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regional retailers in the fourth quarter of 2013. Aite found the most popular cards, and an equal number who sell
prepaid card offer continues to be the retailer-specific, closed-loop gift card. their own branded, closed-loop gift
Aite said 89 percent of merchants surveyed offer closed-loop gift cards, cards. Open-loop, network-branded
followed by 74 percent who offer open-loop, general-purpose reloadable (GPR) gift cards were also popular, at 71
percent of retailers.
Aite also found the least popular Aite also found the least popular
offering was a merchant's own branded offering was a merchant's own
branded open-loop gift card product,
open-loop gift card product, with 74 percent with 74 percent of respondents
of respondents saying they had no plans to saying they had no plans to offer
such a product; 11 percent indicated
offer such a product. they plan to add GPR cards in 2014
or 2015.
In search of the 'holy grail'
Aufseeser said 90 percent of
consumers remain anonymous
to the merchants they frequent.
It is therefore the "holy grail" for
merchants to be able to collect a little
personal information at the POS about
their customers. "Using a merchant-
branded prepaid card supports that
goal by providing insights to the
merchant and ultimately drives more
sales," the Aite report said.
Loyalty cards are a way to accomplish
this, allowing merchants to marry
cardholder data with purchase
data to target customers with offers
relevant to them. The mobile wallet
is seen as the presumptive next step
in loyalty marketing. However, the
mobile wallet adoption curve for
consumers is long, Aufseeser stated.
But when consumers are ready to
make the transition, merchants must
offer the right mobile solutions based
on their type of business and the
preferences of their consumers.
Aufseeser believes the mobile
wallet ecosystem will consist of a
combination of general-use wallets
and merchant-specific ones. "I'm not
going to want to have an application
on a wallet for every single company
I do business with," she said. "I might
want to have a general one. And I
might have one or two specific ones."
A retailer such as Starbucks with
a large and frequently recurring
customer base is a prime candidate
for having its own wallet. For
merchants who don't have this type
of customer base, a dedicated wallet
makes less sense, Aufseeser noted.
16
regional retailers in the fourth quarter of 2013. Aite found the most popular cards, and an equal number who sell
prepaid card offer continues to be the retailer-specific, closed-loop gift card. their own branded, closed-loop gift
Aite said 89 percent of merchants surveyed offer closed-loop gift cards, cards. Open-loop, network-branded
followed by 74 percent who offer open-loop, general-purpose reloadable (GPR) gift cards were also popular, at 71
percent of retailers.
Aite also found the least popular Aite also found the least popular
offering was a merchant's own branded offering was a merchant's own
branded open-loop gift card product,
open-loop gift card product, with 74 percent with 74 percent of respondents
of respondents saying they had no plans to saying they had no plans to offer
such a product; 11 percent indicated
offer such a product. they plan to add GPR cards in 2014
or 2015.
In search of the 'holy grail'
Aufseeser said 90 percent of
consumers remain anonymous
to the merchants they frequent.
It is therefore the "holy grail" for
merchants to be able to collect a little
personal information at the POS about
their customers. "Using a merchant-
branded prepaid card supports that
goal by providing insights to the
merchant and ultimately drives more
sales," the Aite report said.
Loyalty cards are a way to accomplish
this, allowing merchants to marry
cardholder data with purchase
data to target customers with offers
relevant to them. The mobile wallet
is seen as the presumptive next step
in loyalty marketing. However, the
mobile wallet adoption curve for
consumers is long, Aufseeser stated.
But when consumers are ready to
make the transition, merchants must
offer the right mobile solutions based
on their type of business and the
preferences of their consumers.
Aufseeser believes the mobile
wallet ecosystem will consist of a
combination of general-use wallets
and merchant-specific ones. "I'm not
going to want to have an application
on a wallet for every single company
I do business with," she said. "I might
want to have a general one. And I
might have one or two specific ones."
A retailer such as Starbucks with
a large and frequently recurring
customer base is a prime candidate
for having its own wallet. For
merchants who don't have this type
of customer base, a dedicated wallet
makes less sense, Aufseeser noted.
16
