Customers in Korea love saving points. While Americans love coupons, Koreans love loyalty point cards. Everywhere you go in Korea whether it is a movie theater, shopping mall, coffee shop, or restaurant, they will if you are a part of some kind of loyalty point or rewards program. Korean startup Spoqa which was founded by co-CEOs Grant Sohn and Richard Choi has been helping retail stores in Korea that deal with food and drinks get rid of the loyalty stamp cards which can easily be lost and a pain to store. Spoqa is the developer of dodo point, Korea’s #1 offline rewards service. Since their launch back in 2012, they have amassed over 35 million users.
How Does Dodo Point work?
Dodo Point allows customers to collect points and rewards at offline retail shops simply by putting in their mobile numbers. It is a tablet-based point-of-sale device for retailers. Spoqa will install tablets at restaurants or stores. All the customer has to do is input their phone number. They accumulate points which can exchange for free items. No apps or registration is required.
It is great for sellers because they get to receive essential data on their customers such as which items they prefer. In addition, they can send promotions, discounts, and special offers directly to their customers.
Dodo point is in over 30,000 offline affiliate stores with most of its users under 40 years old.
“Consumers’ needs are becoming increasingly diverse, and are growing beyond the simple shopping experience. In this regard, Dodo Point is gaining traction with many partners in many different industries,” said the Co-CEO of Spoqa, Grant Sohn.
Helping Retail Stores in South Korea go Digital
There are still restaurants and coffee shops in Korea that offer physical loyalty stamps in 2023. However, many customers in Korea have complained about misplacing their cards and end up having many of the same loyalty cards from the same restaurant or coffee shop. Once a card is fully completed, the customer can exchange it for a free item or a discount. Spoqa looks to make this process as simple and easy as possible.
Therefore customers will not need to carry around cards in their purses or wallet. All they have to remember is their phone number. This is a much easy way of dealing with loyalty cards than The Smart Wallet app which requires the user to download the app and have the retailer scan a bar code.
Spoqa partnered with Kakao back in 2017 to help merchants connect with their loyal customers. Saving points in South Korea is rewarding and now it is getting a lot easier. Soon there will be no need to answer those follow-up questions after paying, all you will need to do is input your phone number and the rest is taken care of.
