Jamba Juice is rolling out its new rewards program on a national level following a test from last summer.

The smoothie chain?s Jamba Insider Rewards program is now live in Jamba Juice?s 851 stores. The program is powered through SMS and in-store touch screens that consumers use to type in their mobile phone numbers.

?Over half our Web traffic comes from mobile users, and we have a significant number of Jamba Insiders who are only opted into text communication, so it makes sense to use SMS for communicating with our rewards members,? said Robert Notte, chief technology officer of Jamba Juice, Emeryville, CA.

?It is also a nice short-lead tool for driving traffic to stores,? he said. 

Blending mobile and loyalty
Jamba Juice?s program uses a 10-digit phone number to track and redeem loyalty points.

Using SMS and email, Jamba Juice pushes out real-time offers and deals to consumers. These customized offers are based on past purchase behavior and include free food with a drink order and coupons.

Alternatively, consumers can sign-up for the program at http://www.jambajuice.com/rewards.

As an incentive to get consumers to sign up for the program, users can receive $3 off of their next purchase when an account is activated.

An additional $3 offer is unlocked every time a consumer spends 35 points. For each dollar spent, consumers receive one point towards their account.

To earn points, consumers must type in their phone number into an in-store touchscreen each time they make a purchase.

There are also additional perks and rewards that members receive throughout the year. For instance, they get free drinks on their birthday.

Jamba Juice?s loyalty program is powered by Spendgo, and Mobivity is the chain's SMS provider.

Juicing up on mobile
The smoothie chain?s loyalty program fits into a bigger mobile strategy based on improving the in-store experience, especially around mobile payments.

Jamba Juice was one of the first brands to implement Isis and celebrated the nationwide launch of the mobile payment service in October last year with a million free smoothies (see story).

Jamba Juice also began testing mobile payments within the PayPal app in 2013 (see story).

The PayPal partnership was then expanded to a branded mobile payment app (see story). 

?Jamba is using mobile technology to enhance the overall consumer experience,? Mr. Notte said.

?In recent months, we have piloted and/or launched programs for mobile wallets, order ahead, and loyalty,? he said. ?Our organization mindset, flexibility and 800-plus store footprint make Jamba Juice an ideal company for mobile technologies to work within developing emerging mobile products.?

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York