EAT trials Weve and Proxama mobile loyalty service

Weve's mobile app Pouch will enable consumers to store loyalty cards for use in retail stores

Weve, the joint venture between mobile operators EE, Vodafone and O2, has teamed up with mobile platform provider Proxama to develop its mobile loyalty service which is being trailed by two branches of sandwich chain EAT.

The loyalty service will be known as Pouch, an app which is still in alpha testing, in which consumers will be able to store loyalty cards and relevant brand offers that can then be used at point of sale (POS) solutions that already exist in many retail stores.

The app will be developed on Proxama's TapPoint platform and will be rolled out in a phased approach across Android and iOS smartphones. The platform uses a combination of Near Field Communications (NFC), QR codes, Bluetooth Beacon and other proximity marketing technologies.

Proxama claims that its TapPoint platform will allow Weve to deploy a contextual loyalty application, meaning that content displayed in Pouch will be relevant to the consumer by using data on their interests and recent activity.

Targeted offers will be sent to users' phones through such information, as well as location-based data.

Sean O'Connell, product director at Weve, said: "At Weve, we believe that interactions between consumers and retailers will be increasingly mediated through mobile devices, but you have to crack the POS as well as the consumer experience.

"Our initial trial with EAT and our forthcoming work with Proxama has the potential to bring mobile loyalty at scale to consumers and retailers."

As well as EAT, coffee shop Artigiano is also trialling the technology, Weve said.

In a blog post, O'Connell explained that the Pouch app is part of a wider strategy from Weve to build the 'Weve Acceptance Network'.

"It's the UK's first major attempt to bring together a set of common ideas and platforms for the loyalty industry, designed to bring clear incentives for all participants to get involved," he said.

"Effectively a set of 'rails' for loyalty, offers and non-payment content, the network is open to everybody that wishes to join."