Glance Technologies (GET.C) is going through an identity shift, as they change their name to Perk Labs, and the name of their operating company from Glance Pay to Perk Hero Software, including a new mobile payment and loyalty rewards platform, which they’re calling Perk Hero.
The name change reflects a definitive shift in company strategy towards the customer loyalty app market, as well as to cultivate a wider appeal with the largest mobile app adopters and consumer spending groups: Gen Z and Millennials.
“The Perk Hero brand more squarely targets Gen Z and Millennials. Our research shows that Gen Z and Millennials are the most active users of mobile payments. They’re the most engaged and adept app user demographic for this type of application, which isn’t a huge surprise given they’re a generation of digital natives for whom smartphone use is second nature. Businesses recognize the need to evolve with this demographic if they want to win them over as loyal customers. Glance, too, is pivoting to reflect this new focus by launching a more Gen Z and Millennial-friendly brand,” said Jonathan Hoyles, Glance’s CEO.
As far as consumer trends go, getting onto the loyalty card train isn’t a bad one. Speaking from experience here, but we’re more likely to shop at a spot that offers loyalty options, be they a few bucks off your groceries per 10,000 points to the option of free (or written-down) swag. Granted, Tim Hortons has temporarily nixed their roll-up-the-rim promotion this year because their loyalty card rollout ended up eating into their profits and they couldn’t afford both. So they’ll be revamping that before releasing it later on this year. But Glance Technologies is not Tim Hortons. The latter is widely embraced international brand and the former is still trying to get enough attention to keep the lights on.
Research suggests that Gen Z and Millennials, both generations known to be digital natives, may be the best option for a company like Glance.
Research shows that:
- Gen Z will account for 40% of global consumers in 2020 (McKinsey & Company)
- Millennials are three times more likely to be excited about new mobile apps and features than older users. (ComScore)
- More than 2 out of 3 millennials say they’re always looking for new apps and wish they could do more with the apps they already have. (ComScore)
- 66% of millennial digital media time is using smartphone apps. (ComScore)
Here’s Hoyles on the appeal of this product:
“The 18-34 year old demographic is absolutely comfortable with paying via smartphones. For this tech-savvy generation, paying for a coffee using a pay-and-go method or buying an item with one click of a button has become the norm. They are driving the digital-driven payments landscape by demanding features and benefits that keep them engaged. Our goal is to leapfrog current mobile payment offerings in the market.”
Perk Hero
Perk Hero is built using an Amazon Web Services non-relational database and React Native mobile application framework. It includes some of the best features of Glance Pay, like the ability to make quick secure payments QR code or paying by photo.
Other new features include:
- Apple Pay Integration
- Google Pay Integration
- Mobile pre-order
- Powerful, game-ified loyalty reward platform allowing users to earn virtual coins as rewards
- All-in-one user and merchant application
- Merchant analytics and dashboard
- Artificial intelligence powered receipt recognition
Perk Hero will have a test run period at select locations before the broad rollout to the rest of the existing Glance Pay network of merchants and users. The Glance Pay app will still be available for awhile, so Glance users can have time to redeem their in-app rewards before the migration to Perk Hero.
The unstated problem is that there’s isn’t anything to differentiate it between the probably thousands of other products on display. Sure, it will have an appeal to the Gen Z and Millennial crowd, and sure some will definitely adopt it, but what’s new and exciting? Not much.
—Joseph Morton
