Stocard

Stocard GmbH, established in 2012 by co-founders Björn Goß, David Handlos, and Florian Klotz, emerged from the Mannheim region of Germany to address the inconvenience of physical loyalty cards. The company's inception traces back to a shared frustration among the founders with bulky wallets filled with plastic cards, which sparked the idea for a digital solution. Goß and Handlos, both with backgrounds from the University of Mannheim, alongside Klotz, leveraged their collective expertise to pioneer one of the first mobile wallets for loyalty cards, launching the Stocard app.

The core of Stocard's business is a mobile application that allows users to digitize their physical loyalty cards onto their smartphones. This service offers consumers a convenient way to store and manage various loyalty programs, from supermarket chains to airlines, in one central digital location. The app utilizes the phone's camera to scan the barcode on a plastic card, creating a digital copy that can be presented at the point of sale. Beyond simple card storage, the platform evolved to include features like viewing points balances, accessing personalized offers, and a mobile payment function, transforming it into a comprehensive shopping companion. Stocard operates in the mobile wallet and retail technology market, targeting everyday shoppers who are members of multiple loyalty programs.

Stocard's revenue model is primarily business-to-business, centered on providing retailers with a powerful mobile advertising channel. The company enables its retail partners to connect with millions of app users by sending targeted offers and coupons directly through the platform, thereby driving foot traffic and sales. This model capitalizes on the rich consumer data generated by user activity, allowing for highly effective and personalized marketing campaigns. A significant milestone in Stocard's history was its acquisition by the Swedish fintech giant Klarna in July 2021 for approximately €110 million. This strategic acquisition integrated Stocard's extensive user base of 47 million and its network of retail partners into Klarna's broader ecosystem, aiming to create an all-in-one shopping and payments platform.

Keywords: mobile wallet, loyalty programs, digital coupons, retail marketing, customer loyalty, mobile payment, fintech, consumer data, point of sale, shopping companion