Everyone and their mom is jumping into the check-in game, but CardStar integrating location-based services makes a ton of sense.
With the CardStar 3.0 Apple iPhone app, the company is working with Foursquare to enable users to check in to nearby stores. It eventually plans to work with other location-based game providers like Gowalla and others to let you check in when you use this loyalty-card app. The social aspect of checking in could lead others to use the app.
If you’ve never checked out the program, I’d suggest you try the free Apple iPhone app because it’s a solid way to clear out your key chain or wallet. Once you input your membership numbers from places like a gym, grocery store or pharmacy, you can just use your phone for the loyalty programs.
“It’s always been a marketer’s dream to influence a consumer before, during and after the shopping experience,” said Andy Miller, CardStar CEO, in a prepared statement. “The CardStar platform will provide marketers the opportunity to present customers with the right offer at the right time on the right device.”
The 3.0 version of the Apple iPhone app also includes:
– Backup & Sync – To eliminate the hassle of reentering card numbers for new phones or syncing across multiple devices, the app now offers CardStar Connect; the feature protects user privacy by generating an anonymous user ID and storing card data in the cloud where it can be accessed anytime simply by entering a private PIN.
– Favorite Places – Users can enhance CardStar by adding frequent haunts to their favorite places list. The favorite places feature uses geo-location to automatically display a specific loyalty card and lets users easily check in to Foursquare.
– Support for iOS 4 – the program now boasts the latest operating system’s fast app-switching feature and support for high-resolution icons.
The company has submitted the 3.0 upgrade to Apple and the new version of the iPhone app is expected to be available this week.