Stamp.it has secured £150,000 of investment from Markco Media. Mark Pearson’s company has provided the additional funding to help develop a loyalty platform for independent UK retailers.

The hefty cash injection for Stamp.it came off the back of an internal development process in Markco Media. The initiative gave employees the chance to pitch a potential business arm that could play to the company’s existing strengths and connections.

MarkcoMedia was attracted to Stamp.it’s potential as a loyalty platform for smaller retailers who wouldn’t normally have the resources to start such a project themselves. Should they sign up, merchants will profit from increased customer loyalty and engagement.

Insight Into Awards Performance

Using Stamp.it, retailers are able to create unique rewards and sift through detailed analytical insight to see how they’ve performed. The system works in a similar way to other high street schemes like Nectar.

Technology is veering towards a wallet-less operation and Stamp.it is one service hoping to fuel the march towards complete digital payment. Martin Herd, founder of Stamp.it, spoke of the customer desire for a loyalty card that could be used everywhere.

“With a ‘one card for all’ approach consumers, who have registered their details with us, can participate instantly, and the retailers have the added benefit of being able to track the performance of this method of proven marketing,” he said.

Linking Offline With Online

Consumers with an offline Stamp.it card will be able to link it to the smartphone application. Participating retailers then scan the virtual card with point of sale system in-store. The traditional card is available as a backup to the app.

A4u spoke to chairman and CEO of Markco Media, Mark Pearson, who mentioned the confusion for consumers with the sheer number of loyalty schemes available and how he hopes to fix this.

“Taking a more centralised, analytical and modern approach to loyalty will benefit both businesses and consumers and I’m looking forward to seeing how this investment develops,” he explained.