Customer loyalty programs have become an increasingly important arm of businesses large and small, particularly because of how competitive just about every industry has become online. In retail, this is particularly true. To retain customers and keep them from looking elsewhere in the face of the overly convenient and essentially unmatchable Prime subscription service, retail brands need to get creative to become the go-to sites.
Right now, and for the last half a decade at least, crypto has become an incredibly prominent topic and something that people want to own. This loose bracket of crypto includes the coins themselves as well as other forms of value holding on blockchains, such as NFTs. For retailers in 2025, an approach that integrates crypto rewards would not only tap into a trend but also stand as a unique selling point – particularly if it lands well.
Starbucks and Nike tested the waters
Although now looked at as a distant history, there was a time when major brands were rushing to get a stake in the infinite space of the metaverse. This virtual space that was hailed to offer total immersion and be the next stage of the internet that Meta, formerly Facebook, essentially tried to brand as their own hasn’t taken off as expected. The bar for entry, primarily virtual reality hardware, remains too unappealing for the mass market for several reasons.
Even so, when the metaverse gold rush was in full swing – in the early 2020s – major brands were investing heavily in having a form of virtual double. Among the big names to jump in was Nike. The sportswear brand quickly became a leader in fashion NFTS. By purchasing Rtfkt, they were quickly able to develop a Web3 strategy and sell stacks of unique virtual fashion items to customers through Dot Swoosh.
At Dot Swoosh, as loyal customers, people could trade physical and virtual products, co-create products, and unlock access to products and events. In late 2024, Nike closed Rtfkt and incurred a hefty lawsuit from the customers who had spent on their virtual items only to see the ecosystem shuttered some three years later. Without setting up a virtual space, Starbucks also delved into crypto loyalty rewards with Starbucks Odyssey.
Seeking to appeal to the latest trend, they combined their well-known loyalty program with NFTs, creating a five-tiered system of unique crypto rewards. At one point, there were over 58,000 active participants here, with each on at least Level 1. By March 2024, Odyssey was closed down. Where crypto loyalty rewards have more successfully landed are with Rakuten (convert loyalty points into crypto) and StormX (crypto rewards for micro-tasks).
A natural progression for retail rewards
Even with a couple of high-profile flops, it’s impossible to deny the growing prominence of crypto and the desire for owners to both acquire and use more. Rakuten and StormX, by leaning into ways of acquiring coins over NFTs and the like, tap into this more prominent angle. The market for this is potentially huge. In the UK alone, around seven million adults own crypto as of mid-2024, while retail brands like Bloomingdale’s and Ray-Ban accept crypto payments.
Using and transferring crypto is getting much more streamlined, is much more secure than it once was, and is becoming more mainstream. This comes down to key facilitating technologies being integrated behind the scenes. Thanks to the rise of the crypto payment gateway, customers are getting more familiar with seeing the crypto pay option next to cards and eWallets and have found the process to be just as straightforward.
The crypto payment gateway shows itself to be user-friendly and operates without fuss, enabling seamless collection of crypto payments for any retail vendor. It’s also a two-way platform. So, if refunds are required, they can be enacted without a hitch, as can over and under-payments. With this in play, it’s clear that the technology is available for retailers to establish and run a system of rewarding customers with crypto.
Crypto adoption and use are on the rise. With the modern tools that make transactions seamless and secure readily available, retail brands could make a name for themselves by establishing appealing crypto loyalty programs.
