Sticky Customers On chain
Updated: Jan 10
Blockchain technology matters for loyalty programs and this is why. Making them more secure, transparent, and effective.
Loyalty programs are designed to reward customers for their repeat business, encouraging them to continue shopping at a particular store or using a particular service. However, traditional loyalty programs can be prone to fraud and may not always be trusted by customers.

Blockchain technology offers a solution by creating a decentralized and immutable record of transactions. With a blockchain-based loyalty program, points or rewards are recorded on the blockchain and can't be altered or deleted, ensuring that the program is transparent and secure.
Another advantage of using blockchain for loyalty programs is that it allows for the creation of more personalized and targeted rewards.
Since all customer transactions are recorded on the blockchain, companies can use this data to get a better understanding of a customer's preferences and tailor rewards accordingly.
There are several ways that a blockchain-based loyalty program could increase customer retention. Improved trust in the program, increased engagement through personalized rewards, and reduced friction in the redemption process may all contribute to customers feeling more loyal to the company and more likely to continue shopping with them.
There are already a number of companies using blockchain technology to power their loyalty programs. Loyyal, Chain Advantage, Winding Tree, and Bank of America are just a few examples. It is likely that we will see more and more companies adopt this technology in the future as it becomes more widely understood and adopted.
One possible added value for a loyalty program using blockchain technology is the use of a decentralized governance system like Cardano's Catalyst program. This could allow customers to propose and vote on changes to the loyalty program, making it more responsive to their needs and preferences and increasing their engagement and loyalty to the company. However, it is important to carefully consider whether or not the Catalyst program would be a good fit for a particular loyalty program.

Web3, short for "Web of Trust", is the term used to describe the next generation of the internet, which aims to bring back the decentralized nature of the web as it was originally intended. Web3 technologies, such as blockchain and decentralized finance (DeFi), are already having a significant impact on various industries, including the national lottery.
In traditional national lottery systems, players must trust that the operator is fair and that the drawing process is random. However, with web3 technology, players can verify the fairness and randomness of the drawing process using smart contracts. Smart contracts are self-executing contracts with the terms of the agreement between buyer and seller being directly written into lines of code. These contracts are stored on the blockchain, making them transparent, immutable, and secure.
One example of a web3 national lottery system that uses smart contracts is FairLotto. FairLotto is a decentralized lottery platform that uses the Ethereum blockchain to ensure the fairness and randomness of its drawings. Players can see the results of each drawing and verify that the outcomes were determined by the smart contract rather than by the operator.
Web3 technology also enables players to have more control over their funds. With traditional national lottery systems, players must trust that the operator will pay out their winnings. However, with web3 national lottery systems, players can withdraw their funds at any time without having to rely on the operator. This is because the funds are stored in a smart contract rather than with the operator.

In addition to increasing fairness and giving players more control over their funds, web3 technology can also enable new types of national lottery experiences. For example, the use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) can enable the creation of unique, collectible items that can be used in national lottery games.