KARMA

In recent years the trend of digital payments has been at the center of the innovation strategy of all the major financial institutions. Digital technology is revolutionizing not only the world of online and mobile payments, but also all payment transactions within physical stores. Competition with the big eCommerce players pushes merchants to renew their processes and services, adapting to competitors. Advanced sales and payment tools such as SmartPOS allow the digital transformation directly at each physical points of sale. Nexi, a company that offers services and payment infrastructures in Italy, now holds over 70% of the POS market. Nexi’s recent plan to replace traditional POS terminals with Poynt Smart POS running Android, gave Crispy Bacon the opportunity to create VAS (Value Added Services) for this particular and other similar payment device. Thus, Karma came to life. Karma is the first loyalty program that allows even the smallest operators to leverage their customers’ loyalty. An innovative application developed by Crispy Bacon in 2018 and distributed by Nexi for the new generation of Poynt SmartPOS payment terminals. In this way, digital technology reshapes the traditional point of sale and provides the merchant with all the tools necessary to increase profits, encouraging every customer to come back to that specific physical store. Karma is the application that frees people from physical and related brand loyalty cards, to replace them with a single virtual card linked to each individual and usable at any point of sale equipped with a SmartPOS.

The crucial goal of the project was the generation of undoubted advantages for all stakeholders (merchant, cash desk operator and customer).

A multifaceted demanding challenge.

Being able to work with a new device that involves the simultaneous interaction of multiple actors, two displays dedicated, one to the operator and other the client, each showing relevant information and effective “call-to-action” to make the payment experience unique and fluid.

Integrating the payment experience with the existing operating flows and cash systems in use at each store.

Minimising the entry barriers to the program for both merchants and customers, while maximising the adoption of this technology.

A tool improving people’s lives. This is exactly what Karma stands out for.

A product designed and created by Crispy Bacon with a “free-mium” model that minimises entry barriers. For the merchant: just download the app on the Smart POS, from the Nexi store with automatic access using the account provided together with the POS device. For the customer: no need to download any app. The customer can register for the program together with the first payment, by phone number and email. He will then receive an identification card with the possibility of automatically adding it to Apple’s “Wallet” or Google’s “Passbook”.

A UX based on a step-by-step process with a main actor and an observer, both constantly informed about the counterpart’s relevant activities.

Hacking growth strategy, based on the “member-get-member” functionality, to encourage the user to invite other people to participate in the program, rewarding both with extra points to spend with any merchant participating in the initiative itself.

A powerful analytical tool in the hands of merchants, to monitor their business growth and communicate with customers in a one2one and one2cluster perspective, while offering engaging targeted promotions.

Crispy Bacon became the first Italian company to develop ground up an application for a smartPOS Nexi. This is a key milestone, on at least three levels.

Researching and experimenting with DLTs (blockchain technology). Creating a transversal compensation circuit among all merchants participating in the program. Adding the possibility to open up a plan for the second half of the year, thus allowing customers to spend the accumulated points with no distinction between one merchant or the other.

The retailer gained the possibility of having a purchase history for each user and offering targeted promotions through newsletters or push notifications. These achievements revolutionized their business methods. All of it without forgetting the profit benefits and being part of a wider network of shops.

The end users could finally reduce their numerous loyalty cards to only one, digital and usable, anywhere they wanted.