App Fatigue is Real: Choosing an Event Loyalty Program That Visitors Will Actually Use

You’ve poured months of effort into curating the perfect event. You’ve brought together the best vendors, designed a beautiful space, and marketed it to thousands of potential visitors. There’s just one question left: how do you create a truly engaging experience that not only delights your visitors but also provides tangible value to your exhibitors?

For years, the standard answer has been a dedicated event app. But a hard truth is setting in across the industry: app fatigue is real. Your visitors are reluctant to download yet another piece of software they’ll only use for a day or two. Adoption rates are often disappointingly low, and the promise of a connected digital experience falls flat.

It’s time for a different approach. Instead of forcing an app upon your audience, what if you could offer a single, seamless loyalty program that works across your entire event, accessible with a simple scan of a QR code?

The Power of a Unified Event Loyalty Program

Imagine a bustling food festival or a large-scale market. Instead of each of the 20, 50, or 100 vendors running their promotion (or more likely, none at all), you provide a single, unified loyalty adventure for every visitor.

This is a concept we recently put into practice with spectacular results. At a multi-day food and culture market attended by tens of thousands of people, we deployed a single, app-less loyalty program. Here’s how it worked:

1. One Program, Many Vendors: Visitors joined one central loyalty program. Each exhibitor at the event was treated as a "location" within that program.

   
   

2. Instant, App-Free Onboarding: Visitors scanned a QR code at any booth to instantly get a digital stamp card on their phone. No app download, no complicated sign-up.

   
   

3. Rewarding Engagement: Every time a visitor purchased a booth, the exhibitor used a simple business app to give them digital stamps on their card. Collecting stamps unlocked a series of rewards, from small treats to premium gifts, all redeemable at a central point.

   
   

The Results: Driving Real Commerce and Engagement

The impact of this unified approach was immediate and measurable. It didn't just engage visitors; it actively drove commerce.

• Increased Spend: Exhibitors quickly realised the stamp card was a powerful sales tool. They could encourage customers to spend a little more to reach the next stamp threshold, directly increasing transaction values. For instance, a customer paying $45 might be encouraged to round up to $50 to secure a valuable reward.

  
  

• Visitor Circulation: The data showed that while many visitors purchased at one stall, a significant number were encouraged to visit multiple vendors to fill their stamp cards, driving traffic across the entire event floor.

  
  

• Impressive Engagement: For the several hundred visitors who participated in the loyalty scheme, the average spend was over $35, demonstrating a high level of commercial engagement. In total, the system tracked tens of thousands of dollars in spending across the vendors, providing the organiser with invaluable, concrete data on the event's success.

  
  

Why This Model Beats the Event App

This approach succeeds precisely where most event apps fail because it respects the visitor's time and convenience. You're not asking them to commit to downloading and learning a new piece of software. You're offering them a simple, immediate benefit that enhances their experience from the very first interaction.

For exhibitors, it provides an enterprise-grade loyalty tool they can use with minimal training. For organisers, it delivers what you've always wanted: a clear, data-backed view of visitor behaviour and commercial activity across your entire event.

This isn't a theoretical idea; it's a proven strategy. If you're looking for an event loyalty solution that your visitors will use, the answer isn't another app. It's an innovative, seamless, and unified platform like meed. It's loyalty that works for everyone—visitors, exhibitors, and you.

Contact us if you want to find out more about our meed for events solution.