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Punchd - A Loyalty Program (from Google)

getpunchd.com

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Re: Punchd - A Loyalty Program (from Google)

#21

Post by ChrisArchitect »

bmelton wrote: post #11
adamtmca wrote: post #4

Applied to yc with this idea couple years ago, cool to see it in production. Sharing a loyalty card with a group of friends (i.e. when anyone makes a purchase everyone gets a stamp) was one of the social features we were excited about, I'm interested to see what they come up with.

Punchd has been around awhile. I've still got the original app on my phone from before they were acquired by Google. They went through the classic "Oh, we got bought by Google so we're closing doors for an ambiguous amount of time before maybe reappearing again later" phase that it seems most Google acquisitions go through. In that time, the Five Stars guys have really gotten traction. I don't know if that paves the…

there's so many of these google acquisitions doing the 'disappear' thing that when they do resurface we've almost all forgotten and all is new again. haha. Maybe that's the point.

Re: Punchd - A Loyalty Program (from Google)

#22

Post by dpark »

ben1040 wrote: post #17

A frozen yogurt shop I used to visit a lot started using Punchd back in June. The app is cute, but I'd rather just have a paper card. After the transaction, the clerk has to pull out a QR code card to let you scan. The app on your phone won't try scanning until it can get a location to verify you're actually there. Maybe a quarter of the time my phone's flaky GPS has trouble getting a location, so the clerk ends up s…

So the punch is based on scanning a QR code? Unless I'm misunderstanding, this is really broken. It sounds like someone could write a counterfeit app that scans the QR code, records the current location, and resubmits every minute, recording tons of punches that never actually happened.

They should do it the other way. Your phone should pop up a unque code for the cashier to scan. I guess that makes the barrier to entry higher, though. Maybe change the QR code daily at least (for businesses concerned about fraud, anyway).

Re: Punchd - A Loyalty Program (from Google)

#23

Post by aresant »

Punchd raised ~$50k at "500 Startups" demo day, then three months later was bought by Google (July of this year).

That is called how damn fast it is to get noticed and bought if you execute brilliantly in a big market.

And it only looks better now than it did.

It's a beautiful, elegant way of digitizing a marketing tactic that everybody already knows and understands.

The little paper signs "Buy _____ and get _____" are the perfect visualization of how well thought out this product is - nice job.

Re: Punchd - A Loyalty Program (from Google)

#24

Post by ben1040 »

dpark wrote: post #22
ben1040 wrote: post #17

A frozen yogurt shop I used to visit a lot started using Punchd back in June. The app is cute, but I'd rather just have a paper card. After the transaction, the clerk has to pull out a QR code card to let you scan. The app on your phone won't try scanning until it can get a location to verify you're actually there. Maybe a quarter of the time my phone's flaky GPS has trouble getting a location, so the clerk ends up s…

So the punch is based on scanning a QR code? Unless I'm misunderstanding, this is really broken. It sounds like someone could write a counterfeit app that scans the QR code, records the current location, and resubmits every minute, recording tons of punches that never actually happened. They should do it the other way. Your phone should pop up a unque code for the cashier to scan. I guess that makes the barrier to en…

So the punch is based on scanning a QR code?

That's correct. The business has a card with a QR code printed on it that you scan to get a "punch."

This is part of the value proposition for the merchants, I guess - they don't need a phone or device of their own at all, they just need to print a few things. The tradeoff is maybe the system is easier to game for the tiny percent that is technically inclined enough to try it.

Re: Punchd - A Loyalty Program (from Google)

#25

Post by knodi »

ben1040 wrote: post #16
knodi wrote: post #10

Can't I just take a picture of the QR code and scan it as many time as I want, without purchasing anything?

Before the app tries scanning anything, it gets a location lock to verify you're at the business. Which is a little annoying because my phone has flaky/slow GPS (thanks HTC Thunderbolt) so I end up standing there at the counter waiting to get a punch when they could have just stamped a card.

Even with GPS it doesn't validate my purchase. I can just stand outside the store and scan the barcode.

Its cool but with holes.

Re: Punchd - A Loyalty Program (from Google)

#26

Post by chexton »

aresant wrote: post #23

Punchd raised ~$50k at "500 Startups" demo day, then three months later was bought by Google (July of this year). That is called how damn fast it is to get noticed and bought if you execute brilliantly in a big market. And it only looks better now than it did. It's a beautiful, elegant way of digitizing a marketing tactic that everybody already knows and understands. The little paper signs "Buy _____ and get _____" a…

I think there is really something in this. It does look like a very streamlined product with nice touches...but they must have executed very effectively.

From what I've read there are a bunch of startups in this space, doing very similar things. Even here in Australia there are a few I can think of that are doing pretty well. As none have yet been bought by Google for $50m, I'd be curious to know more about the kind of traction Punchd had prior to the acquisition (how many users did they have, were the pulling in revenue) - it's always interesting to know more about how a startup with this kind of success executed!

Also, hats off to the Punchd guys...I remember the thread about the acquisition and there was a lot of praise for the founders themselves, as people and as founders.

Re: Punchd - A Loyalty Program (from Google)

#28

Post by ticktock »

A Brand New POS-X XPC-500 w/180x180 DPI printer is ~$1500 - with XP - google should create a free OS to replace XP and run the whole POS inside and out. What are they waiting for?

If this 'app' never needs to synchronize with a server to 'process' my rewards, i'm gunna be getting everything for free from now on.

GPS triangulation? (yea - i was on the moon, wtf?)

Velocity analysis? (timestamp += TOO_FAST + 1)

Statistical Variation? (yea - i go here 20x/day, wtf?)

// good luck with that google

while(1)

  GetMeFreeShit(qr_code, bus_gps, timestamp)
the hack will be opensourced in a week.

Re: Punchd - A Loyalty Program (from Google)

#30

Post by teamlaft »

knodi wrote: post #10

Can't I just take a picture of the QR code and scan it as many time as I want, without purchasing anything?

Check out Social Passport (www.socialpassport.net) which just won Startup Showcase at the Web2.0 Expo in NYC a couple weeks ago. It has features such as digital loyalty cards like Punchd, but also enables a store owner to make coupons at whatever discount they'd like so it competes with Groupon in that sense because it is paperless + no minimum discount (like 50% off that Groupon/LivingSocial/etc typically require) + no commission (again, the big guys charged 50% historically). It also, most importantly, serves as a social CRM for brick and mortar stores because it leverages a visitor's social network to turn marketing to them to marketing to all of their friends through scanning their Social Passport.

Social Passport enables businesses to communicate their products/services to each visitor’s social network in real time. Their motto is “market to one, market to many” and Social Passport enables businesses to market to thousands of people instantly. It can be used via Dynamic QR, Reverse QR, and NFC.

For users, Social Passport combines all of your social networks, and also serves as a way to store digital loyalty cards and e-coupons. Users get rewarded by retailers via coupons, free gifts, and other promos.

Check out bit.ly/socialpassport for an disclosure: my buddy is founder/CEO and i'm an advisor

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