Constant Contact buys CardStar

Retail loyalty specialist snaps up mobile app maker.

US-based Constant Contact offers 'user engagement' tools that currently help over 450,000 small organisations worldwide to reach over two million end users - mostly via email.

It's swooped for Boston-based CardStar in order to better prepare for the inevitable mobilisation of such activity.

CardStars' apps extend the use of loyalty cards and mobile coupons among consumers. They let consumers use a single app rather than a series of physical cards, while giving merchants the ability to track purchase behaviour and reward loyalty.

“For small businesses, it’s all about finding and connecting with their next customer, whether that customer is returning or brand new,” said Goodman. “Today’s consumers don’t just want – but expect – to access information and make decisions on the go, and they want to be rewarded for their support and loyalty.

"The CardStar mobile loyalty application lives at the intersection of these needs, letting consumers engage with businesses on the go and providing businesses with expanded opportunities for the kind of customer engagement that drives business results.”