Fobi AI (TSX-V:FOBI, OTCQB:FOBIF) Inc has announced a deal with S4S, Iceland’s largest shoe retailer, to digitize its traditional plastic gift cards and paper-based credit notes using its Passcreator Wallet pass.
Under the national agreement, the cards and notes will now be managed and redeemed using Fobi’s technology. It expects to generate immediate revenue through the licensing of Wallet passes to S4S through local digital development and IT services firm Leikbreytir.
S4S is Iceland’s largest non-grocery retail company with 14 stores and four online shops that carry brands such as Ecco, Sketchers and Nike Air. It also owns Ellingsen, Iceland’s most famous outdoor sports store.
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“Helping companies with their digital transformation is what we are all about and replacing plastic gift cards with Wallet pass digital gift cards makes enormous sense,” Fobi CEO Rob Anson said in a statement.
“Wallet passes are also a green and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional plastic gift cards. Working with Leikbreytir we were able to deliver a custom solution for S4S that solved their pain point in a remarkably fast time frame, which further supports the innovation and agility that the Fobi team bring to every project we work on,” he added.
Fobi said S4S had four key reasons for wanting to digitize their plastic gift cards and paper-based credit notes:
- Reducing its environmental footprint as plastic gift cards are harmful to the environment
- Costs savings as digital wallet passes cost less than physical gift cards to produce and manage
- Turning unknown customers into known customers for improved marketing and engagement opportunities
- To improve the customer experience and ensure they receive full value for their gift card purchases as unused physical cards are often lost or forgotten
“The Wallet pass gift card solution that Fobi and Leikbreytir have developed for us is truly revolutionary as it enables us to immediately become more environmentally friendly, reduce costs, increase profits and improve our customer experience when it comes to managing and redeeming their gift cards,” S4S CEO Petur Thor Halldorsson said.
“And their ability to deliver this solution so quickly to meet our very tight deadline for our advertising campaign showed incredible agility and justified our decision to work with them,” he added.
Fobi said S4S and Leikbreytir were originally working with another Wallet pass provider to try and deliver the solution in time for a massive upcoming advertising campaign for a new digital gift card program. When that solution was not robust enough for their needs, they turned to Fobi to help them deliver the full solution.
“The first email came into Fobi on a Friday evening and the solution was delivered on Monday, taking just one day of development to integrate Fobi’s Wallet pass platform into the existing S4S environment that Leikbreytir had developed,” the company said. “The new S4S Wallet pass digital gift card program launched successfully just four days later, together with a large advertising campaign which corresponded with the national election.”
Fobi noted that a report by Persistence Market Research revealed that the gift card market grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.3% from 2016 to 2020 and is expected to grow even faster from 2021 to 2031 due to the advent of digital gift cards creating a paradigm shift in the sector.
The company said it is perfectly positioned to take advantage of this growing market with its Wallet pass technology providing analytics, marketing and engagement benefits far beyond the simple digital gift card solutions of its competitors.
Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com