Upmarket German restaurant group testing iBeacons to recognize & reward frequent diners
iBeacons seems to be gaining momentum: the same day the Hudson’s Bay Company announced its rollout of the technology to its department stores, upmarket German restaurant group the Mook Group has told the WSJ of its own plans to use iBeacons to recognize and reward frequent diners.
The app clocks the time guests spend in the restaurant and uses a ranking system to reward them for their loyalty […]
Diners can use the app to climb their way from “Guest” ranking to “Addicted Connoisseur” level based on the amount of time spent at any one of group’s venues. Guests with higher-level app statuses are rewarded with a free welcome drink, automatic placement on the guest list for future events or even fast-track entrance.
Measuring how long someone spends in a restaurant might be a slightly odd basis on which to reward them, but owner Christian Mook says that they later hope to track items ordered and total spend.
“It will be even more interesting when we get to the next step and we know guest’s names, what people drink and eat, how often and when the client comes in – whether for private reasons or business reasons, all as a way to improve service,” Mr. Ladjimi said, adding that any access to information would be on a voluntary basis and with the client’s authorization.
Diners don’t need to interact with the app while they are in the restaurant – they simply need to install and authorize it beforehand. So long as it is installed on their phone when they visit, the app and the iBeacons do the rest.
If you’re not yet fully up to speed with iBeacon technology, you can check out our briefing here.
