Google Wallet is riding on an active trend to connect retailer loyalty programs to mobile-payment systems.
A recent blog announcement on the Google Wallet website says Google Inc. has updated the "Offers" tab to include a new "Featured Offers" section with discounts that are exclusive to Google Wallet (
And Google Wallet is making a push to win consumer adoption and to pressure rivals such as Isis through ease of use and by adding a group of participating merchants to a service that enables consumers to pay, redeem offers and earn loyalty points in a single tap.
But it is not the only one.
New mobile loyalty and payment startup LevelUp, which enables customers of 500 participating stores to unlock earned loyalty credits using a phone app, recently expanded its service to four cities (
So far, American Eagle Outfitters, Foot Locker and Macy's lead the list of stores using mobile phones for payments and to track and redeem loyalty points.
The Google Wallet SingleTap service has added shopping mall staples American Eagle Outfitters, The Container Store, Foot Locker, Guess, Jamba Juice, Macy's, OfficeMax and Toys “R” Us.
Consumers may access the service by tapping their Near Field Communication-enabled phones against point-of-sale terminals that also have NFC chips. Information on loyalty, coupons or rewards automatically is stored, saving consumers the extra step of searching for coupons to scan or finding a rewards card to stamp.
Existing offers include 15% off at American Eagle Outfitters, 10% off at The Container Store, 15% off at Macy's and item discounts at Jamba Juice. Additionally, Foot Locker, Guess, OfficeMax and American Eagle Outfitters are providing loyalty cards for Google Wallet that automatically store loyalty points.
Google also says it improved transaction details for the Google prepaid card with immediate transaction details, including merchant name and location and the dollar value and time of each transaction.
Google is heading in the right direction with mobile loyalty and its focus of moving away from payments, and that is what might make programs such as Google Wallet Single Tap work, one market observer says.
“I think it’s a great move,” says Paul Tomasofsky, president of Two Sparrows Consulting. “As we go forward in the mobile space, the most-important part of the transaction is going to be loyalty, and payments is going to be last.”
Still, getting the merchants on board may be the way to get the mobile-payments market moving, Tomasofsky says. “Pointing to the merchants might help drive consumer adoption among consumers” though the challenge remains getting consumers, merchants and phone manufacturers all on board, he says.
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