Loyalty app or NFC tag: which one actually gets used?
Compared with a loyalty app, Lecy removes the download and account creation step: the customer holds their phone to an NFC tag and gets their point immediately, without installing anything and without leaving personal data.
An app does a lot more. Provided customers install it.
The comparison, point by point
| Criterion | Lecy (NFC tag) | Loyalty app |
|---|---|---|
| What the customer installs | Nothing | An app, 30 to 150 MB |
| Account creation | None | Required in almost every case |
| Time before the first point | ≈ 2 seconds | Several minutes |
| Set-up cost | Included in the subscription | Development, or a platform subscription |
| Maintenance | None | iOS and Android updates, store publication |
| Personal data collected | None by default | Name, email, often phone number |
| Notifications | Yes, from the browser, for those who accept them, and by text | Yes, if the app is still installed |
| Ordering, payment, booking | No | Possible |
| Still on the phone after six months | Not applicable | Low: little-used apps get uninstalled |
The real cost of an app is not its development
Having a loyalty app developed is expensive, but that is not the decisive item. The cost that lasts is maintenance: every major iOS and Android version requires adaptations, every store release requires a submission, and an unmaintained app eventually gets removed.
The second cost, the invisible one, is the acquisition cost of every install. Convincing a customer to download something at the counter takes service time, and often fails.
The step where it all fails
The typical customer is already saturated with apps. They have no room, they do not want one more account, and they do not see the benefit of a tenth free coffee at the moment they are asked to create a password.
That is exactly where Lecy comes from. During an audit in a restaurant, a manager summed up her existing programme: she paid every month for a system nobody used, because customers refused to type their number, wait for a text code or download an app just to collect points.
Less data, by design
An app collects a name, an email address, often a phone number. That allows segmenting and reminders, and it creates a file to secure, document and justify to your customers.
By default, Lecy asks for nothing. The account is tied to an access key created on the phone, validated by Face ID or fingerprint, with no name or number. The customer can choose to leave their number to receive a code or your news, but nothing obliges them to. You have less data, and many more customers taking part.
When an app is the right choice
If loyalty is only one function among others (ordering ahead, paying, booking, tracking a delivery, checking a balance) then an app is justified, because those uses need an account and a persistent space. That is the model of the large fast-food chains.
If you already have an app installed and actually opened by your customers, grafting loyalty onto it costs less than adding a separate device. The question to ask is not “do we need an app?” but “how many of my customers will still open it in six months?”.
Frequently asked questions
Do my customers really not need to install anything?
Yes. The page that adds the point is a web page opened by the phone itself. Nothing is downloaded and nothing stays installed.
How do I recognise my customers without an account?
The account is tied to an access key created on the phone, validated by Face ID or fingerprint, with no name or number. It recognises the returning customer and moves with them if they change phone. They only leave their number if they want to receive a code or your news.
Can I send notifications to my customers?
Yes, without an app: the phone’s browser receives the notifications, for customers who accepted them, and a text goes to those who asked for it. The page shown at the moment of the point also carries your news, your social networks and your new items. The difference with an app: nothing is installed, so nothing is uninstalled six months later.
How much does Lecy cost compared with an app?
Lecy starts at €35 a month per shop, tag included, with no set-up fee. A loyalty app means development or a platform subscription, plus maintenance over time.
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