Retailer Tape à l'Oeil Finds Success With Contactless Loyalty Cards

The card's owner then goes online and logs onto the TAO Le Club section of the retailer's Web site, and inputs the tag ID number printed on the card, as well as his or her name, home address and other personal data, which is then stored on an Adelya-hosted server running the Loyalty Operator Platform software.

Carloman Grelu, Inside Contactless' EMEA sales engineer

When the customer visits a Tape à l'Oeil store and is ready to make a purchase, he or she can tap the card or sticker against the Inside Contactless Accesso USB desktop contactless RFID reader, thereby linking the purchase with his or her own TAO Le Club ID number. The patron then accumulates points based on purchase amount, which are stored on the Loyalty Operator Platform and can be used for discounts on future purchases. To redeem the points and receive a discount on a later purchase, the shopper simply taps the sticker again at the point of sale.

To date, Grelu says, Tape à l'Oeil has sold its TAO Le Club cards to 300,000 of its customers, thus making it France's largest NFC-based loyalty program.

"Novelty is the key benefit here," the Tape à l'Oeil spokesperson states, referencing the ability to use a phone as a loyalty card for earning discounts. "It is a good way to educate consumers towards mobile phone loyalty," the spokesperson adds, making the move to NFC-enabled mobile phones more natural when such devices become more common.

In 2010, the clothing retailer plans to focus on developing additional discounts, awards and services for those using its loyalty stickers.