One in three UK consumers use loyalty schemes that are integrated into their mobile phones, research from mobile technology provider Veoo has found.
A survey of 2,000 people found the UK was behind the US, where 48% of consumers use the wallet function on their smartphone to collect loyalty points.
Veoo said the lag was down to UK retailers being slow to offer programmes that work on smartphones, instead remaining reliant on physical loyalty cards.
But consumers would soon force their hand, Veoo warned, as 43% said they would stop signing up for new loyalty cards if they could not fit them into their physical wallet.
John Bailey, business development director at Veoo, said consumers were reaching an overload of loyalty cards.
“I think the survey shows an appetite from consumers for mobile loyalty. There’s a limit to how many cards you would want to carry with you,” he said. “It’s the retailers who are lagging behind and I think perhaps that’s down to the market conditions and the economic situation they find themselves in.”
Despite the slow uptake, Bailey believed it was a matter of time before the UK caught up with the US. “I don’t know how long it will take but I can certainly see that point being reached because there are loyalty programmes everywhere now. As soon as it becomes more convenient for all parties, that’s when we will see people really starting to use them on a more frequent basis.”
Veoo launched its mobile wallet loyalty programme in May, when it said it had received interest from “pretty much all the loyalty companies” and “quite a few” supermarkets.
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