Land Securities’ £400 million retail destination Trinity Leeds has become the first shopping centre in Europe to provide customers with a loyalty scheme enabled for Apple Watch and Apple Wallet.
Since opening its doors in 2013, Trinity Leeds has been widely regarded as the most digitally enabled shopping centre in Europe, utilising a range of methods to blur the line between online shopping and traditional retailing.
Part of this drive involved the launch of its ‘Love Trinity Leeds’ loyalty programme which it introduced in January. With the latest initiative, members of the programme will be able redeem exclusive offers from retailers by scanning their Apple Watch in participating shops, bars and restaurants, including the award-winning street food concept Trinity Kitchen.
The Apple Watch has proved hugely popular and the use of wearable technology is forecast to increase by over 45 per cent over the next four years. This, together with last week’s launch of Apple Pay, will dramatically change the way consumers engage with retail environments, making Trinity Leeds’ initiative all the more timely.
Amy Richardson, Digital Marketing and CRM Director at Land Securities, said: “When it comes to loyalty programmes, convenience is key, which is precisely what we are championing by upgrading the ‘Love Trinity Leeds’ app.
“We have been able to successfully integrate the app and Apple systems with our beacon technology in order to create an entirely new dimension for shoppers in an already iconic retail environment.
“Those customers who wear an Apple Watch will be alerted to offers immediately, providing them with an early opportunity to take advantage of numerous fantastic deals across the centre.
“The speed at which consumers can access new offers is becoming increasingly important in the fast-paced world of consumer technology.”
At present, Trinity Leeds’ loyalty scheme boasts over 20,000 registered users, largely due to the fact that around 60 per cent of tenants at the centre have signed up for the scheme. Centre bosses hope that the introduction of the Apple software to the system by technology provider Coniq will encourage yet more consumers to join, granting them access to the exciting new dimension created in the overall shopping experience.
Chief executive officer of Coniq, Ben Chesser, believes the introduction of Apple technology to the existing system will allow Land Securities to further improve the shopping environment at Trinity Leeds.
He says; “A shopping centre loyalty programme run across a diverse retail environment is an innovation in itself, and Land Securities has taken it a step further.
“I am really excited to see the adoption of the Apple Wallet, and particularly to see shoppers scanning their watches at the point of sale. The data we can provide Trinity Leeds gets even more interesting with every additional channel added.”