Full Case Study
Project breakdown
Key Takeaway
A regional restaurant group with 14 locations replaced their $4,800/month point platform with a custom NFT loyalty system. ERC-1155 with three tiers: Bronze (1 visit), Silver (10 visits), Gold (50 visits, cap 500). Magic Link social login for zero-friction onboarding. 78% wallet adoption. 340% repeat visit increase. 89% redemption rate. Payback: 6.3 months.
The Problem
The client was paying $4,800/month for a third-party loyalty points platform. Redemption rate: 12% (industry average). Points had no transferability — a customer who earned points at one location could not give them to a friend, sell them, or trade them. The value was trapped and ultimately expired unused.
What We Built
Smart contract (Polygon PoS):
ERC-1155 contract with three token tiers: Bronze 'Guest' token: earned after first visit (free mint). Silver 'Regular' token: earned after 10 visits (transferable, unlocks 10% menu discount). Gold 'VIP' token: earned after 50 visits (limited supply 500, transferable, unlocks 20% discount + monthly exclusive event access).
Magic Link onboarding:
No seed phrase. Customers log in with their existing Google or Apple ID. A non-custodial wallet is created transparently. The customer sees 'Your loyalty token' — not 'Your Ethereum wallet.' 78% completion rate on first visit.
Secondary market:
Customers can transfer their tokens to friends. Gave someone a Gold token as a gift? The recipient gets VIP benefits. The viral mechanic — existing customers giving tokens to new customers — drove 22% of new customer acquisition in month 3.
Results at 90 Days
| Metric | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly repeat visits | 1,840 | 8,096 | +340% |
| Customer wallet adoption | N/A | 78% of new loyalty signups | — |
| Token-to-friend transfers | 0 | 847 | — |
| Monthly platform cost | $4,800 | $420 (infrastructure) | -91% |
| Average check (loyalty customers) | $34 | $47 | +38% |
| Redemption rate | 12% | 89% (tokens actively used) | +642% |
Development cost: $28,000 (smart contract + Magic Link integration + POS API + admin dashboard). Monthly infrastructure cost: $420 (Polygon node + API hosting). Payback vs prior platform cost: 6.3 months.
