Hamburg-based start-up brings bonus points to smartphones
Hamburger Abendblatt • Hanna-Lotte Mikuteit • December 6, 2021
The founders of Loyal want to make cardboard discount cards superfluous in retail stores. More than 200 stores are already involved.
Hamburg. In fact, are discount cards It's a good thing. You collect points with every purchase and after five or ten times you get a drink or something else for free. It's just a shame that the cardboard cards for the bonus stamp are usually left at home or can't be found in the thick pile in the wallet when it's time to pay. That is exactly what Maximilian Assmann It also happens again and again. “When I forgot the ten-card in my favorite café, I asked myself why there wasn't a digital solution for that? ” says he hamburgers.
He was looking for a provider, but didn't really find what he was looking for. That was two years ago and the start of startups Loyal, which the 24-year-old founded with his brother. “With our app, you can put stamp cards on your smartphone and collect bonus points more easily,” says Nicolas Assmann
Founder: Hamburg-based start-up used study for business idea
It is estimated that every German has 3.7 stamp cards in their wallet. There are no exact figures. “Before we started, we wanted to know how much potential digital implementation had,” says Nicolas Assmann. The business administration student briefly raised the question about the topic of his bachelor thesis. The result of his study, which is based on a survey of more than 200 participants. “Eight out of ten respondents wanted a digital stamp card,” says the 23-year-old, who has now completed his studies.
According to his research, 430,000 businesses could use bonus cards — from bakeries to car washes. In January 2021, the smart brothers began developing their business model. As an investor, they brought the Hamburg-based company Coffema, a service provider for professional coffee machines, on board with a mid-five-figure sum. Coffema also provides jobs at the company headquarters in Groß Borstel. Loyal has been available since July.
Digital bonus booklet is cheap for companies
The principle is simple: The companies that have registered for the digital service receive a starter set with chip cards that function as a digital stamp, so to speak. Customers only have to hold their smartphone with the app open to be credited with a digital bonus point. This works via an NFC chip or a QR code without the need to provide personal information. “Customers also receive further information such as address, opening hours and access to social media channels via the app,” says Maximilian Assmann, who is about to complete his medical studies and is responsible for product development at Loyal.
Restaurants and businesses pay a fixed monthly fee of 6 euros. In return, they get 50 stamps for free, each additional one costs 4 cents. That doesn't sound like much. “We are in the low price segment because we want to attract as many companies as possible from different industries,” says Nicolas Assmann.
New app downloaded 10,000 times
The crowd should bring it. The initial reactions are positive. The app, which is available in versions for iPhone and Android, has been downloaded 10,000 times so far. The digital stamps are available at more than 200 locations in Hamburg, including the Most Wanted Burger burger chain and in the juice bars of Mad about Juice. But the butcher shop Metzgers and the Wattkorn restaurant in Langenhorn are also there. There are now partners in Lübeck and Berlin.
While consumer advocates are skeptical of the benefits of customer and discount cards, anonymous stamp cards are much better off. However, digital solutions have only existed sporadically so far. “A major advantage of Loyal is that customers and companies have an overview of how many stamps they have collected or distributed,” says Sales Director Nicolas Assmann. Misuse would also be curbed because only one bonus point could be credited per purchase. In the next year, the brothers want to expand into more cities. They even see corona as an advantage. “Acceptance of digital solutions has grown,” they say.