Could you explain in a few words what is the mission of Yoyo Wallet in the present online shopping ecosystem?
Yoyo’s mission is to create a real omnichannel retail experience that combines fast payment with personalised loyalty rewards for consumers, rather than just tackle a single part of the shopping experience.
What makes us unique is our ability to identify every shopper at the point-of-sale through basket-level data insight technology, turning anonymous customers on the high street into individuals with purchasing preferences and habits.
We’ve spent the past three years solving this problem in bricks and mortar – high-street retailers can now find out who their customers are, directly engage them and offer personalised loyalty and rewards through a unique Yoyo app experience.
We also know that a lot of high-street retailers now operate both online and offline, which is why Yoyo is soon to release a full omnichannel proposition, where the benefits of data-driven loyalty programmes, instant payment, digital receipts and personalised marketing can be brought online through a one-click experience.
This will finally close the online to offline circle. One Yoyo account will soon be enough to pay, earn loyalty and be personally rewarded whether shopping on high street or buying online.
The e-wallet market is on the rise all over the world. Could you elaborate on the reasons behind this phenomenal trend in global ecommerce?
Technology is the driver! E-wallets are on the rise due to the increasing amount of shopping consumers now done through their smartphones and online – they have become the focus-point where they engage with retailers and pay for goods.
Consumers want to use their phones for everything now and retailers are looking to meet this demand. In addition, retailers are increasingly getting to grips with the data that technology is throwing up, and crucially, the business potential it holds for them.
Yoyo Wallet’ collaboration with Caffe Nero has been a great success in the UK. How do you envision a similar performance with other retailers in Europe?
The success of Caffe Nero’s Yoyo-powered mobile strategy has proven that creating an in-store experience that is 10 times better than what shoppers are used to – whether it’s the payment or loyalty transaction – will lead to consumer uptake spreading like wildfire.
Using basket data insight to identify customers, better engage and increase retention now transcends any one retail sector. Creating and powering the Caffe Nero app has opened the door to a raft of well-known retail chains, particularly in the quick-service and high-frequency purchasing environments.
The technology now exists to transform the customer experience and retailers can no longer afford to treat them anonymously.
The loyalty feature of Yoyo Wallet app takes pride of place in your business proposition. How does this feature address the need for personalisation on behalf of retailers?
Influencing customer behaviour and increasing sales through a personalised shopping experience is the outcome every retailer is now striving for. Yoyo delivers this personalised shopping experience by extracting basket-level data from each customer transaction, matching it to their profile and enabling the creation of targeted loyalty campaigns via Yoyo Engage. This increases customer satisfaction, footfall, loyalty and ultimately revenue.
What are the future challenges that lay ahead of your journey across the European region?
Retailers in the UK and Ireland have faced an immense margin challenge on the high street over the past few years, but are now realising the full power of data-driven loyalty programmes as a way to meet these challenges.
We know it takes time to convince retailers, who often still have a 20th century mindset, that using basket-level insight to identify customer behaviour and patterns is the future of retail. With Yoyo already proving this to be the case in the UK and Ireland, it’s now our mission to take what’s been achieved to the rest of Europe.
There’s a lot of retailers in Europe. As they begin to realise just what basket-level data insight can do for their business, we’re already seeing a massive rise in demand for what we do best – building a loyalty marketing platform that turns anonymous shoppers into individuals with purchasing preferences and habits.
About Alain Falys
Alain is a serial technology entrepreneur and investor. He is the co-founder and CEO of London-based Yoyo, the fastest growing mobile payment and loyalty marketing platform in Europe. Alain is also a Partner at Firestartr.co, the tech startup investment platform, a Venture Partner at Touchstone Innovations Plc and a Director at Pelican.ai and OneLinq.nl. He sits on the Technology Advisory Board of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group. Previously, he co-founded the OB10 global e-invoicing network, which floated in London as Tungsten Corporation Plc. He was Senior Vice President at Visa International and co-founded Omnis Mundi, an e-commerce incubator with operations in Frankfurt, Berlin and Zurich, with successful startups such as BuyVip sold to Amazon in 2010.
About Yoyo
Yoyo, founded in 2013 by Michael Rolph and Alain Falys, is the fastest growing mobile payment and loyalty marketing platform in Europe. Through its unique omnichannel point-of-sale acceptance rails, Yoyo delivers a seamless mobile payment and loyalty experience for consumers, whilst providing retailers with the tools to better engage, reward and retain their customers. Yoyo is partnered with several high street retailers, including Planet Organic, Harris + Hoole, HOP Vietnamese and Wrap it Up. Yoyo also built the branded payment and loyalty app for the UK’s third largest coffee chain, Caffè Nero.
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