Novel, the leading e-commerce business has launched NovelPass. With the help of this product, Shopify merchants will be able to engage with their customers on an altogether different level. For the first time, brands can customise and roll out their own unique branded wallet passes. The product will be available to more than four million brands on Shopify ranging from large-scale businesses to boutique brands.
Contactless payment technology grew manifold during the coronavirus pandemic. In 2022, Google launched a complementary wallet pass platform and now it is virtually available on every mobile device. With iOS 17, even Apple plans to make a significant investment in its wallet pass capabilities. However, it is the implementation costs that make it impossible for all businesses to fully utilise it. Novel’s latest technology will enable brands to introduce customised mobile experiences that won’t need their customers to download a dedicated app.
Wallet pass technology is used by millions of people worldwide, yet so few brands have been unable to put it to work for them. We are thrilled to give millions access to technology that exists on every mobile device on the planet, making it personal to their brand and therefore their customers.
Roger Beaman, Co-founder & CEO, Novel
How it Works?
NovelPass will offer a unique experience to brands that are currently leveraging direct marketing tools like email or SMS to reach audiences on mobile devices. To drive engagement with the target audience, brands can also send push notifications and provide relevant and on-demand updates.
NovelPass is perfect for both online and physical stores. After the pandemic restrictions were lifted across the world, shoppers returned to physical stores, hence Novel realises the importance of catering to both worlds of e-commerce. Its geolocation and push notifications capabilities make sure that standalone merchants and big-box retailers can effectively leverage this powerful combination.
NovelPass will allow customers to have access to information related to product launches, important brand messages, upcoming events, and much more. Loyalty programs will be integrated with the existing programs and there will be no need to switch-up of current activations. Loyalty perks will also be supported by customer ‘conversational referrals’ made through QR codes. This enables shoppers to avail discounts as an incentive, boosting brand loyalty and awareness, rewarding customer-to-customer engagement. All of this is done without creating a separate platform or website. This ease of use helps Novel bring brands closer to their customers.
For Big and Small Businesses
Roger Beaman, co-founder & CEO of Novel is thrilled with the launch of this product. “Brand loyalty today is continuously evolving, and the means by which businesses – big and small – can attract customers where they spend their time every day, is of vital importance. Wallet pass technology is used by millions of people worldwide, yet so few brands have been unable to put it to work for them. We are thrilled to give millions access to technology that exists on every mobile device on the planet, making it personal to their brand and therefore their customers,” he said in a press release.
Margaret Fortner, VP of Growth at magnetic lash brand Glamnetic believes that NovelPass is perfect for products like theirs. “The customer acquisition process has changed substantially over the last few years, and as a comparably newer business to many in our space, we pride ourselves on constantly searching for innovative opportunities to diversify our channel mix and broader acquisition strategy,” Fortner said in a statement.
“Novel’s wallet pass is so unique in the way that it takes a traditionally clunky, digital, friction-filled activity in customer referral and turns it into a seamless, single-step action. It’s perfect for products like ours where the in-person ‘Wow!’ of discovery is key. With core features built on technology and apps that we all have pre-installed on our phones, we’re even removing a step where you often lose customers in a net new app download. We’re excited to continue building this core word of mouth channel in a forward-thinking way with the Novel team!” she added.
What Users Have to Say?
Ronak Shah, Co-founder & CEO of popular community-driven health and beauty brand Obvi is confident that this new technology by Novel is not only making things easy for merchants but also their customers. “As a company supported and powered by our followers, being able to reach them wherever they are and whatever they are doing, is invaluable. Now we’re able to build wallet passes with Novel’s technology, encouraging them to spread the word amongst their equally health and wellbeing-conscious friends is so easy. It means that when we have a new message or promotion, we’re confident we’re making it easy for our customers to access and share,” he commented.
Novel helps brands harness the potential of infrastructure and payment solutions available in the e-commerce world. Its expertise in transforming the traditional shopping experience is now available on mobile. Established in 2021, Novel has its headquarters in New York. It is backed by media and commerce mogul, Brian Sugar, Founder of Sugar Capital and POPSUGAR.
Building on Partnership
Earlier, in October 2022, Shopify announced a strategic partnership with Novel to provide its merchant partners with no-code Web3 technologies. Novel launched its Shopify app to enable merchants to gain Web3 innovation experience efficiently without any technical knowledge and time commitments. Even creators and brands can make use of the Novel app by enabling token-based utility on the Shopify store. The app uses Solana technology to provide multiple features such as cross-chain gating, token-gated products, URLs and discounts.
The following are the features of the Novel Shopify App:
- Minting: It promises assistance in the creation of a nonfungible token (NFT) collection or importing an existing one via Novel Generator.
- Distribution: Once made or imported, the collection will be dropped directly to the Shopify storefront. “Consumers can buy tokens just like they would at T-shirt,” Novel explains on Shopify App Store.
- Tokengating: It offers utility to the target community by “giving NFT holders exclusive access to gated products, content, discounts and experiences”.
“By integrating with Shopify, we’re able to leverage the industry-leading e-commerce platform they have built to equip all Shopify merchants with the tools they need to enter the Web3 commerce space,” Roger Beaman, CEO and co-founder of Novel, said as quoted by cointelegraph.com.
Shopify is investing strategically in Web3 technology with partners like Luxlock, Smart Token Labs, Verisart, Single and Thirdweb.
