Cardstar adds foursquare integration so you can check in…while checking out?
According to ReadWriteWeb, the next version of the CardStar app will support foursquare checkins. It’s a strange play that looks more like a move to capitalize on a popular social network than an actual useful feature.
Cardstar is an app that aims to replace the loyalty cards in your wallet by showing scannable barcodes on your mobile phone’s screen. In version 3.0, you’ll be able to connect the app to your foursquare account. You’ll automatically be checked in to stores you’ve marked as favorites when you pull up that store’s bar code in the app.
To me, this seems counter to the idea of checking in on foursquare in the first place. With the exception of the gym (I’ve never gotten the CardStar barcode to work at mine anyway), you’d be using the app as you’re checking out of a store, not into the store. The point of foursquare is to let your friends know where you are and see the tips other users have left. Checking in as you’re leaving doesn’t help with any of that.
ReadWriteWeb says:
There aren’t any game mechanics involved, there is no cheating and no “faking it,” – when CardStar users present their mobile application to a merchant, they’re physically there. And they’re not using the app to win a badge or become “mayor” (the rewards doled out to regular users of the mobile check-in app Foursquare), they’re using CardStar simply because it’s convenient to do so.
A CardStar checkin won’t be any more difficult to “fake” than a regular foursquare checkin. There’s no verification that the barcode has been scanned; it’s just a static image on the screen.
In the end, I’d prefer foursquare to replace loyalty cards alltogether. It looks like foursquare is already working toward this future. Once they’re able to better deter cheating and offer merchants more confidence that checkins represent actual customers, we’ll start seeing more companies moving in that direction and the need for apps like CardStar will be negated.
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I am with you on the loyalty idea. I work in the apartment marketing space and I can see foursquare playing a role if the authenticity piece gets worked out.
I see loyalty programs such as check in while paying your rent six months in a row and get a discount to the goods, wares or services of a hyper-local merchant. It’s a win/win/win for the community.
Foursquare needs programs like this to survive long-term. Checking in for fun and badges will only last so long. I think Foursquare will eventually become a rewards/coupon platform, possibly merging with other companies like Cardstar.
Dude, Foursquare is already a reward/coupon platform. Any business on Foursquare can create specials.
People who keep saying Foursquare needs to add coupons are confusing form and function. They can’t recognize that Foursquare is offering coupons, because it doesn’t look enough like the old way of delivering coupons.