Jay Shim
stamper
Read time:
6 min
Client:
Block Studios LLC
Industry:
Fintech
The Challenge
Identifying the Core Problem
Physical reward cards create friction for both customers and businesses. Users lose cards, forget them at home, and lack transparency in tracking their progress. Meanwhile, small businesses struggle to implement affordable, easy-to-manage digital loyalty programs that drive customer retention.
Understanding Users
Research Approach
I conducted qualitative interviews with 15 participants aged 18-45 and several business owners to identify pain points and validate assumptions about loyalty program behavior.
Physical Card
Users frequently misplace or forget stamp cards, resulting in lost rewards and frustration across multiple businesses.
Decision Fatigue
Forgetting a card forces users to choose between starting over or skipping the reward—damaging the customer experience and loyalty.
Transparency
Users distrust digital systems that don't clearly show reward progress, leading to disengagement from loyalty programs.
Discovery Gap
Users don't actively search for reward programs. They prefer discovering businesses organically while browsing nearby options.
Competitive Landscape
Competitive Research
I conducted a competitive analysis of eight loyalty platforms to identify market positioning, feature gaps, and opportunities for differentiation in the rewards space.
Key Finding
Most platforms serve either users or businesses well—but not both. There's an opportunity to create a platform that balances discovery for users with powerful, simple tools for business owners.
Strategic Alignment
Aligning what users want with what businesses need was essential to creating a platform that works for both sides.
User
Collect and track rewards in one place
See transparent reward progress
Discover reward-offering businesses
Business Owner
Attract and retain customers easily
Increase local visibility
Access actionable business data
Design Solutions
Centralized Digital Card Wallet
Physical cards get lost, forgotten, or buried in wallets. I designed "My Cards" as a central hub where users can store and manage all their digital stamp cards in one place.
Problem
Users lose physical cards and struggle to track rewards across multiple businesses.
Solution
Cards are automatically organized by status—recently added, actively used, or fully completed—giving users complete visibility.
Impact
Eliminates the primary friction point of lost cards while providing the transparency users demanded in research. Users can instantly see their progress without digging through a physical wallet.
Discovery Made Easy
Most users don't actively search for businesses with loyalty programs—they discover them while browsing for places nearby. I built a search and discovery experience that makes finding reward-offering businesses effortless.
Problem
Users struggle to find businesses with reward programs and don't know where to look.
Solution
Filter by location, view businesses on an interactive map, and explore options that match preferences.
Impact
Users discover businesses they didn't know offered rewards, while businesses gain visibility with motivated customers.
Business Discovery
Generic search results don't help users find businesses that match their preferences. I designed advanced search and filter tools that let users refine by business type, distance, and reward preferences. Giving users control reduces decision fatigue and helps them discover businesses aligned with their needs.
Deeper view of a business
Users can't easily understand a business's reward structure before engaging. Each business profile prioritizes the digital stamp card at the top of the visual hierarchy, followed by location, hours, and key details. Placing the card first ensures users immediately understand the value proposition and reward requirements before committing.
Scanning Digital Card
Manually tracking stamps creates friction at checkout and opens the door for errors. I integrated QR code scanning directly into the digital stamp cards.
Problem
Manual stamp tracking is tedious and error-prone for both users and businesses.
Solution
Users scan their digital card at checkout to collect points automatically.
Impact
Seamless for both sides, fitting naturally into existing checkout flow.
User redeeming rewards
Users don't know when they've earned rewards or how to redeem them. I streamlined the redemption process where users scan after purchase, track progress in real-time, and receive notifications when rewards are ready to claim. This eliminates the guesswork of "Did I get my stamp?" and makes everything transparent and automatic.
Business Owner scanning card
Busness owners need a solution that works for multiple employees and locations. I designed the scanning functionality to be accessible to all employees, where multiple team members can download the app and scan customer cards instantly. This makes implementation scalable for businesses with several team members or multiple locations, reducing barriers to adoption.
Enrolling with Stampr Business
Small business owners often lack the time or resources to set up digital loyalty programs. I designed a streamlined enrollment process that gets businesses up and running in minutes.
Problem
Business owners lack accessible tools to create digital reward programs.
Click "Have a business?" and follow a clear setup flow to create profile and customize rewards.
Impact
Lowering barriers means more businesses join the platform, creating more value for users and strengthening the ecosystem.
Enrolling to Business
Business owners can enroll by clicking "Have a business?" and completing a simple setup flow. I prioritized speed and clarity to reduce barriers to adoption.
Control over reward card
Businesses can customize their digital stamp cards background and logo. They also have control over the number of stamps on a card and how many rewards are given and when.
Stamp value
Businesses need control over program economics to ensure profitability. I designed a stamp value system where businesses set spending thresholds (e.g., $5 spent = 1 stamp earned). This gives businesses control over their program economics while maintaining simplicity for customers.
Publishing Page
Once published, business pages go live immediately, but owners can edit any section to make changes or updates as their business evolves. This balances speed to market with flexibility so businesses can iterate without starting over.
Analytics
Business owners can't measure the ROI of their reward programs or track customer engagement. I designed a dashboard that surfaces key metrics—cards issued, active users, stamps redeemed, and revenue impact—so business owners can track engagement over time. This transparency into program performance helps businesses make data-driven decisions and optimize their rewards strategy.
Multiple Businesses
I created a business switcher in the owner profile that lets users manage multiple businesses from one account, each with independent analytics, card designs, and settings. This reduces friction for multi-business owners and scales with their growth.
Key Takeaway
The biggest Key Takeaway from this project was knowing when to simplify. Early designs tried to pack in too many features, which actually made the experience harder to navigate. User testing showed me that people just wanted their stamp cards to work—no fuss, no confusion.
I learned that transparency isn't just about showing data; it's about building trust. When users could see their exact progress and businesses could track real metrics, both sides felt more confident in the system.
If I could do it again, I'd spend more time on the business onboarding flow earlier. Getting businesses onto the platform quickly turned out to be just as important as the user experience—without businesses, there's no ecosystem.