Wednesday, January 24, 2007

A Case Study on PBT's SmartShop


Biometric Payments and Rewards: A Case Study

Aite Group provides an in-depth review of the deployment of Pay By Touch technology at a grocery store named Green Hills. Nine months after the introduction of Pay By Touch's SmartShop loyalty and payment solution, 25% of Green Hills' sales are made via biometric payments, and 28% of those are processed over the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network.

Boston, MA, January 23, 2007 – In a new report, Biometric Payments and Rewards: A Case Study, Aite Group discusses the roll-out of Pay By Touch technology at Green Hills, a one-store grocery that is headquartered in Syracuse, NY.

"Given the economic context in Syracuse, NY, Green Hills' pre-existing high average sales per square foot, the sophistication of the previous loyalty program, and the store's stagnant top-line sales in the years leading up to SmartShop's roll-out, the impact of SmartShop on Green Hills' financial performance is impressive," comments Gwenn Bézard, a Research Director with Aite Group and the author of the case study.

In the United States today, beyond two-tier pricing schemes (e.g., grocery stores) and loyalty programs that are tied to private-label credit cards or dual cards (e.g., specialty retailers), most retailers lack sophisticated loyalty programs.

The development of private- label merchant debit/prepaid payment and reward programs is a significant trend that has the potential to reverse that situation, as illustrated by Green Hills' story.

This 8-page Impact Note contains 3 figures. Clients of Aite Group's Retail Banking can download the report by clicking here.