Mobile ordering, payments and growth platform Mr Yum has announced a loyalty program designed specifically for the hospitality industry.

Called Boomerang, it allows customers to earn loyalty points and redeem them for food and drinks on Mr Yum.

The simple opt-in functionality is free for venues to use and customisable, with individual venues tailoring the earning and redemption rates applied to each transaction.

Users can see their points balance and redeem at checkout once minimum requirements are met and can see how many points they earn for each order, with this total automatically updated in their Mr Yum account.

Hotel chains and RSL clubs have been using loyalty programs to drive repeat visitation, but such tools have – until now – been out of reach of smaller operators.

Boomerang joins a suite of features Mr Yum has launched in the past six months, including social tabs (the ability to set up and share a tab for food and drinks), advanced batching (which allows venues to customise kitchen and bar
workflows), and a world-first partnership with Afterpay.

Mr Yum CEO and co-founder Kim Teo (above) said the loyalty function will be a “game-changer” for hospitality operators looking to increase their bond with customers and will drive much-needed visitation helping the industry recover from a year of rolling lockdowns.

“A Mr Yum loyalty product is huge news for bar owners wanting to reward their faithful customers,” she said. “It puts a powerful program in the hands of smaller operators who have done it tough over the past year and continue to face uncertainty.

“Bar owners can use it to form deep and lasting customer bonds by helping to focus their marketing efforts and reward loyalty.

“At Mr Yum, we’re focused on helping Australia’s drinks industry to get through this period and return it to being the bustling hub of creativity and innovation that has put it on the world stage.”

In addition to offering a loyalty program, Boomerang has discount and voucher functionality, enabling bars to provide tailored offers such as two-for-one cocktails and apply automatic discounts for VIPs and friends and family. It’s also a seamless way for bar owners to manage and apply staff discounts – offering a tracking and reporting tool that’s simple to implement in their venue. 

“Our powerful loyalty functionality will help venues recover from the continuing challenges of the past 12 months, allowing them to power marketing efforts with enriched data about their customers, who in turn get rewarded for returning.”

Early pilot venues have seen organic uptake of the program of more than 12.5% of all customers.

The head of marketing for 100 Burgers Group, Jackie Doran, said Mr Yum Loyalty is helping the group’s venues such as Hightail (above) form stronger customer relationships.

“By having the ability to reward our most loyal customers, we’re ensuring our venues will always be the first choice for after work drinks or a pub lunch with colleagues,” she said.

Boomerang’s loyalty program is currently in pilot and will be rolled out during 2021. Vouchers and discount codes are already available for venues to use.