THE APPLICATION OF BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY IN LOYALTY PROGRAMS

This study investigated a digital app (loyalz), which enables users in Switzerland to collect, redeem, and share loyalty points offered by multiple merchants. The question of particular interest in this context was whether a new service (Swiss Loyalty Scheme), which will also enable the peer-to-peer (P2P) exchange of loyalty points between users, should be based on Blockchain technology (BCT), and whether this technology meets both the app users’ and the merchants’ requirements. A comparison of the different implementation possibilities of a BCT-based SLS solution with the qualitative survey results and the conditions the surveyed merchants have for the SLS that can be derived from these results shows that there is limited room for maneuver in the implementation or that due to this even the advantages of BCT disappear.