Location-based Wallet notifications mean that a card in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet can appear on the lock screen when the customer is near your shop. You register the address, and the phone itself decides if and when the card appears. It is a bonus, not a guarantee, and you only control part of it.
Here is how it works, what you can write, how iPhone differs from Android, and how to make the most of it without over-promising.
How does it work?
You enter one or more locations for the card, for example your shop’s address. Those locations travel with the card to the customer’s phone. The phone’s system then compares them with the device’s position and can show the card on the lock screen. Fidelia does not pass on anyone’s location: it is the phone that compares.
The customer can turn the feature off in their settings; if so, nothing happens.
Apple and Google: what is the difference?
Apple Wallet. You can enter a short text shown on the lock screen, and the distance is set to about 100 m around the shop. But iOS decides whether to show the card. Apple promises nothing, and sometimes the card simply doesn’t show.
Google Wallet. The locations are on the card, and Google sets the distance and the timing itself. You can neither write a text nor change the radius.
What can you promise?
Nothing. Don’t write in the shop that the customer will always get a reminder. Say instead that the card sometimes appears on the lock screen when you walk by. A customer who sees nothing won’t be disappointed if you promised nothing.
Which businesses is it useful for?
It suits places with a lot of foot traffic where a small reminder can make a difference: a café near a station, a bakery on the way to work, a shop on a high street. When the customer already passes several times a week, it is all the more natural.
It suits a business off the beaten track less well, where nobody walks by by chance. You then need to give another reason to visit, and a regular message is a better tool.
How do you set it up?
In Fidelia, it is set up in the dashboard, in the locations section. You search for your shop and the location is added to the card. You can register up to ten locations, for example if you have several points of sale. The feature is part of Pro, at €59 per month excl. VAT: see the pricing.
In short
The reminder near the shop is a bonus that sometimes gives a small nudge. The phone decides; Apple lets you write a text, Google doesn’t. Promise nothing, combine it with regular notifications and see it as a complement. The 14-day free trial is enough to feel the effect in your shop. If you are just starting, begin by launching the program.