Top 5 successful implementations of NFC technology

In the new normal post-pandemic, there has been a drastic shift in consumer behavior to contactless solutions. A recent study by Mastercard shows that 82% of people feel confident with contactless services around them.

NFC technology has proven to be a successful contactless solution to aid businesses in customer acquisition and engagement.

Over the last decade, there have been several implementations of NFC technology all over the world. The results show that end-users like the quickness and convenience of NFC technology.

NFC technology has helped marketers create interactive experiences, convey instant information, provide loyalty programs, ease contactless payments, and more.

Increased awareness and integration of NFC technology in multiple mobile devices has led to the growth of major businesses like China Mobile, Union Pay, Kraft Heinz, Adidas, and more.

Top 5 successful implementations of NFC technology

#1 China Mobile and Union Pay
#2 Kraft Heinz
#3 Suncorp stadium
#4 Orange and Eat stores
#5 Adidas

#1 Contactless NFC payments by China Mobile and Union Pay

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China Mobile, in association with China Union Pay, launched NFC payments service in more than fourteen Chinese cities, including Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou.

Customers were free to make mobile payments at participating merchants equipped with UnionPay QuickPass contactless POS terminals.

Eight banks joined the platform, including some of the country’s largest such as Bank of China, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, and China CITIC Bank.

With the widespread adoption, China Union Pay also piloted NFC services on public transportation services in Beijing.

#2 Kraft Heinz NFC program increases customer engagement

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Kraft recently piloted an NFC program at select grocery stores, which resulted in higher engagement levels than before.

For the program, RFID chips that could be read by NFC-enabled smartphones were placed in signage on the shelves right in front of Kraft cheese and Nabisco cookie brands.

Customers were introduced to the NFC chips and they tapped their smartphones on NFC chips to access i-Food Assistant apps, recipe contents, or share on Facebook.

The results from the pilot include that more than 36 percent of shoppers who tapped the NFC-enhanced shelf talker converted into an action, such as saving a recipe, downloading the Kraft app, or sharing with friends.

Additionally, the amount of time consumers engaged with the brand was 48 seconds when NFC was involved. This is significantly higher than the five to 10 seconds consumers typically spend at the shelf choosing a product.

#3 NFC event ticketing at Suncorp stadium eases operations

NFC based event ticketing in Suncorp stadium

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In May 2019, Suncorp Stadium implemented NFC technology for ticketing purposes. It was the first sports and entertainment stadium in Australia to offer contactless tickets on iPhone and Apple Watch.

ASM Global, the venue management company of Suncorp stadium, revealed that within 11 games conducted in the stadium, 15,000 fans had entered the venue using the NFC technology.

Around 60% of mobile ticket holders loaded their tickets to their Apple Wallet, preferring NFC tap-and-go mobile ticketing service than the manual one.

#4 Success of NFC loyalty programs in Orange and Eat stores

Posters with NFC device for customers to avail offers

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Orange and Eat launched Quick Tap Treats (QTT), an NFC voucher and loyalty service delivered through its retail partners to Orange customers.

Orange and Eat launched this service in 114 locations in the UK. The EAT. campaign enables customers with Orange NFC-enabled phones to tap posters located in EAT. Stores. Each tap spins a “wheel of fortune” which randomly selects a treat. After three spins the customer can choose a treat to redeem in-store.

Altogether, there were 24,614 transactions over the two months, working out to 410 transactions per day.

Three-fifths of consumers also purchased other additional items simultaneously when collecting their treats.

#5 Adidas uses NFC technology for in-store promotions

NFC key card to access prizes in Adidas store

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To drive customers to their new Originals store in Vancouver, BC, Adidas leveraged NFC technology for a tap to win the contest.

The campaign was called the “Hype Key” contest. Customers and @adidasCA followers on Twitter were invited to a secret location in Vancouver to acquire an NFC-enabled Adidas Hype Key Card. They registered to win a limited edition pair of Adidas shoes.

Only the first 150 people to arrive at the secret location received a Key Card, and only 50 prizes were available to be won. On the day of the store opening, Key Cardholders were invited to tap their Key Card at the in-store kiosk to see if they were a winner.

The promotions went on for ten days, with a maximum of 150 entries possible. 76% of total entries opted for the Adidas newsletters and helped them spread the news of their new store.

Learn other easy ways to engage customers using NFC

Lessons learned from Successful implementations of NFC technology

With the proper implementation of NFC technology, we see that there is incremental growth.

Various industries need to go contactless to ease the operations, increase customer engagement, and adjust to the new normal post-pandemic.

Many essential services like banks are modernizing their payment capabilities to support contactless NFC payments. This has led to the surge in instant and real-time payments amongst customers.

Not only for payments, but NFC technology is also helping businesses provide various proximity marketing solutions.

Businesses can get a leg up over their competitors by being more agile and optimizing their solutions with technologies like NFC to sustain the current value chain.