RFID sticker scheme gathers pace in France
A French children’s clothing retailer has launched a low cost rewards scheme using RFID stickers.
The Tape à l’Oeil chain is providing its customers with a loyalty card containing an adhesive RFID sticker that they can attach to their mobile phones to get discounts at its 130 branches. The solution has been, developed by Adelya and uses RFID chips and interrogators from Inside Contactless.
Since its launch last year, 300,000 cards have now been issued, which Tape à l’Oeil says makes it the biggest RFID-based loyalty scheme in France. It adds that the scheme is proving an effective way of ‘educating’ customer about mobile phone-based loyalty.
The chain says that, since it may be several years before RFID technology is widely available in mobile phones in Europe, it wanted a low cost interim solution that improved customer interactivity and provided an alternative to traditional plastic cards.
The sticker is produced by FCI Microconnections and contains a PicoPass RFID chip. Customers can regsiter for a TAO Le Club card either online or at retail branches, by paying a Eur3 annual membership fee. The card accrues points based on the amount of money spent at its stores.
When making a purchase in stores, scheme members tap the card or sticker against the contactless RFID reader which links the transaction with their TAO Le Club ID number. Points are accumulated based on purchase amount, and 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 taps the sticker again at the point of sale.