Gift Cards Don't Have to be Boring, Use AR to Virtually Gift an Actual Item

Technology is a crucial component of restaurant recovery.
Augmented reality (AR) has many applications to drive value,
especially in personalizing and modernizing the gift card
experience. To chat about this topic, The Main
Course host Barbara Castiglia welcomed Jack Serfass, CEO,
Uptown Network, and Patrick Johnson, CEO, Rock Paper Reality. The
two companies are partners in this new venture. Uptown
Network is a menu digitization app, while Rock Paper
Reality is an AR agency.


Johnson explained AR and its applicability to restaurants.
“Essentially, it’s a fusion of the digital and physical world.
It’s an overlay of virtual information on the physical
environment. You can make 3-D models of meals and the
restaurant.”


Serfass, whose background includes launching software companies
and owning a restaurant, said the company launched its digital
menu platform pre-pandemic, which supported restaurants. Still,
the company wanted to do more to help clients generate revenue in
the gift card space. “Gift cards are old, so we were thinking of
how to reimagine it, and AR was capable of doing that.”


Instead of sending that dull plastic card, consumers can
virtually gift an actual item, personalizing the experience. The
two companies began working together to revitalize this revenue
stream.


“We built out the AR portion and integrated it into the Uptown
app. It’s a direct increase to the bottom line. There are also
intangible benefits like virality and using the images on social
medial or websites,” Johnson said.


Jack noted that the gift becomes an experience and drives
micro-gifting of small items like a coffee, cocktail, or dessert.
Restaurants also avoid the high 20% transaction fee they face
with third parties. Those micro-gifts often lead to more
purchases that don’t involve any processing fees.


Pat shared some additional thoughts on AR in restaurants. “It’s a
new medium for communication, and AR has many more applications.
It brings value to the customer and business.”