What is Mobile Wallet Marketing ?

Launched just about a decade ago in 2011, mobile wallets are one of the newest forms of payment. They are your digital applications like Google pay, Apple Pay etc., that store your payment information on a mobile device. They store users' card details, coupons, tickets etc., in one place for them to make payments on the go digitally. 

These wallets are an ecosystem for payments between merchants, customers and banks. Mobile wallets are super convenient to use and hence have grown in popularity immensely. 

The global mobile wallet market size is expected to reach over $3 trillion by 2022. By 2027, the global mobile payments market will reach $12.06 trillion.

What is Mobile Wallet Marketing?

Mobile wallet marketing refers to the marketing efforts using personalised loyalty cards and tickets to engage customers on mobile. This is an effective marketing channel because customers don't have to install any other apps or opt-in for your notifications.

Why is Mobile wallet marketing important?

It presents banks and businesses with new opportunities to interact with their customers and increase brand loyalty:

• According to Urban Airship, "Mobile wallets are now among the top four ways consumers prefer to stay updated on sales, offers and coupons, alongside decades-old channels including websites, email and text/SMS". 

• The total transaction value for digital payments is expected to yield a CAGR of 12.01% from 2021 to 2025. Citing the same report, McKenna Duska writes, "What's even more intriguing is that more than half of those consumers expressed a desire to use their mobile wallets for functions other than payment.

This suggests that your marketing messages will be well received by your users on their mobile wallets. As a result, it can help businesses interact with their users in a relevant, tailored and timely manner.

Components of Mobile Wallet Marketing - 

 1) Notifications

You can use various alerts and notification types like SMS, lock screen notifications etc., to communicate with users about new offerings. To maximise effectiveness, you can also schedule these communications as per time, date, frequency, or conditions, such as purchase history and collected points.

For Instance, Starbucks's mobile wallet sends its users a happy birthday notification along with an exclusive offer for them on their birthday.

2) Cashback

One of the reasons customers like mobile wallets is because of the cashback option. It allows users to save money and use that cashback to repurchase with the mobile wallet.

Cashback could be one of the ways merchants can encourage users to make repeat purchases with them.

3) Coupons and Vouchers

This functionality allows financial service providers and merchants to create customised coupons & vouchers and send them to a customer's phone. 

Coupons and vouchers are another way you can nudge customers to increase their order value or make a repurchase. As soon as a customer adds a coupon to their device, the operator/the mobile wallet can update the user about it through notification.

They also help you track user behaviour and target specific locations for your discounts.

4) Location awareness

Mobile wallets also allow you to send location-based notifications to inform customers of any offers in their locality.

This is how it works: When a customer enters a location, the wallet automatically sends a screen-lock notification to the customer's phone with a tempting offer. A screen tap takes the user directly to the wallet. 

For example, Suppose a customer is walking by a Starbucks, and his payment history supposedly suggests that they like Starbucks. In that case, they will get a notification of an ongoing offer in the store.

5) Personalised Experience using Advanced Analytics 

Mobile wallets can act as an instrumental platform for data collection and customer insights, which can then be used to improve users' feeds.

You can use data analytics from transaction histories, repeat purchases, coupon redemption, check-ins etc., to track user behaviour. You can further use this data to create highly personalised interactions for consumers, pushing the relevant mobile offers.

How does Mobile Wallet Marketing Drive Adoption and Loyalty

Mobile wallets give users key data that help them drive adoption and loyalty.

Nowhere else will they get a comprehensive view of their user's spending; using this data, merchants can create highly targeted offers that convert. They can also collaborate with other merchants to make offers and discounts for their users. 

Mobile wallet marketing is also one of the effective channels of communication because of its growing usage. Customers expect their mobile wallet to spoil them with offers, discounts and targeted notifications. They need not specifically download a merchant's app and turn on their notification; all the relevant offers are in one place.

Since it creates a win-win situation between the merchants and the users, mobile wallet marketing helps drive adoption and loyalty.