• by Peter Vogel , September 24, 2012

Consumers now expect everything to be fast, convenient and rewarding. In fact consumers don’t just expect this, they feel that they are entitled to it. Consumers expect overnight shipping, free returns, the ability to buy online, by phone or in-store and then have the ability to also return that item by whatever medium they choose, by mail or in store, at no cost. And, consumers also expect the highest quality customer service and quick response or resolution to complaints on their medium of choice ranging from traditional phone calls, Facebook, Twitter or whatever happens to be the newest social media phenomenon. This expectation is not going away. So how has this changed how people expect to be rewarded or ‘thanked’ for their purchases and loyalty?

With the advent of registered card program or card-linked offers, consumers are becoming used to activating offers provided by their bank or credit card company and getting $10 back when they spend $50 at a certain brand or getting $20 back a night for certain hotel stays, all while using their existing credit or debit card. Consumers now have the option of registering their cards with specific companies or just opting-in to offers and they can gain access to all of these perks and discounts. No awkward paper coupons required. No extra cards to carry. It’s the ease and convenience of using a pre-existing card that makes this so attractive to consumers. And it’s about to get easier.

With the universal mobile wallet on the horizon (think Paypal, AT&T, Google Square, etc.) the leather wallet may soon become a quaint, antique collectible that our children never see the need to own. Everything (even our state ID or driver’s license) will be tied to a single device - our phone, and we will use it to pay, identify ourselves and collect rewards. I would argue that as we complete every transaction on a single source, it becomes easier and easier to track those purchases and reward consumers for those purchases.  Rewards programs will proliferate much as they did online (with e-commerce and affiliate programs) and consumers will expect to be rewarded for almost every purchase they make. Advertisers will begin to shift a growing portion  of their massive TV and print budgets to rewards (performance-based marketing) and consumers will expect these rewards.

A single point of transaction, the phone, will facilitate this shift in both consumer shopping behavior and the shift in how brands are allocating their marketing dollars.

Peter Vogel is co-founder and CEO of Plink, an online-to-offline loyalty program that rewards members for dining and shopping at their favorite national restaurants and offline stores. Reach him via email at peter@plink.com or follow him on Twitter @pvogel.