LOW COST LOYALTY CARD SYSTEM SEES NEW MARKETS AT RETAIL SOLUTIONS

June 2004

In a joint initiative undertaken by brand-leading POS solutions manufacturer, Star Micronics and specialist distributor, DED, the two Retail Solutions exhibitors are demonstrating two low cost, sophisticated loyalty card systems that offer the advantage of ‘communicating’ personalised messages to customers from as little as £1595 for the complete system including 100 re-writable cards.

Developed to work with the Star Micronics TCP300 card reader/writer system, DED’s ‘VisualLoyalty™’ and “VisualMembership™” are being demonstrated at Retail Solutions to illustrate their low cost, versatility and unique ‘communicating’ features.

The entire front area of each card is available to write and subsequently re-write (up to 500 times and in just a matter of seconds) text and graphics pertaining to the card issuers’ current marketing promotion (e.g. special offers/new products) or to provide a personalised update relevant to the specific customer (e.g. points accrued so far). The reverse of the card acts as a magnetic stripe, containing security/ID information on the individual customer encrypted in a secure format.

DED’s WindowsTM-based system facilitates the use of one or more readers within a location, but also enables customers to opt for having a single reader/writer at POS for instance, but install a much less expensive magnetic stripe reader in other areas where they only need to check the photograph and associated notes of a customer.

Annette Tarlton, marketing manager for Star Micronics Europe, outlined a typical scenario, “At a leisure club, members might have their cards swiped on the reception pc to gain entry with photograph verification and only having their card read and re-written to at transaction points.” Tarlton explained that this low cost use of the solution enables organisations of all sizes to implement loyalty, but adds, “The DED solution can also be upgraded to include reader/writers at all points of customer contact and to include customer photographs, if budgets and business objectives allow – the system is very flexible and can suit most needs.”

Data collected by the DED VisualLoyalty™ and VisualMembership™ system databases are subsequently used to monitor transaction trends and buying habits as well attendance peaks and troughs to produce in-depth reports and to initiate tailored marketed promotions and direct mail.

At Retail Solutions 2004, Star Micronics is also underpinning its reputation as ‘the manufacturer of choice’ across its POS, OEM printers and mechanisms.

Background Information on Star Micronics
Founded in 1947, Star Micronics is one of the world's largest printer manufacturers and has facilities for worldwide production, marketing and support. Employing over 2500 staff and achieving turnover in excess of £250 million, Star Micronics has developed a POS printer portfolio that spans thermal and dot matrix printers and mechanisms, designed for barcode, ticketing, receipts and labelling. Star's proven technology is also being utilised to develop reader/writer systems for visual/smart and magnetic stripe cards and to install print mechanisms in multimedia kiosk environments. The Star Micronics' range is available internationally via a distribution channel comprising distributors and dealers.

For further information contact:

Annette Tarlton or Claire Smith
Star Micronics EMEA
Tel: + 44 (0) 1494 471111
Email: Marketing@Star-EMEA.com