There’s confusion about what Apple’s Passbook actually offers. It’s an amalgamation of loyalty cards, promotions, tickets and mobile payments, among other things. The advantage it has is its central position at the operating system level and the ability developers have to build Passbook functionality into their apps. This “unification” aspect is important in an app marketplace fighting “app fatigue.” Bringing so many utilities together makes Passbook “a mini app store in itself.” Valpak’s iOS app, for instance, pushes alerts to users when they’re near a place where they can use a coupon. Users benefit from helpful organization of coupons, gift cards and loyalty cards; app developers, retailers and small businesses benefit from the economies of scale and a consistent user interface. (Search Engine Watch)
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