Apple Wallet pass or a full loyalty app? When each one is enough

Not every loyalty program needs an app. Apple Wallet can hold a loyalty card with a barcode, a stamp count and a few lines of text, with no download and no App Store listing. For many businesses that is the whole requirement. Here is how to decide.

What a Wallet pass does well

• A card with a scannable code, added in one tap from a link or a QR on the counter.
• A stamp count or points balance that updates remotely.
• A notification when the pass changes, such as a reward being ready.
• Appearing on the lock screen when the customer is near the shop.

No download, nothing to maintain on the customer's phone, and a cost that is a fraction of an app.

What it cannot do

Show a menu with photos, prices and allergens. Hold membership tiers with levels that unlock things. Let a customer prepare an order. Run campaigns that are more than a line of text. Give the business real analytics about who comes back. Those are the reasons a full app exists.

The honest rule

If your program is a stamp card and a code, start with a Wallet pass. If regulars would open the app away from the shop, for the menu, for their level, for an order, an app earns its cost. GERG needed the menu and the tiers from day one, which is why it is an app.

They are not rivals

A full app can issue a Wallet pass, so that members who prefer the lock screen get the code there and everything else in the app. Starting with a pass and adding an app later loses nothing; the members and their stamps carry over.

What we tell brands

Describe the moment at the counter and what regulars would want on a Tuesday evening at home. The first answer tells us whether a pass is enough. The second tells us whether an app would be used. We have told brands to start with a pass, and we will again.