Landry’s Inc., the parent of Morton’s steakhouse, Bubba Gump Shrimp and a number of other restaurants, recently introduced the first bitcoin loyalty program in the hospitality space. Is cryptocurrency likely more of an enticement for many loyalty members than cash-back and other traditional rewards?
Landry’s Inc., the parent of Morton’s steakhouse, Bubba Gump Shrimp and a number of other restaurants, recently introduced the first bitcoin loyalty program in the hospitality space.
Supported by bitcoin startup NYDIG, Landry’s Select Club members earn one point back for every $1 spent at any of Landry’s 500 locations, with 250 points translating to a $25 reward. Customers opting into the bitcoin program can track the value of their points and redeem them in $25 reward increments based on market prices.
Trey Zeluff, director of Digital Asset Strategy at Landry’s, said in a statement, “We view bitcoin as a good choice for a portion of our own treasury, so we want to offer that choice to our customers as well.”
Covering the launch, The Wise Marketer identified three unique attributes about the program:
Built into the program format is a value-appreciation factor for customers’ bitcoin points, increasing their relative buying power as they mature as members.
The program provides an interesting test-case to potentially prove the power of bitcoin made readily available in exchange for quick-access consumer goods, like food.
The fact that Landry’s Select Club members are comprised of patrons from many different brands provides a fertile wellspring of data to better understand how different demographics and audiences respond to cryptocurrency rewards.
A just-released study from digital assets platform Bakkt — which last fall partnered with rewards Mastercard to support crypto rewards — found that, of those who purchased crypto at least one time in the past six months, 72 percent are likely to redeem loyalty points for cryptocurrency and about half are interested in earning cryptocurrency instead of points.
Nancy Gordon, chief product officer for Loyalty at Bakkt, told GOBankingRates, “Rewards is an appealing on-ramp into crypto given that it upgrades what has traditionally been a passive store-of-value into an active store-of-value, that has the potential to increase over time.”
Starbucks, Newegg, Whole Foods, Nordstrom, Home Depot and GameStop are among retailers currently accepting crypto payments.
