Trust creates loyalty. Between brands, retailers and consumers, this is a two-way street. Customers who keep coming back get rewards, such as exclusive discounts and early access to new products and services.
Cultivating and improving a customer-based relationship is very important.
Every year millions of retailers spend billions of dollars on software that improves the Return on Interest (ROI) of loyalty schemes. Online and in-store retail is competitive. Any and every advantage is worth pursuing. Building trust and loyalty takes time and sustained effort.
Loyalty programs are not only expensive, but also time-consuming. Most times, customers either get frustrated with using loyalty schemes, or they stop using them, either deleting an app or taking a card out of a wallet and forgetting about it.

Loyalty schemes have diverse and undisputed benefits, and despite recent murmurs, they’re certainly not on the decline. In Access’ yearly customer loyalty paper, 69% of customers said reward systems make them more likely to spend money with a particular brand; it’s evident that the field is growing in prevalence and becoming an integral factor in overall customer satisfaction.
Incentivizing customers to purchase your products allows the consumer to justify the purchase and will help them develop positive business relationship with your business, and in a world of dualism, word of mouth is an incredibly powerful tool , not only in retaining customers but attracting new ones.
Now merchants and customers are arch-enemies: The customers don’t care about the loyalty to brands or merchants, they want free stuff and easily switch brands. And the merchants need to protect their bottom line and try to extract as much from every customer as possible often slipping to manipulation.

In a retail market where competition is rife, and trade is hectic, it can be difficult to differentiate your offerings. And, as the popularity of loyalty schemes continues to rise, it is important that you keep up with competitors and ensure that consumers view your business’ rewards system as the most efficient and gratifying.

Here is where cryptocurrency matters.

Why Cryptocurrency?

Many small businesses don’t have the resources to implement loyalty schemes and perilously push them to the bottom of their priorities, but, looking at the statistics, it’s clear that rewards systems are massively influential in determining how long your business will last.
As a result of not having enough resources to innovate, new businesses continue to implement traditional methods of reward with no real tangible benefit, such as loyalty cards or points systems.

Recent studies uncover that loyalty cards are much less likely to impact purchasing decisions in the UK. Just half (51%) of those surveyed said they would buy from a retailer with a scheme over one without, if all other factors were equal.
Therefore, there is a clear indication that small businesses should begin to evolve their reward systems, to appeal to customers through providing a simple but efficient system with real benefits, subsequently developing a good relationship between consumer and retailer.

BitRewards is a blockchain loyalty platform and ecosystem that enables retailers to reward their customer’s purchases with cryptocurrency. Customers, the end-users, are rewarded for their purchases with liquid Ethereum-based tokens (BitRewards), which can be redeemed against future purchasing or offers, or transferred to another crypto-wallet and spent on other goods/services.

Every customer will be given a single wallet, accessible from the website of any participating merchant, or from a web or mobile app. There is no need to register for a standalone loyalty program of each retailer, and the acquired tokens can be redeemed with any other network member, combatting account inactivity.

BitRewards transfers value into tokens and credits them directly to the customer’s wallet. The value of the rewards denominated in cryptocurrency is poised to go up along with the growth of the crypto-economy. Customers will also be receiving regular reports and offers from the stores where they made their purchases, which will help encourage them to spend again with that retailer using their wallet or spend them with another retailer who’s part of the BitRewards network.

• It Serves the Collaborative Economy: BitRewards is a blockchain rewards and loyalty system for e-commerce businesses that allows online retailers to reward customers (and their friends) in “BIT” cryptocurrency. It’s a decentralized application with the potential to completely turn the reward scheme market on its head, improving the notoriously fickle relationship between merchants and customers. Currently, customers participating in traditional reward schemes have to deal with long waits for payouts, annual fees, fake deals and crumby offers. While merchants must try and fend off competitor undercutting and manage lack of customer loyalty.

• With BitRewards, Both Parties Benefit: Merchants receive premium blockchain loyalty management “BIT” software with a value of $200-$2000 per month, for free! This is software developed by the team behind GIFTD, with a proven track record in helping online merchants increase revenue. It’s a system that boosts online sales by 17%, on average. Customers receive BIT rewards, which can be redeemed for online purchases or transferred into real money. BIT being a cryptocurrency means that it tends to go up in price, increasing the value of rewards for those that chose to save rather than spend. Also, unlike traditional loyalty schemes, rewards never expire.

• BitRewards is AI-powered: Artificial intelligence is at the core of Blockchain 3.0 and the heart of BitRewards. Our platform is AI-based, allowing merchants to better tailor services for customers. The system can be used to gather data for product and reward recommendations, financial scoring and tailored discounts and rewards. Retailers can customize experiences to provide customers with exactly what they want, strengthening brand loyalty. The use of AI and its ability to bring tech and consumers closer together is an important tool in Blockchain moving forward, as it aims to take cryptocurrency into the public consciousness.

• It uses Ethereum: BIT tokens are ERC-20 standard-basis Ethereum tokens. Smart contracts are central to the new era of customer loyalty. Using Ethereum has allowed us to implement an elegant technical solution that’s user friendly for non-crypto savvy merchants and customers. What’s more, transactions can be completed much quicker than Bitcoin, processing in less than a minute. That said, with the impending release of the Raiden Network and Lightning Network (which BitRewards will adopt) transactions will be settled in a matter of seconds.

How Does BitRewards Solve the Main Problems of Loyalty Systems?

• Account Inactivity: BitRewards consolidates retailers in the integrated open-loop loyalty system and provides a simple and convenient user interface with a customer centric approach. Every individual user will have a single wallet, accessible from the website of any participating merchant, or from a web or mobile app. There is no need to register in a standalone loyalty program of each retailer, and the acquired tokens can be redeemed with any other network member.

• Low Redemption Rates: Unlike the existing loyalty systems that give points, BitRewards Network transfers value into tokens and credits them directly to the customer’s wallet. The value of the rewards denominated in cryptocurrency is poised to go up along with the growth of the crypto-economy and the market share of the blockchain based services and infrastructure, which will make customers want to spend their tokens for additional purchases. The users will also be receiving regular reports and offers from the stores where they made their purchases, which will also serve to incentivize further actions.

• Increased Costs for Customer Service: Merchants can use the BitRewards platform for free. It can be easily installed and set up and does not require any special technical knowledge or skills. The workflow around receiving and spending BitRewards tokens will be standard participating customers like, and all questions will be handled by the BitRewards service operator, who provides technical support and quality assurance.

BitRewards Benefits

New Customer Experience:

• The BitRewards decentralized loyalty system creates a unique, users friendly customer experience. The regular customer’s dashboard with loyalty points turns into a full-fledged crypto-wallet linked to hundreds of merchants. Creation requires only a simple registration with a Facebook account, email or phone number. It can be used as a regular wallet for the storing of BitRewards cryptocurrency, as well as other currencies (Ethereum, Bitcoin, etc.), growing in value of the received rewards (connected with the growth of token). The bonuses in the form of BIT from different merchants are accumulated in one customer’s account, which is connected to the entire BitRewards Network.

• The tokens can be redeemed with any merchant within the BitRewards Network and the network’s partners that can promote their business with additional bonuses and discounts for the BIT token holders.

• Customer crypto-wallet’s BIT balance will also be connected to the bank debit plastic or virtual card, which the users can spend just as if they used their regular Visa or MasterCard.

• Maximum flexibility and security of the rewards: tokens unlike points don’t expire; they can’t get lost, or cease to exist if the merchant goes out of business.

• An easy way to make purchases in cryptocurrency: Ethereum and Bitcoin can be credited to the customer’s BitRewards account and be used as payment with BitRewards’ participating merchants.

• The token’s value is set for appreciation due to an increasing demand from retailers and the general prevailing bull market nature of crypto-markets right now.
  

Advantages to Retailers

• The retailers connected to the BitRewards Network acquire new marketing tools and increase customer loyalty.

• Free, but powerful and flexible loyalty program for any retailer, brand or service.

• Unique opportunity to reward customers and pander to cryptocurrency enthusiasts wants.

• Great chance to stand out among competition and promote a brand or a store.

• Seamless convert of BIT into Bitcoin, Ether and any other cryptocurrency right in the user’s wallet on merchants’ websites, or on any other wallet or exchange.

• Amazing incentive for customers when their reward amount grows, enabling the merchants to communicate good news and attract a lot of repeat business.

Furthermore, the cost of customer acquisition for new businesses continues to increase. Statistics show that the average conversion of traffic into purchases in e-commerce equates to 1%, making the costs of acquiring 5 times larger than the costs to retain an existing customer.

Evidently, that age-old cliché of ‘working with what you have’ continues to pay dividends.

In addition, instead of smaller retailers providing their own rewards for their customers, BitRewards can do the dirty work for them. BitRewards are capable of providing centralized support for retailers, technical guidance and quality assurance through implementing tried and tested marketing strategies. As a result, you as a retailer reduce those pesky customer service costs that can creep up on your cash flow.

Ultimately, the field of loyalty based rewards in e-commerce was calling out for a new proposition with a fresh outlook on securing a two-way benefit system. BitRewards provides the solution to this problem, with an efficient and easy way to understand a program that is assured to ease marketing worries that are so customary for new retailers. With the value of BIT tokens on the rise and the crypto-economy growing rapidly, now is the time to join the movement and receive unparalleled benefits.

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