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Mark Bridge writes:

Never mind customer loyalty, if you don't have an Apple iPhone you're a second-class consumer. That's the message I seem to have received from Nectar, the multi-retailer loyalty card company.

They've just sent me an email with a headline that reads "Exclusive bonus points offers at your fingertips". It goes on to say "Get the handy new Nectar app FREE on your iPhone or iPod Touch and receive exclusive bonus points offers at Sainsbury’s, Homebase, BP and many more great brands."

Apparently the app's been available for a few weeks, although I hadn't noticed because – oh, the shame – I don't have an iOS device. Therefore I won't be receiving the "exclusive bonus offers only available on the app". That's right, special offers only available if you have a particular type of mobile phone or music player.

Now, I realise that the idea of Nectar is to persuade you to alter your shopping habits in order to favour participating retailers. Visit Sainsbury's. Buy petrol from BP. Redecorate with Homebase.

There's even an internet search toolbar for Internet Explorer and Firefox. Which, unlike the iPhone app, is available to the majority of Nectar card users. The app is simply one step too far.

Rewarding a fragment of your customer base is no way to please the others. So please, please, can we call an end to this i-obsession?  I know I'm not the first to ask – Steve Dobson has warned against being "Apple happy", Tomi Ahonen has spoken of "App Store hysteria" and Martin Wilson diagnosed "iSyndrome". But this time it's personal.

If I want my loyalty card on my mobile phone, I'll trust Cardmobili. I'm certainly no longer a fan of Nectar. Because, for a company that talks about loyalty, Nectar has an odd way of rewarding it.

Nectar email

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Opinion Articles

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Opinion The Fonecast -

It was 1996 when I started working at the Cricklewood head office of Peoples Phone [writes Mark Bridge], initially in a sales support role before becoming part of the Marketing team. The company was an independent mobile phone retailer with a growing network of high-street shops and connected customers. In November 1996 the company and its customer base were acquired by Vodafone, which had already taken over the Talkland retail business and was soon to add Astec to its portfolio.

 

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By incorporating advanced algorithms and machine learning capabilities, AI can help to optimize a smartphone's performance, providing users with a faster, more efficient and user-friendly experience.
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Mark Bridge writes:

I've been taking a look back at the devices I've written about during the past few years. Some are still faithful companions, others... well, let's just say my faith was misplaced.
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Mark Windle, head of marketing at OpenCloud, predicts that this year’s reduction in the number of traditional telecoms operators in some countries will provide an opportunity for other operators to innovate and capture market share in 2016.

He says next year will be a year of rapid change for telecoms… whether it’s MVNO disruption, competitive tariff pricing or simply defence from the ‘dark art’ of hacking.

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Mark Bridge writes:

The most memorable moments in life often go unrecorded. You don't have your camera in your hands. Your finger is still hovering over the 'pause' button on your audio recorder. Or you were simply too busy experiencing whatever was happening. It's all about the one that got away.

That's where Kapture can help.

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Iain Graham, James Rosewell and Mark Bridge return to review their mobile industry predictions from last year. Which mergers, partnerships and developments did they forecast correctly... and which didn’t work out as planned?

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Mark Bridge learns about the mobile technology trends at Mobile World Congress 2015 by chatting to James Rosewell of 51Degrees, Dr Kevin Curran from the IEEE and Chris Millington of Doro.

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In today's programme Mark Bridge talks to Chris Millington, who's Managing Director for Doro UK and Ireland.

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