The pizza chain is hoping to become a big player in mobile commerce and drive sales through its new app that allows customers to order, earn rewards and pay directly within its platform. With other big food retailers such as Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts and White Castle adopting mobile ordering, Blaze is hoping to stay update with trending technologies.

“Blaze’s app is a key part of the company’s digital technology infrastructure,” said Jerry Shen, senior marketing manager at Blaze Pizza. “Beyond the loyalty element, the app also provides an easy way to locate the nearest Blaze Pizza restaurant, and offers an online order history to quickly re-order favorites.

“A Nutrition Calculator even allows guests to build their own ‘virtual’ pizzas before they order, providing full transparency into calories and nutritionals,” he said.

Mobile order up
Users of the new Blaze rewards app will be able to earn loyalty points, known as flames, for each purchase made on mobile. Customers can place their orders through the app, by customizing their own pizzas and paying via mobile commerce.

Frequent visitors will receive a free pizza for every ten flames earned, which is based on how much a customer spends. To redeem the coupon for a free pizza and other rewards, users click on the promotion within the app and present their smartphone to the Blaze employee, who will scan the coupon code. Promotions are available within the My Rewards tab in the app.

Consumers can also locate a Blaze location nearby within the app, which taps into a smartphone’s GPS. Users can also build their pizza orders with a nutrition calculator and track past order history for faster reordering.

Rewarding experiences
Southwest Airlines similarly rewarded members of its frequent flyers program with an easier way to book a flight on mobile, showcasing how integrating loyalty with mobile convenience is an increasingly important strategy for brands (see more).

Also, Burger King rewarded loyal New Zealand customers with a convenient way to receive coupons and earn points for special deals through a new application (see more).

“Having a robust and intuitive mobile app is something we felt was authentic to the Blaze brand, and a piece of technology our passionate social media fan base has been asking for,” Mr. Shen said. “We have landed on an app that is easy to use, and enables our guests to ‘fire it up’ while on the go.

“Blaze Pizza also debuted its new loyalty program via this app, where guests earn flames by scanning the app during each visit and score a free pizza for every 10 flames earned,” he said.