Solidus Networks Inc.'s SmartShop biometric loyalty system can increase retailers' volume of low-cost automated clearing house payments by prompting customers to spend more, according to a report by Aite Group LLC.
SmartShop uses Solidus' Pay By Touch fingerprint readers to identify shoppers and issue targeted promotions to them. The San Francisco company's system allows shoppers to authorize ACH debits from their checking accounts with their fingerprints as an alternative to credit and debit cards.
Solidus has been testing the system since last year with customers of Green Hills Farm Store Inc. in Syracuse, N.Y. Green Hills helped to develop SmartShop.
"Given the economic context in Syracuse, Green Hills' pre-existing high average sales per square foot, the sophistication of the previous loyalty program, and the store's stagnant top-line sales in the years leading up to the SmartShop roll-out, the impact of SmartShop on Green Hills' financial performance is impressive," Gwenn Bezard, a research director at Aite Group of Boston, wrote in a report issued Tuesday.
According to the report, 53% of Green Hills' sales are made to people who use SmartShop to get loyalty discounts, and more than half of those people use the system to authorize payments.
ACH payments now account for 7% of Green Hills' payments, versus none a year ago, the report said. Also, as of this month SmartShop users spent an average of $70 a week at Green Hills, whereas other customers spent an average of $43 a week.
