Shake Shack Looking to Lure Younger Consumers With Bitcoin Rewards Program
Burger chain giant Shake Shack Inc is taking advantage of the cryptocurrency wave by offering bitcoin as a reward for purchases made using Cash App wallet. This development is a major one for the company as it looks to increase its appeal to a younger customer base.
15% cashback on crypto purchases
Buyers will receive 15% of their purchases back in bitcoin on any Shake Shack purchase made with a Cash Card, a debit card for Cash App users. In addition, cash Card members can also access a reward program by buying items via Cash Boost. The cryptocurrency promotion is expected to run through mid-March.
The burger chain is looking to achieve two things at once by breaking into the younger market on Cash App and analysing how the use of crypto would influence their business in the future. Cash App largest customer base is the millennial and Gen Z age groups and this has attracted several brands to partner with the payment company.
This is not the first time that Shake Shack has made a move on cryptocurrency. Since 2018, the burger chain company has experimented with bitcoin on Cash App by allowing users to freely transfer to others on the app. In addition, users’ familiarity with bitcoin on the app spurred Shake Shack to work with Cash App on its rewards promotion.
Jay Livingston the chief marketing officer of Shack Shack noted that the result of the promotional event would help determine if the company would adopt crypto as a native means of payment.
“If we just started taking crypto right now at our kiosk, it would have shallow adoption, but through someone like Cash App, who’s been promoting it, you will get some more people who want it and want to learn,”
he added.
Growing demand for crypto from institutional investors
There has been an increase in the interest in cryptocurrency. For example, Coinbase Global Inc exchange recorded $1.14 trillion among institutional investors in 2021 compared with $120 billion in 2020.
Moreover, according to Visa Inc, 62% of crypto owners increased their use of digital currencies in 2021. In addition, 57% of consumers surveyed want to earn cryptocurrency via a rewards program. This has spurred brands to create strategies to know if their customers are interested in cryptocurrencies.
Adel Adelman, co-founder and CEO of Lolli Inc, believes that customer reward programs that offer bitcoins are one of the easiest ways to influence consumers and companies to join the crypto community. As a result, Lolli has overseen promotions from retailers like eBay Inc and Lowe’s Cos.
Managing director of technology at SJR, Gracie Page-Fozzati, noted that reward promotions like Shake Shack’s enable companies to interact with their clients while offering value to them.
“This loyalty scheme effectively subsidises the democratisation of crypto amongst a mainstream audience,”
Page-Fozzati said.
These remarks from experts suggest that the top brands can no longer ignore cryptocurrencies if they want to remain relevant in the future. It is therefore unsurprising that more companies are joining the train.
