The Revolution of Loyalty: The Punch Card Goes Digital

I’m an avid thrifter. I’ve visited almost every thrift store in my town — more than once. At checkout, I’m often handed a punch card alongside my receipt. We’re all familiar with punch cards; spend $100, get $10 free! But we’re also all familiar with the concept of forgetfulness. By the time I’ve purchased enough to get me to the $100 threshold (which for me, doesn’t take long), the long-forgotten punch card has already made its way to a trash can or is making friends with the gum wrappers at the bottom of my purse. 

So imagine my smile when I went to check out at a store recently and noticed that they had transitioned to an electronic system that uses phone numbers and SMS to track rewards. In the quaint-but-archaic world of secondhand retail, this was a huge leap! Now I have a way to easily track my purchases, and the store has a way to easily reach me for upcoming sales to get more of my business. 

The evolution from paper punch cards to digital loyalty programs…