Tue, 08/31/2010 – 01:36 by Mobile loyalty platform CardStar launched an iPad app. It expands the functionality of the company’s earlier iPhone app (and other smartphones) by adding coupons and deals that are tied to users’ registered loyalty cards. In other words you see the deals for the companies whose cards/programs you’ve registered on the app.
Here are the features of the new iPad app:
- Scissor-Free Coupon Clipping & Hassle-Free Redemption – To select a coupon, drag and drop it onto the corresponding merchant’s digital loyalty card inside of CardStar for iPad. To redeem saved coupons, simply use the loyalty card at checkout
- Retailer & Manufacturer Coupons – CardStar currently partners with numerous retailers and coupon providers, including Zavers, to provide a wide range of saving opportunities.
- Personalization – CardStar helps avoid information overload by only sending coupons for retailers saved in a user’s CardStar card catalog.
- Filtering – CardStar offers filters so users can easily see coupons they’ve previously selected or search for those from specific brands.
- Social Sharing – Coupons can be e-mailed to friends and family through the app and users can also automatically check in through Foursquare at checkout.
One of the nice things about the new app is that offers saved on the iPad are in the “cloud.” So they’re automatically logged on the iPhone and other smartphone apps.
People obviously aren’t going to bring the iPad to the point of sale. But they can browse deals on the couch and associate them with their registered loyalty cards. By using the iPhone, Android, BlackBerry apps at the POS, users automatically get the benefit of the coupons previously “clipped” on the iPad accordingly.
In addition, one spouse can clip coupons on the iPad and the other one can use the CardStar smartphone app and get the benefit of those coupons at the POS without any knowledge of the spouse’s prior iPad clipping activity.
Adding coupons (tied to loyalty cards) is a logical move for CardStar, whose iPad app becomes something analogous to the Sunday circulars. And the automatic linkage of the deals to the loyalty card/account offers a “closed loop” to merchants. CardStar told me that they’re were going to greatly expand the variety and range of coupons offered. However I believe offers presented will remain largely “personalized” via the filter of existing loyalty memberships.
CardStar is compiling some fantastic data on user behavior that it can use in a variety of ways to be determined. The company says it’s had two million downloads since launch in 2009 and currently has 700,000 active mobile users.
See our earlier posts on CardStar:
