When it comes to mobile transactions and loyalty programs, two major options stand out: native wallets and branded apps. Learn the pros and cons for each. … Read...

Capturing customer attention in today’s fragmented, digital world is more challenging than ever. With countless options available at their fingertips, consumers are bombarded with marketing messages from every direction....

For growing QSR brands, creating meaningful customer connections requires more than just great food – it demands a sophisticated blend of technology and operational excellence. With the right technology...

At this year’s FSTEC conference, the “build versus buy” debate was a hot topic. Should restaurants build proprietary technology solutions or buy off-the-shelf platforms? Well, industry leaders from Papa...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLL9eWQqcEk At this year’s IndustryNow’s QSR Summit in Chicago, Sparkfly’s Jon Greenlee sat down with Jason Scoggins, Senior Director of Customer Activation at Chipotle, to discuss the restaurant industry’s...

Driven by a desire to serve up simple ingredients with a seamless experience, Chipotle has undergone a significant digital transformation over the past few years, establishing itself as a...

Discounts may attract a moth to a flame, but they’re just a flash in the pan when it comes to true brand loyalty. If you’re looking to build a...

Sparkfly’s platform was designed to seamlessly integrate with a variety of partners so that we can create a completely customized marketing experience for our customers and a state-of-the-art experience...

As customer expectations continue to evolve and tech innovations change the loyalty landscape, it’s more important than ever for brands to understand the dynamics driving brand loyalty and engagement...

Cybertrucks, music generated from brain waves, and shoppable TV. 2023 has unquestionably ushered in its fair share of technological advancements, with none more omnipresent than everyone’s new favorite phrase:...

Unicorn startups have wowed the investment community, but it’s time the real value creators in the market got their due. The goal for companies today needs to be building...

If you said that drive-thrus have come a long way since their debut, you’d be making the biggest understatement since you told your spouse you only wanted one French...

The rise of data, big and small, has transformed every moment of our lives for decades.  We check Google Maps for the best route, our smart watches for our...

Digital transformation for QSRs isn’t something that just happens. You must dedicate time, resources, planning, testing, and collaboration to ensure you’re implementing a digital strategy that aligns with your...

The greatest tech innovations of today mold the restaurants of tomorrow – which is why the Sparkfly team was so excited to head to Grapevine, Texas, for FSTEC 2022....

Inflation, gas prices, a lack of consumer confidence…oh my! Restaurants are in the middle of a perfect storm as they continue to recover from the pandemic, tackle today’s uncertainty,...

Fall is right around the corner with its cooler weather and homemade soup. But, for the restaurant industry, bidding summer adieu can be a major bummer because all of...

The weight of COVID’s stay-in-place edicts could have completely crushed the restaurant industry — if not for the massive upswing in digital ordering innovation. From burritos to burgers and...

Chipotle. McDonald’s. Panera. What do these large restaurant chains have in common? Aside from traditionally dominating market share, they have also entered the new digital frontier by embracing the...

The rise of digital in every industry may have gotten a huge boost from the pandemic, but as we slowly put COVID behind us, it shows no signs of...

What makes a travel experience unforgettable? A number of factors come into play, including getting your personal preferences met and having all of your wants and needs fulfilled in...

Remember when people once believed going to an office was the only way to work? Even before the pandemic, that bubble started to burst as the rise in work-from-home...

What do consumers desire? It’s an old-age question that all brands struggle with, and continue to obsess over, throughout their lifetime. Consumer purchasing patterns can change on the drop...

The Sparkfly team has big goals for 2022, and to help us accomplish them, we’ve added two experts. Kent Carpenter has over two decades of experience in sales for...

As a Gold sponsor at the recent Restaurant Leadership Conference (RLC) in Phoenix, AZ, Sparkfly enjoyed a front-row seat to all of the insights and inspiration industry experts shared...

Technology can serve as an incredible toolbox, full of things to help your company run more smoothly. But it can also hold distractions—shiny objects with lots of features that...

If 2020 proved one thing to brick-and-mortar grocery stores, it’s that the ability to offer a fast and efficient online shopping service has clearly demonstrated its worth. Providing consumers...

When the calendar flips to April, it doesn’t just mean the end of Q1 or the final countdown to earnings reports. For the past 15 years, April has also...

Check out any of the recent retail trade publications and there’s a good chance you’ll see an organization that has brought in a new Chief Technology Officer (CTO). In...

In a span of three months, Chipotle generated a major buzz with not one, not two, but three digital promotions. With a 24.7% increase in digital sales in 2021...

Loyalty. It’s the culmination of your retail brand from top to bottom. It’s the true test of what customers really think of the experiences you give them. It’s also...

The supersonic shift to eCommerce the retail industry experienced at the beginning of the pandemic — and is still experiencing today — has created a shift in customer loyalty....

Welcome to 2022 — where new digital conveniences give us the power to buy practically anything with the tap of a finger, but where the age-old phrase “The customer...

We’re always advocates of thinking outside the box. It’s how we find the best solution to meet each client’s specific needs. While loyalty programs are an important part of...

At the beginning of 2021, the retail industry was past the initial triage from the pandemic but was still largely in a reactive mindset. After all, brick and mortar...

If you’re like most retailers, merchants, and restaurants, you’ve had your foot firmly on the gas pedal since the pandemic upended the way people live, work, and spend money....

If you want to maximize your most loyal customers and keep up with the industry leaders that have an ever-growing digital footprint, you need an amazing app, right? Not...

We talk a lot about loyalty when it comes to marketing strategies and customer experiences, but we want to take a moment to honor the loyalty our veterans have...

The pandemic forever changed a number of things, not the least of which is how people do their holiday shopping and how brands need to prepare for it. Now...

The pandemic was like the beginning of a track meet for digital transformation — some companies were already in the starting blocks, while others were still stretching their legs....

Even the most tech-savvy of marketers tends to skip over articles dedicated to middleware because, hey, that’s an IT topic, right? Nope. While the term “middleware” may be more...

What is it that empowers the everyday to become innovative? Resources. While the specifics may look different depending on the organization, the fact is that being able to devote...

We’re smack dab in the middle of a whole new world for the restaurant industry. While the National Restaurant Association predicts sales will rise 20% to $789B in 2021,...

“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” It’s been over 2,300 years since Aristotle came up with that nugget of wisdom, and while we’re certain he...

When’s the last time you searched for something “near me” on Google? If you’re like most consumers, you’re doing it more and more. Between 2017 and 2019, “near me”...

Did you know that there’s a “Get to Know Your Customers Day” on the third Thursday of every January, April, July, and October? We appreciate the enthusiasm, but the...

Customer loyalty has always been vital to the bottom line, but in light of all the changes that the pandemic ushered in, loyalty is something you absolutely have to...

Let’s face it, lots of loyalty programs feel the same. In exchange for handing over an email address, your customers can make purchases to rack up points that eventually...

Is there any industry that’s been on a bigger rollercoaster over the last 18 months than retail? Overnight, traditional brick and mortar was replaced by an unprecedented demand for...

It’s time to get back to normal. That’s what you’ve been telling yourself, your colleagues, your investors, your other stakeholders. But what does “normal” look like for 2021 and...

Now that we’re halfway through 2021, how are you navigating the new normal? What are you doing to accommodate all of the changes we’ve seen in customer behavior? How...

Welcome to your journey towards a cookieless world. Those third-party cookies that marketers love so much — and that consumers are so annoyed by — are fading fast. While...

We’ve all been there before. You’re craving a specific food that is being featured with an online offer from your favorite restaurant. You do everything you’re supposed to do:...

The dictionary defines “reactive” as “reacting to events and situations rather than acting first to change or prevent something.” When you look at it that way, 2020 was the...

Sparkfly’s platform was designed to integrate seamlessly with a variety of partners so that we can create a completely customized marketing experience for our customers and a state-of-the-art experience...

Here at Sparkfly, we’ve worked on so many different technology projects and we’ve learned which providers can truly make a difference. Our platform was built to integrate with a...

Odds are it’s only been a few minutes since you last checked your phone. Some studies say we check our phones 58 times per day, with others estimating we...

“What do you want for lunch?” It’s a question you ask all the time, and more often than not, the answer depends on convenience and stomach space. When it...

Quick serve restaurants (QSRs) have always had slim profit margins—typically 6-9%. When the numbers are that tight, the last thing these businesses need is fraud to take away from...

The words “out of the box” evoke the same feelings in today’s business leaders that “batteries included” did in kids who grew up in the 1980s—pure joy and excitement...

We designed the Sparkfly platform to seamlessly integrate with all kinds of partners so that we can create a customized marketing experience for merchants and the very best customer...

There’s a good reason why the old adages, “It’s a two-way street” or “It’s a give and take…” are popular among couples who describe why their relationship works well:...

Most people are drawn to what is new and exciting–that applies to brands as well as individual consumers. Even in the best of times, some brands may stray from...

Test. Analyze. Adjust. Repeat. It’s the best way to find what works for your brand–within reason. When you’re trying to scale your marketing efforts, specifically with digital channel choices,...

As brands regain their footing in 2021, they’re finding it’s time to look beyond surviving the events of 2020 and instead look ahead to see how they can thrive...

One of the toughest challenges in marketing is customer acquisition. It tends to be a more expensive undertaking than retention efforts and it’s become increasingly complicated in today’s marketing...

As we entered 2020, mobile ordering was predicted to see significant growth with the potential to cause a noticeable shift in the industry. Like so many things, the current...

Sparkfly Founder and CEO Catherine Tabor has been named a member of the Forbes Council, an invitation-only community for top executives and entrepreneurs. Forbes Councils are grouped together by...

The Coca-Cola Company introduced the first coupon in 1887–a free glass of cola valued at five cents. Over the next 25 years those handwritten coupons amounted to 8,500,000 free...

One of your ultimate goals as the head of marketing is to create a cohesive and integrated digital ecosystem that embraces available technologies and strategies. By connecting the dots...

Sparkfly was recently named one of the 2020 Best Places to Work by the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Out of the 47 companies who made Atlanta’s 17th annual list, Sparkfly...

Founder and CEO Catherine Tabor was recently featured on the Student to CEO podcast, a podcast designed to encourage young entrepreneurs and provide resources, inspiration and connections. “I have...

QSR digital strategy pioneers like Chipotle have already shown they know what it takes to weather the storm of transformation, and that experience has placed them near the front...

Did you know that more than half of all POS transactions will be contactless by 2022? While the convenience and speed of contactless order and pay has contributed to...

It can be easy to put your customer acquisition strategy on autopilot, relying on print and email marketing to reach and engage new customers. Does your strategy consist of...

A fully integrated digital ecosystem has the power to deliver an exceptional customer experience, increase loyalty and drive incremental revenue. Have you ever wondered how your brand’s digital ecosystem...

Sparkfly is a SaaS platform that supports an array of well-known merchants, helping them achieve new levels of success with their use of offers or promotions to drive revenue...

Get to know Allison McGinley, our Vice President of Professional Services. Where are you from?  Atlanta, Georgia What is your role at Sparkfly?  My title is Vice President of...

When a customer has a negative experience with your brand, your customer service team works hard to address the issue and re-engage the customer, often with an appealing offer...

Get to know Jon Greenlee, our Vice President and General Manager of Hospitality. Where are you from? Kansas City Education University of Missouri – Kansas City, Bachelor of Business...

Catherine Tabor, Sparkfly CEO and Founder, was recently featured on the Cheetah Digital Thinking Caps video podcast. Catherine joined Richard Jones, CMO at Cheetah Digital and Tim Glomb, VP...

Sparkfly was named the winner of a Silver Stevie® Award in the Business Technology category in The 18th Annual American Business Awards® today. The American Business Awards are the...

We know times are tough for our friends in the retail and restaurant space, but as we’ve all seen, to thrive in our new world companies must embrace digital...