What paper does well, what it cannot do, and what actually changes when the card lives in Apple or Google Wallet instead of a back pocket.
Paper works. That is worth saying first, because most arguments for going digital start by pretending it does not. A paper card costs almost nothing, every customer understands it instantly, and it needs no signup, no phone, and no explanation.
What paper cannot do is tell you anything.
When a paper card leaves your counter, it is gone. You do not know whose it is, whether they came back, or how many are in circulation. The only number you ever see is how many came back finished, which is the smallest and latest signal in the whole system.
You also have no way to reach the person. A customer who came in twice a week for two months and then stopped is invisible, and there is nothing you can do about it, because you never had a way to say "we have not seen you."
And a lost card is a lost customer. Not because the stamps mattered, but because starting over at zero is where most people quietly stop.
The card lives in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, next to the boarding passes and the concert tickets. Three things follow from that.
It cannot be lost. A new phone restores it with everything else. That removes the single most common way a loyalty card dies.
It updates in their pocket. When a stamp lands, the card changes where it sits. On iPhone that update shows on the lock screen, which means the shop gets a moment of attention it did not have to buy or ask for. Google Wallet updates the card without the lock screen alert, which is Google's behavior rather than anything a shop chooses.
You know who they are. Not in a surveillance sense. In the sense that you have a name and a way to reach them, so a regular who drops off can be invited back instead of just disappearing.
An honest list, because the trade is real.
The signup moment is the real obstacle, and it is solvable. The trade that works in a coffee shop is the WiFi password: the customer wants it, they are already sitting down, and the exchange is obvious to both sides. A card offered for its own sake converts far worse than a card offered alongside something the person came in wanting.
Shops that keep the paper card "for people who prefer it" end up with two sets of stamps, two sets of rules, and a barista deciding which one applies. Pick one. If you move to a card in the phone, honor the paper cards already out there until they are gone, and stop handing out new ones the day you switch.
If you want a small thank you for regulars and nothing more, paper is fine and always will be. If you want to know who your regulars are, notice when one stops coming, and be able to say something about it, the card has to be attached to a person. That is the whole difference. Everything else is detail.
It depends what you want from it. Paper is cheaper, instantly understood, and needs no signup. A card in the phone cannot be lost, updates on the customer's lock screen when a stamp lands, and is attached to a person you can reach. If you only want a thank you for regulars, paper is fine. If you want to notice when a regular stops coming, the card has to be attached to a person.
No. Apple Wallet and Google Wallet are already on the phone, so the card is added the way a boarding pass is. There is nothing for the customer to install and nothing for the shop's team to install either.
Trade it for something they already want at that moment. In a coffee shop the natural trade is the WiFi password: they are sitting down, they want it, and the exchange makes sense to both sides. A card offered on its own converts far worse than a card offered alongside something the customer came in wanting.
No. Two systems means two sets of rules and a barista deciding which one applies. Honor the paper cards already in circulation until they are gone, and stop handing out new ones the day you switch.
We are myReturners. We run the whole thing for independent coffee shops: the signup, the card, the emails and one campaign a month the owner approves. The numbers on this page are the settings we actually ship with, not projections.