They have also already started testing their new rewards program with one of their earliest clients, milk tea chain Gong Cha. Their roadmap is ambitious, with plans to expand to Europe and other countries in Southeast Asia in the next two years, and the goal of having LoyalCoin and the new rewards platform fully operational by Q2 2018.
When a consumer spends their money at one of Appsolutely's brands, they receive LoyalCoin tokens, which will then be available to use at any other brand that accepts the currency - effectively linking the consumer rewards ecosystem and giving even more companies an incentive to partner with Appsolutely. Appsolutely already manages consumer rewards for many of its partners - why not link them all together and make things easier for everybody?
In this regard, LoyalCoin is in an advantaged position to implement an omnichannel rewards strategy. Omnichannel simply means “multi-channel” or “cross-channel” as a way of linking various means of customer experience, in this case; retail. For example, a mobile site should match the experience of the website, which should also match the experience of shopping at the retail store. A fundamental concept that LoyalCoin aims to achieve is to implement a wide-reaching platform that allows for a universal loyalty points system that brings consistency in branding and customer experience. This will be challenging, as it will necessitate cooperation and collaboration between brands and the channels with which they connect. However, with Appsolutely’s extensive experience collaborating with companies in multiple industries, they are uniquely positioned to bring their vision into fruition.
“What makes LoyalCoin unique is that our platform gives more flexibility to not only the merchant but also to the consumer,” Patrick Palacios, founder and CEO of Appsolutely, said in a statement. “Not only can you use your points anywhere, but you also have the option of converting them to Bitcoin or Ethereum, which other loyalty programs cannot offer.”
Palacios' statement reveals another valuable fact: LoyalCoin will not only make things easier for businesses and their customers, but has potential to introduce cryptocurrency to everyday shoppers. Even the most technologically illiterate shoppers are interested in saving money, and it is likely that they will use LoyalCoin sooner or later. If shoppers notice the option to convert to Bitcoin or Ethereum, it will likely pique their curiosity, and they may start to learn about blockchain technology and its true potential - not only giving them rewards at the cash register, but rewarding them with some knowledge of cryptocurrencies, no matter how little - further facilitating mass adoption.
Written by: Josh Julia, Sean Liang, and Eli Karadsheh