London restaurateurs lead the mobile payment charge
By Retail Technology | Tuesday July 29 2014
Fernandez & Wells and Hummus Bros are among the first retailers in London to roll out a mobile payment and loyalty app
Café chain Fernandez & Wells and Levantine eatery Hummus Bros are pioneering the use of a mobile payment and loyalty app which has already found an audience at Imperial College London’s South Kensington campus.
The Yoyo app is in the process of being integrated at the universities of Greenwich and Westminster and will soon be available at a total of 62 retail outlets across the capital. More locations are set to follow, including Brunel University.
No more queues
The Yoyo app simplifies the process of paying for goods at Fernandez & Wells’ six London outlets, including its latest space inside fashion brand Jigsaw’s store on Duke Street, Mayfair. The app not only cuts queuing times but also provides Fernandez & Wells with a marketing and loyalty platform that enables it to reward frequent customers.
“More and more of our Exhibition Road cafe customers [from Imperial College London] were asking if they could pay for food and coffees using their mobile phones,” said Rick Wells, co-founder of Fernandez & Wells. “And of course it didn’t take us long to realise that we needed to speak to Yoyo.”
Targeted promotions
“It's not just the speed and ease of payment that makes the platform perfect for Fernandez & Wells, it's the ability to connect with each and every customer who uses Yoyo," continued Wells. "Instead of offering a fairly random promotion to customers or stamping a loyalty card, I like the idea of being able to reward loyalty in a novel way. With Yoyo, we can encourage a regular to try something they might not normally have; a glass of chilled manzanilla, for example, or a plate of grilled padron peppers.”
Total integration of the Yoyo mobile app across Fernandez & Wells’ six cafes and Hummus Bros four London outlets is currently underway.
