STORES Magazine - August 2008 - (Page 64)

NUTS AND BOLTS / MOBILE PAYMENTS Getting in the Game Entertainment firm hopes to make payments a contactless sport BY PATRICIA A. MURPHY P rofessional sports is not just about the games anymore. Some of the most innovative team owners are diversifying assets, creating sports and entertainment enterprises that span broad segments of the consuming public. for tap-and-go payments at the box ofKroenke Sports Enterprises owns a fice, team store and concession stands to half-dozen sports and entertainment enearn points toward prizes. Jason Linterprises and venues in and around Denscott, senior director of ticket sales and ver, including the Pepsi Center (which service for the Rapids, says about 2,000 will host this month’s Democratic Naseason ticketholders had applied for the tional Convention). Kroenke even opercard as of early summer. ates a cable sports network that showThese pro soccer fans represent a highcases hometown teams. ly sought-after demographic: 18- to 36So when Denver-based First Data year-old males who tend to hold down wanted partners to help test a new apwhite collar jobs and are adept at using proach to mobile payments, it didn’t technology. “They want a different kind have far to look: Kroenke had a brand of sports experience,” Linscott says, “so new stadium and an up-and-coming we have to be innovative.” soccer team to promote. The result was Rapids Kickback Cards come in three a unique new rewards program for the different colors issued according to the Colorado Rapids that has fans racking type of season ticket packages a fan purup points every time they spend money chases – onyx (five games), at Dick’s Sporting Goods blue (nine) and burgundy Park in suburban Com(18). This segmentation alone merce City. Rapids Kickback is a mini merchant locations has proved a valuable marketing tool. “Folks are really loyalty card that can be at- will have contacteager to get the burgundy tached to a key chain or less terminals card, because it’s loaded with other personal item. Season by 2014 extra benefits,” Linscott says. ticketholders use the card Source: Aite Group The eventual plan is to create an environment where fans need only carry “one piece of inventory” for any purchase within the stadium. “We think it’s very do-able for the 2009 season,” he says. One immediate benefit: it will help the company keep better tabs on fans’ spending habits and the popularity of various concessions and other items. “We see multiple applications on the back end,” Linscott says. 217,000 The underlying technology for the Rapids’ fan card, known as GO-Tag, was developed by First Data “to bridge the gap between the environment we find ourselves in today and the future,” when mobile payments are reality, explains Barry McCarthy, the company’s president of mobile commerce solutions. (First Data also supports the card through its rewards program platform.) First Data refers to GO-Tag as a “form factor.” It comes in two models: as a mini-card and as a sticker that can be adhered to a personal item like a cell phone or badge. Mobile a slow go in U.S. Although mobile payments are popular in emerging markets, U.S. adoption has been stymied by the lack of NFC-enabled telephones. NFC (for near field communications) is a short-range wireless technology that facilitates communications between electronic devices – in this case, a GO-Tag and POS equipment. GO-Tags contain NFC chips imbedded in stickers that can be placed on mobile handsets. The idea is “to get consumers used to the notion that they can make payments using their phones,” McCarthy says. WWW.STORES.ORG 64 STORES / AUGUST 2008 http://WWW.STORES.ORG

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of STORES Magazine - August 2008

STORES Magazine - August 2008 Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page The Lure of Free Shipping Walmart’s New Look What Shoppers Think Will Widgets Work for Wheat Bread and Wasabi? 10 Things You May Have Missed Numbers Worth Counting Full Price/Markdown Retail People Store Design Industry Economics Hot 100 Retailers Concept2Watch Mobile Technology Small Store Technology Website Optimization Site Selection Mobile Payments Recycling Merchandising: Cool Sells Merchandising: Merchandising in Mexico Store Construction & Development Human Resources Loyalty Programs Mobile Marketing Loeb Retail Letter Arts Update Point of View NRF News Retail Crossword Retail Industry Calendar Last Laugh

STORES Magazine - August 2008

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