The following specification particularly describes and ascertains the nature of this invention and the manner in which it is to be performed:-

FIELD OF INVENTION

[0001] The present invention  in general  relates to managing and enhancing customer relationships. More particularly  the present invention relates to a method and system for managing loyalty programs.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Customer relationship management programs enable an enterprise to manage customer relationships in an organized way. Building customer loyalty programs are usually key objectives of customer relationship management programs.

[0003] Single stores  chain stores and coalitions (a group of merchants) have employed customer loyalty programs  for example  for increasing sales  promoting a brand  enhancing product and sales visibility  retaining profitable customers  improving customer profitability  adding new customers  reassociating old customers with the brand  expanding the market for the product and/or service  etc. Successful loyalty programs encourage customers to buy frequently and to increase the amount spent each time. Retaining customers and building a loyal customer base are becoming top priorities for businesses around the world. To meet these needs  there is a need for enhancing customer engagement  for example  through email marketing  mobile loyalty products  social media marketing tools  short message service (SMS) marketing  etc.

[0004] However  implementing and running such loyalty and reward programs present substantial financial and operation burden while meeting the objectives of such a program  which is  improving customer profitability. Companies have created custom programs for stores and coalition groups that require on-premises hosting of loyalty program software in each store. In this approach  each store would need to set up virtual private networks to access the loyalty program software. Moreover  this approach is expensive and not affordable by most small and medium businesses (SMBs)  takes a long time to implement and often requires information technology (IT) support. Hence  there is a need for a cloud based application that enables merchants to register with an online loyalty program service and immediately start a loyalty program  while gaining scalability  and trimming operating expenses.

[0005] Another prior art describes card loyalty and reward programs for small and medium businesses. This loyalty and reward program comprises a punch card  a paper card  a laminated card with security codes  a plain wallet-sized card  etc.  which can be used for purchasing products  getting discounts  tracking reward points  redeeming reward points  receiving free products  etc. These cards may be stamped by the store clerk to indicate the awarding of one or more points for the purchase of a product and/or service. However  it is inconvenient for the customer to carry the card along each time and to remember the passwords or secret codes associated with the card. Moreover  the customer may not always have the card at the point of sale or may even misplace the card.

[0006] Furthermore  the collection of referral numbers  adding reward points and redemption processes associated with the card used for the loyalty program may become time consuming and tedious. Also  manual entry of the details of purchase  points rewarded and offers may be prone to data entry errors. Further  the store clerk cannot track the customer behavior. Moreover  these loyalty programs typically have limited reward-earning opportunities that earn limited rewards and therefore many customers do not actively participate in the loyalty programs even after they are enrolled with the loyalty programs.

[0007] Yet another prior art describes a method for implementing a loyalty and reward program at different stores and allowing the store clerk to offer different loyalty incentives at different locations within a store  for example  at different points of sale corresponding to different departments. This method allows the store clerk to update loyalty program information in multiple stores and/or modify loyalty program information for different departments within a store. Still such programs encourage a device-to-device transaction in which client computers located at store departments need to communicate with one or more computer systems to process the desired loyalty transaction. Thus  the implementation and maintenance of the loyalty program can be highly expensive.

[0008] A need therefore exists for a system and method for managing loyalty programs  overcoming the drawbacks of the systems discussed above and also several other shortcomings inherent to the existing prior art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The above-mentioned shortcomings  disadvantages and problems are addressed herein which will be understood by reading and understanding the following specification.

[0010] A system and method for managing loyalty programs is provided. The system comprises a loyalty program management application hosted on a cloud computing environment  an information acquisition application provided at a point of sale (POS) terminal  and a client application provided to a customer. The loyalty program management application  the information acquisition application  and the client application are configured to communicate with each other over a network. The loyalty program management application manages loyalty programs for individual stores and group loyalty programs. The loyalty program management application is provided as a subscription based software as a service (SAAS) based application that enables merchants to signup to the online service and start a loyalty program immediately.

[0011] The information acquisition application is provided at the POS terminal at a retail store of a merchant  where a transaction occurs. The information acquisition application enables the merchants to signup new customers  capture purchases of the customers  view reward points and coupons earned by the customers  etc.

[0012] In an embodiment  the client application is provided to a customer as an application installed on the customer’s client device. In another embodiment  the client application is provided as a web application that is accessible by the customer over a network such as the Internet or an intranet.

[0013] The loyalty program management application enables the customers to register with a store’s loyalty program in multiple ways. The customer can then access the loyalty program management application via the client application installed on the customer’s client device or via the web application for logging into the loyalty program management application.

[0014] On registration  the loyalty program management application creates a rewards account for the customer that allows the customer to view membership details in one place  join more loyalty programs  and view reward points balances  offers  and transaction history. The customer is now eligible to earn reward points on purchases of commodities and/or services. The earned reward points are accrued in the customer’s rewards account.

[0015] In an embodiment  the information acquisition application identifies a customer registered with the loyalty program management application for accruing the customer’s reward points to the rewards account using the customer’s mobile number. In another embodiment  the information acquisition application identifies the customer registered with the loyalty program management application for accruing the customer’s reward points to the rewards account when the customer checks in to the loyalty program management application. In this embodiment  the loyalty program management application generates a unique check-in code for the customer.

[0016] The system disclosed herein enables the customer to redeem the reward points in multiple ways. The reward points are redeemable for discounts  gifts  free products  etc. The customer can redeem the reward points at any store affiliated with the loyalty program management application. In an embodiment  the loyalty program management application enables the customer to redeem the reward points by checking in to the loyalty program management application using the unique check-in code. In another embodiment  the loyalty program management application enables the customer to redeem the reward points without checking in to the loyalty program management application.

[0017] In an embodiment  the loyalty program management application further comprises a campaign generation module that generates personalized campaigns for customers based on campaign criteria. The campaign criteria comprises  for example  frequency of a customer’s visit to the store  average purchase amount  preferences such as type of food  clothes  etc.  perception of the store’s brand by the customer  available reward points  demography of the customer  response to previous campaigns  etc. In an embodiment  the loyalty program management application further comprises a report generation module that generates reports. A report is  for example  a business report  a customer report  a campaign report  etc.

[0018] In an embodiment  the loyalty program management application facilitates customer engagement on social platforms. The loyalty program management application facilitates customer engagement on social platforms  for example  by rewarding the customer for social engagement  encouraging referrals with rewards  etc.

[0019] In an embodiment  the system manages a group loyalty program that enables a group of merchants to form a group where the merchants in the group share the costs of the loyalty program and a common reward points system. The group loyalty program allows customers to earn and redeem the reward points anywhere within the group.

[0020] Systems and methods of varying scope are described herein. In addition to the aspects and advantages described in this summary  further aspects and advantages will become apparent by reference to the drawings and with reference to the detailed description that follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] FIG. 1 exemplarily illustrates a system for managing loyalty programs.

[0022] FIG. 2 exemplarily illustrates a screenshot of a business report generated by the report generation module of the loyalty program management application.

[0023] FIG. 3 exemplarily illustrates a screenshot of a customer report generated by the report generation module of the loyalty program management application.

[0024] FIG. 4 exemplarily illustrates a screenshot of a campaign report generated by the report generation module of the loyalty program management application.

[0025] FIG. 5 exemplarily illustrates a flow diagram showing steps for issuing reward points to a customer by the loyalty program management application in a group loyalty program.

[0026] FIG. 6 exemplarily illustrates a flow diagram showing steps for redeeming the reward points earned by the customer in the group loyalty program.

[0027] FIG. 7 exemplarily illustrates a flow diagram showing steps for configuring a group loyalty program by the loyalty program management application to include non-profit or charity organizations in the group loyalty program.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0028] In the following detailed description  reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof  and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments  which may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments  and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that logical  mechanical  electrical and other changes may be made without departing from the scope of the embodiments. The following detailed description is  therefore  not to be taken in a limiting sense.

[0029] The present invention relates to a system and method for managing loyalty programs. The term “loyalty program” refers to a marketing model that rewards customers on purchase of a product and/or a service  thereby encouraging loyal buying behavior from the customers. The term “customers” refers to buyers or purchasers who buy products and/or services from vendors or merchants. The “merchants” refer to business owners who sell the products and/or services to the customers. The rewards are  for example  a discount on a current purchase  an allotment of points that can be used for future purchases  etc. The rewards provided by the loyalty program disclosed herein are herein referred to as “reward points”.

[0030] Merchants spend on resources and other facilities to bring in new customers to their business ventures. The loyalty program disclosed herein helps merchants to start knowing their customers. For example  the merchants  through the loyalty program may obtain information regarding which customer buys what and when and thereby enables the merchants to develop a lasting relationship with the customer. The loyalty program enables the merchants to understand their customers and helps bring customers back often for more purchases  remove anonymity in customer transactions  know each customer  track the customer’s purchases  and retain profitable customers. The customers are tracked by using collected data comprising  for example  how often a customer visits a store  how much the customer spends  etc. The “store” refers to a merchant’s place of business. Also  the system disclosed herein enables the merchants to reactivate lapsed customers through personalized email and text campaigns. Therefore  the system disclosed herein enables single-store and multi-store chains in retail  restaurant  cafés  spas  and other Business-To-Consumer (B2C) businesses to monetize and enhance customer relationships.

[0031] FIG. 1 exemplarily illustrates a system 100 for managing loyalty programs. The system 100 disclosed herein comprises a loyalty program management application 101 hosted on a cloud computing environment 102  an information acquisition application 105 provided at a point of sale (POS) terminal  and a client application 107 provided to a customer. The loyalty program management application 101  the information acquisition application 105  and the client application 107 are configured to communicate with each other over a network 108. The network 108 is  for example  the internet  an intranet  a local area network  a wide area network  a wireless network  a telecommunication network  etc. The telecommunication network is  for example  a global system for mobile communications (GSM) network  a general packet radio service (GPRS) network  code division multiple access (CDMA) system  enhanced data GSM environment (EDGE)  wideband CDMA (WCDMA)  etc.

[0032] In an embodiment  the loyalty program management application 101 manages a loyalty program for a store  also known as “store loyalty program”. In another embodiment  the loyalty program management application 101 manages a group loyalty program  as disclosed in the detailed descriptions of FIGS. 5-7.

[0033] The loyalty program management application 101 enables merchants to design and setup loyalty programs  set earning and redeeming options  view reports and analysis  and create and send targeted campaigns to customers. Further  the loyalty program management application 101 enables the merchants to set earning rules and redeeming rules for earning the reward points and redeeming the reward points respectively by the customers. As used herein  the term “earning rule” refers to a rule that specifies a number of reward points to be awarded to the customer on purchasing a product and/or service worth a specific amount. For example  an earning rule specifies that a customer earns 1 reward point on purchasing a product and/or service worth Rs. 100. Also  as used herein  the term “redeeming rule” specifies a discount amount the customer can avail  on redemption of the customer’s reward points. For example  a redeeming rule specifies that a customer can redeem Rs.2 for 1 reward point.

[0034] The loyalty program management application 101 is delivered on the cloud computing environment 102. The loyalty program management application 101 is provided as a subscription based software as a service (SAAS) based application that enables merchants to signup to an online service and start a loyalty program immediately. The cloud computing environment 102 is used to develop  run  and store data for the loyalty program management application 101. The cloud computing environment 102 provides on-demand scalability of the underlying infrastructure and can thereby instantly increase its computing and storage resources to accommodate a growing list of customers. Therefore  hosting the loyalty program management application 101 on the cloud computing environment 102 provides on-demand scalability to support a large number of customers  reduces time-to-market  and helps gain greater development agility.

[0035] When a customer or a merchant logs into the loyalty program management application 101 several background processes are initiated and run in parallel. The background processes comprise compute intensive processes  for example  customer list import  campaign execution  data synchronization between the information acquisition application 105 and the loyalty program management application 101  refreshing of the MongoDB® cube run as a background process hosted in a virtual machine (VM) role  etc. MongoDB® refers to a database system that is a scalable  high-performance  open source  document-oriented database used for customer segmentation  reporting  and data mining. Moreover  the cloud computing environment 102 handles data backups  security updates  and other maintenance tasks and thereby helps the merchants to focus on developing their loyalty programs.

[0036] In an example  the cloud computing environment 102 is Windows Azure® of Microsoft® Corporation. Windows Azure® provides on-demand compute  storage  bandwidth  content delivery  middleware  and marketplace capabilities to build  host  and scale web applications through Microsoft® data centers. The merchants have an option to import their customer database on to the loyalty program management application 101 when using the system 100 for the first time.

[0037] In an embodiment  the loyalty program management application 101 is built on Microsoft® .NET Framework and runs on a web role on the Windows Azure® platform. Further  the loyalty program management application 101 may use a Virtual Machine (VM) role to handle some background processes related to uploading large files and to host MongoDB®. All reports are displayed from the MongoDB® cube. The user interface 110 provided by the loyalty program management application 101 is built  for example  using Microsoft Silverlight® using the Model-View-View-Model (MVVM) framework. The data layer of the loyalty program management application 101 is built using SQL Azure and Entity Framework. SQL Azure is the database component of the Windows Azure® platform. In an example  the loyalty program management application 101 uses blobs  tables  and queues in Windows Azure® storage to store and process temporary data uploaded by the merchants for their campaign initiatives. The loyalty program management application 101 uses Windows Azure® Appfabric access control services for identification of the customers.

[0038] The information acquisition application 105 is provided at the POS terminal at a merchant’s retail store where a transaction occurs. The information acquisition application 105 captures information such as personal details of the customers and their purchases. The information acquisition application 105 enables the merchants to signup new customers  capture purchases of the customers  view reward points and coupons earned by the customers  view personalized campaigns  etc.

[0039] In an embodiment  the information acquisition application 105 is a plug-in installed on the merchant’s computing device. The computing device is  for example  a desktop computer  a smartphone  etc. The information acquisition application 105 is  for example  a Microsoft Silverlight® Out-of-Browser (OOB) plug-in that installs at the store’s desktop or point-of-sale. In an example  the isolated storage database of Microsoft Silverlight® OOB plug-in is synched with SQL Azure of the Windows Azure® platform using a bi-directional data synchronization feature in SQL Azure. In another embodiment  the information acquisition application 105 is provided as a HTML5 based browser application that can be accessed over the network 108. In another embodiment  the information acquisition application 105 is provided as a native Android application that can be accessed from an Android smart phone or a tablet.

[0040] The system 100 further provides an application programming interface (API) that supports client applications 107 of various platforms. In an embodiment  the client application 107 is provided to a customer as an application installed on the customer’s client device 106. The client device 106 is  for example  a mobile phone  a smart phone  a personal digital assistant (PDA)  a wireless email terminal  a laptop  a tablet computer  a desktop computer  etc. In another embodiment  the client application 107 is provided as a web application that is accessible by the customer over the network 108. The customer interacts with the loyalty program managed by the loyalty program management application 101 via the client application 107 or by text messaging from a mobile phone.

[0041] In an embodiment  the system 100 disclosed herein enables a customer to access the loyalty program management application 101 by sending a text message from the customer’s client device 106. The customer can use mobile text to perform several functions  for example  to join a loyalty program by registering with the loyalty program management application 101  check-in to the loyalty program management application 101  view reward points balances  offers and campaigns  etc.

[0042] The system 100 disclosed herein enables a customer to register with the loyalty program management application 101 in multiple ways. In an embodiment  the customer registers with the loyalty program management application 101 by providing the customer’s identification details at a POS terminal 109. The identification details comprise  for example  mobile number  name  gender  date of birth  email id  etc.  of the customer. In an embodiment  the information acquisition application 105 at the POS terminal 109 acquires the customer’s identification details manually from a store clerk. The store clerk enters the customer’s identification details in the information acquisition application 105. The customer may provide all or only some of the identification details during registration.

[0043] In another embodiment  the information acquisition application 105 acquires the customer’s identification details by using a near field communication (NFC) system. In this embodiment  both the client device 106 and the POS terminal 109 are NFC enabled or comprise NFC tags. The NFC system refers to a protocol for establishing a radio communication between the customer’s client device 106 and the POS terminal 109 when the client device 106 and the POS terminal 109 are brought into close proximity of each other. Data  for example  the customer’s identification details are transferred between the client device 106 and the information acquisition application 105 when the customer  for example  taps an NFC enabled client device 106 on the POS terminal 109 which is also NFC enabled.

[0044] In another embodiment  the information acquisition application 105 acquires the customer’s identification details using an identification code  for example  a quick response (QR) code associated with the customer’s client device 106. In this embodiment  the information acquisition application 105 is accessed through a computing device such as a smartphone or a tablet. The computing device acts as an image capture device and captures the customer’s QR code  which comprises the customer’s identification details. The information acquisition application 105 acquires the customer’s identification details by extracting the identification details from the captured QR code.

[0045] In another embodiment  the customer registers with the loyalty program management application 101 via a text message. The text message is  for example  an SMS comprising a store code  a keyword  etc. The term “store code” refers to the code assigned by the loyalty program management application 101 to each of the merchant’s stores that are part of the loyalty program managed by the loyalty program management application 101. The customer requests to register with the loyalty program management application 101 by sending the text message to a specified number. The store code  the keyword  and the specified number are made available to the customer. For example  the store code  the keyword  and the number are displayed in the store near the POS terminal 109. The loyalty program management application 101 registers the customer’s mobile number extracted from the received text message in a database (not shown) of the loyalty program management application 101. The loyalty program management application 101 then transmits a response message such as an SMS back to the customer’s client device 106 conveying that the customer is now part of the loyalty program. The customer may provide the additional identification details to the loyalty program management application 101 through the POS terminal 109 on subsequent visits to the store or directly via the user interface 110 of the loyalty program management application 101. The customer can access the loyalty program management application 101 via the client application 107 installed on the customer’s client device 106 or via the web application for logging into the loyalty program management application 101.

[0046] On registration  the loyalty program management application 101 creates a rewards account for the customer that allows the customer to view membership details in one place  join more loyalty programs and view reward points balances  offers  and transaction history. The customer is now eligible to earn reward points on purchase of commodities and/or services. Each time the customer earns reward points  they are accrued in the rewards account of the customer.

[0047] In an embodiment  the information acquisition application 105 identifies a customer registered with the loyalty program management application 101 for accruing the customer’s reward points to the rewards account by using the customer’s mobile number. In this embodiment  the customer provides his/her mobile number to the store clerk  for example  during checkout  settling a bill  etc. The store clerk enters the customer’s mobile number on the information acquisition application 105. The information acquisition application 105 identifies the customer with the mobile number and retrieves the customer’s identification details from the loyalty program management application 101. The information acquisition application 105 acquires the customer’s purchase amount from the store clerk. The loyalty program management application 101 then accrues reward points equivalent to the purchase amount to the customer’s rewards account.

[0048] In another embodiment  the information acquisition application 105 identifies the customer registered with the loyalty program management application 101 for accruing the customer’s reward points to the rewards account when the customer checks in to the loyalty program management application 101. In an embodiment  the customer checks-in to the loyalty program management application 101 by sending a text message from the client device 106. The text message is  for example  an SMS comprising the store code. In this embodiment  the customer sends an SMS comprising  for example  a keyword “check-in”  the store code  etc.  to the loyalty program management application 101. In another embodiment  the customer checks-in to the loyalty program management application 101 using a “check-in” button provided on the client application 107 installed on the client device 106. On clicking the “check-in” button  the client application 107 enables the customer to check-in to the loyalty program management application 101.

[0049] On receiving the request for check-in  the loyalty program management application 101 generates a unique check-in code and transmits the check-in code to the customer’s client device 106. The customer provides the check-in code to the information acquisition application 105 at the POS terminal 109 of the store. The information acquisition application 105 identifies the customer with the check-in code and retrieves the customer’s identification details from the loyalty program management application 101. The information acquisition application 105 acquires the customer’s purchase amount from the store clerk. The loyalty program management application 101 accrues reward points equivalent to the purchase amount to the customer’s rewards account. The information acquisition application 105 thereby uses the check-in number instead of the customer’s mobile number for identifying the customer.

[0050] The system 100 disclosed herein enables the customer to redeem the reward points in multiple ways. The reward points are redeemable for discounts  gifts  free products  etc. The customer can redeem the reward points at any store affiliated with the loyalty program management application 101.

[0051] In an embodiment  the loyalty program management application 101 enables the customer to redeem the reward points by checking in to the loyalty program management application 101. The customer checks-in to the loyalty program management application 101 by providing the check-in code to the information acquisition application 105 at the POS terminal 109 of the store. The information acquisition application 105 transmits the received check-in code to the loyalty program management application 101 for validation of the customer. On validation  the sale clerk enters the reward points to be redeemed in the information acquisition application 105.

[0052] In another embodiment  the loyalty program management application 101 enables the customer to redeem the reward points without checking in to the loyalty program management application 101. In this embodiment  the information acquisition application 105 acquires the mobile number of the customer from a store clerk. The store clerk enters the reward points to be redeemed in the information acquisition application 105. The information acquisition application 105 transmits a redemption code to the customer’s client device 106 in the form of  for example  a text message. The customer provides the redemption code to the store clerk. The clerk enters the redemption code on the information acquisition application 105 for redeeming the customer’s reward points.

[0053] In an embodiment  the loyalty program management application 101 further comprises a campaign generation module 103 that generates personalized campaigns for customers based on campaign criteria. The campaign criteria comprises  for example  frequency of a customer’s visit to the store  average purchase amount  preferences such as type of food  clothes  etc.  perception of the store’s brand by the customer  available reward points  age  demography of the customer  response to previous campaigns  etc. In an embodiment  the loyalty program management application 101 further segments the customers based on  for example  demography  purchase amount  loyalty points  response to previous campaigns  etc. The loyalty program management application 101 then enables the merchants to create campaigns targeted to a particular segment of customers. Moreover  the loyalty program management application 101 personalizes the campaigns and transmits each of the personalized campaigns to the customer’s client device 106 via email  SMS  etc. Therefore  the customers receive relevant campaigns.

[0054] Consider an example where the campaign generation module 103 generates personalized campaigns. A merchant logs into the loyalty program management application 101 via the user interface 110. The campaign generation module 103 provides an option to target the campaigns to all the customers or to a segment of the customers. In this example  the merchant selects the segment of customers  that is  the target customers via the user interface 110. The merchant specifies the target customers as “all women aged above 21 years”. On selecting the target customers  the campaign generation module 103 builds a campaign message with an offer. The campaign generation module 103 enables the merchant to define the offer via the website. The merchant can specify the details of the offer such as name  validity period  other terms and conditions  etc.  of the offer via the user interface 110. The offer is  for example  a discount on beauty products. On creating a general campaign  the campaign generation module 103 generates personalized campaigns for each of the target customers. For example  the campaign generation module 103 appends a salutation such as Dear Ms. “name of the customer” along with the offer details  such that each campaign personally addresses each of the women above the age of 21. The merchant may then choose to transmit the campaigns to the customers via email  SMS  etc.  or schedule the campaigns for later deployment.

[0055] In an embodiment  the loyalty program management application 101 further comprises a report generation module 104 that generates a report  as disclosed in the detailed description of FIGS. 2-4. The report is  for example  a business report  a customer report  a campaign report  etc. The reports provide a list of measures or metrics such as number of visits  total purchase made by the customer  etc. The merchants can view online analytical processing (OLAP) style reports across various dimensions including age bands  gender  product  location  etc. Further  the merchants can choose to segment customers from a database in a waterfall selection manner. An example of a segmentation is  “list of customers who are aged between 25 and 40  visited the store more than once in the last 2 weeks and have spent over U.S. $20”. The reports help the merchants gain insights on the purchase habits of the customers.

[0056] In an embodiment  the loyalty program management application 101 facilitates customer engagement on social platforms. The loyalty program management application 101 facilitates customer engagement on social platforms  for example  by rewarding the customer for social engagement  encouraging referrals with rewards  etc. In an example  the loyalty program management application 101 awards 50 reward points to customers who follow the loyalty program on Facebook®. In another example  a customer earns 10 reward points for posting a message on the customer’s Facebook® wall®. Social engagement of the customers helps increase brand loyalty  improve customer relationship  and drive word of mouth marketing. In an example  a customer earns a gift of free dessert for inviting friends to the loyalty program. In another example  the customer earns 50 reward points for each friend who joins the loyalty program. Encouraging referrals with rewards therefore actively improves referrals and helps to gain new customers faster.

[0057] In an embodiment  the loyalty program management application 101 is integrated to work with other applications  for example  email marketing programs such as iContact®  online POS vendors such as Vend  etc. The system 100 disclosed herein thereby provides a cardless loyalty program combined with email and mobile marketing and integrating it with social platforms. The cardless loyalty program integrates information from social media  mobile networks and cloud networks through various communication devices.

[0058] FIG. 2 exemplarily illustrates a screenshot of a business report generated by the report generation module 104 of the loyalty program management application 101. The business report provides an analysis of sales associated with a store or a group of stores. In an example  the business report displays the sales amount for the period- 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2011. Further  the business report provides a pie chart where the customers are segmented by age  gender  etc. The business report may also comprise the sales amount  total discount offered during the period  the number of items purchased  number of purchases  the average sales amount  etc.

[0059] FIG. 3 exemplarily illustrates a screenshot of a customer report generated by the report generation module 104 of the loyalty program management application 101. The customer report comprises information regarding the customers  customer buying patterns  etc. In an example  the customer report comprises the number of customers who visited a store in a period between 1 October 2011 and 31 October 2011. Further  the report generation module 104 provides a pie chart showing the number of customers in the period sorted by age and by gender. Moreover  the campaign report comprises information about the total number of customers that visited the store  number of new customers  reward points earned and redeemed by the customers  reward points redeemed for discount  reward points redeemed for product  and number of active and inactive customers.

[0060] FIG. 4 exemplarily illustrates a screenshot of a campaign report generated by the report generation module 104 of the loyalty program management application 101. The campaign report provides an analysis of the personalized campaigns sent to the customers. In an example  the report generation module 104 provides a pie chart showing the number of campaigns sent and the number of campaigns used by the customers. Further  the campaign report displays  for example  the revenue generated from the campaigns  the conversion rate  etc.
[0061] FIG. 5 exemplarily illustrates a flow diagram showing steps for issuing reward points to a customer by the loyalty program management application 101 in a group loyalty program. In an embodiment  the system 100 manages the group loyalty program that enables a group of merchants to form a group and be part of a single loyalty program. As used herein  the term “group loyalty program” refers to a collective loyalty program in which multiple merchants share the costs of the loyalty program and a common currency or reward points system. The group loyalty program is also known as “coalition loyalty program”. The group loyalty program allows customers to earn and redeem the reward points anywhere within the group. The customers who are part of the same group loyalty program can redeem their reward points at a store owned by any of the merchants that are part of the group loyalty program. The group loyalty program thereby enables the customers to earn the reward points quickly and provides a wide range of options for redeeming the reward points. Since the group loyalty program is registered by a number of merchants  the burden or overall running cost for the loyalty program on each merchant is considerably reduced and merchants are not burdened with running the loyalty program. Moreover  the group loyalty program enables the merchants to acquire customers faster and the merchants can easily get expert advice and help in loyalty program and campaign management. Therefore  the group loyalty program confers the merchants all the benefits of a store loyalty program  for example  customer database  campaign management  etc.  in addition to the features offered by the group loyalty program. Setting up the group loyalty program involves  for example  specifying a common exchange rate  that is  how much each reward point costs for merchants  adding new merchants  monitoring and managing merchant activity  etc.

[0062] The merchants who wish to be a part of the group loyalty program register with the loyalty program management application 101 at step 501. An administrator of the loyalty program management application 101 sets a common exchange rate for earning and redeeming the reward points at step 502. As used herein  the term “common exchange rate” refers to the rate at which the reward points can be redeemed at. The common exchange rate is  for example  $0.03 for each reward point. A customer may enroll into the group loyalty program when he/she shops from the merchants who are part of the group loyalty program. The customer registers with the loyalty program management application 101 via the information acquisition application 105 at a store at step 503. In an embodiment  an administrator of the group loyalty program signs up customers through partnerships and other initiatives  for example  through organizing events in the mall  setting up a kiosk or a booth at a trade fair  running a radio FM contest and other similar activities.

[0063] The information acquisition application 105 transmits a notification regarding the purchase amount of the customer to the loyalty program management application 101 at step 504. The loyalty program management application 101 acquires payment from the merchants for each of the reward points to be issued to the customer at step 505. Based on the set common exchange rate  the loyalty program management application 101 issues reward points to the customer at step 506. The number of reward points issued is equivalent to the customer’s purchase amount. The reward points are accrued in the customer’s rewards account.

[0064] FIG. 6 exemplarily illustrates a flow diagram showing steps for redeeming the reward points earned by the customer in the group loyalty program. The information acquisition application 105 at a store that is registered with the loyalty program management application 101 receives a request for redeeming the accrued reward points from the customer at step 601. The information acquisition application 105  in communication with the loyalty program management application 101 performs an authentication of the customer at step 602. On successful authentication  the loyalty program management application 101 transmits a notification to the information acquisition application 105 conveying that the customer may redeem the reward points at step 603. The merchant receives payment for redeeming the reward points at step 604. The loyalty program management application 101 deducts the corresponding reward points from the customer’s rewards account on redeeming the reward points at step 605.

[0065] FIG. 7 exemplarily illustrates a flow diagram showing steps for configuring a group loyalty program by the loyalty program management application 101 to include non-profit or charity organizations in the group loyalty program. The loyalty program management application 101 allows non-retail enterprises and non-profit or charity organizations to be part of the group loyalty program as well. In case of non-profit organizations  a customer makes a donation to the non-profit organization at step 701. The information acquisition application 105 at the non-profit organization transmits a notification to the loyalty program management application 101 regarding the donation made by the customer at step 702. The loyalty program management application 101 acquires a reduced payment from the non-profit organization for the reward points to be issued to the customer at step 703. Based on the set common exchange rate  the loyalty program management application 101 issues reward points equivalent to the donation made by the customer at step 704. The reward points are accrued to the customer’s rewards account.

[0066] In case of the non-retails enterprises  the merchants comprise  for example  real estate (RE) agents  insurance agents  accounts  gym  etc. Steps 501-502 are repeated  as disclosed in the detailed description of FIG. 5. The customer may transact with the registered merchants and register with the loyalty program management application 101 via the information acquisition application 105 at step 503. Steps 504-506 are repeated  as disclosed in the detailed description of FIG. 5.

[0067] Consider an example where an administrator of the loyalty program management application 101 sets the common exchange rate as $0.03 for each reward point that a customer earns and $.01 for each reward point that the customer redeems. The merchants pay the administrator for each reward point issued to their customers. The merchants may set an earning rule  for example  1 reward point for every $1 spent or 2 reward points for every $1 spent. The administrator then pays the merchant for each point redeemed at the common exchange rate. For example  the customer may be offered a cash discount or a free product on redeeming the reward points.

[0068] The system 100 disclosed herein thereby provides several advantages to the customer. For example  the customer need not carry any card  provides easy accessibility of the rewards account from the client application 107 or the web application. Further  the customer receives personalized campaigns from all participating stores and can easily view reward points balance and the transaction history.

[0069] This written description uses examples to describe the subject matter herein  including the best mode  and also to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the subject matter. The patentable scope of the subject matter is defined by the claims  and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims  or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims.