Starting March 1st, Luke’s Lobster will close mobile app, return to punch cards for loyalty program

Today we received an email from Luke’s Lobster that announced that they’re moving away from technology and going back to old school punch cards for their loyalty program. The company is shutting down their mobile app (powered by LevelUp) and bringing back their punch cards for their loyalty program Here’s what they had to say:

We wanted to send a note to thank you so much for using our app rewards program over the years. We know a lot of you switched from our old paper card program, and had mixed feelings about the app, but you gave it a shot. After collecting feedback from so many of our guests and our teams, we’ve realized that launching an app was the wrong choice. The world was telling us we needed more technology, and we tried to meet that demand. But we honestly felt like a fish out of water. We’re a simple lobster shack, and if we don’t see phone apps here on the docks in Maine, then they don’t feel right in our shacks around the country either. Starting March 1, we will be shutting down our App, and will transition our loyalty program back to our Mobsta Cards, as so many of you have asked.

If you haven’t used our Mobsta cards recently, it’s super simple: a small punch card to keep in your wallet for every time you visit Luke’s, and just like our app, you’ll get a punch for every visit to Luke’s where you spend $10 or more. After each five punches, you’ll get $10 off on your next order. When your card is full you’ll get to write your name on it and we’ll tack it to the wall, just like we did when we opened in 2009 (fun fact: our first Lobsta Mobsta filled an entire card in 2.5 days).

So what does that mean for your app credit over the next month?
As a thank you for your loyalty and to recognize any punches you’ve already accumulated, we’re giving you $10 in app credit to be used over the next month, before the app is no longer in use on March 1. Once you’ve used that credit and scanned that app for the last time, we’ll make sure you get a new Mobsta card you can use on future orders!

If you do love the ability to pay with your phone and not carry cash or cards around, have no fear. We’re hard at work enabling Apple and Google Pay in all our shacks, and we’ll have that done ASAP so you can get back to getting your lobster fix without that bulky wallet.

How will I order ahead without the app?
We’ll continue offering an online order ahead service on the web, optimized to use on your phone or computer. There will be a brief (roughly 4 week) downtime while we switch ordering platforms in March, then we’ll be back to normal. During the downtime we’ll keep those lines moving fast and offer some special perks, too. You’ll always be able to see the latest by going to order.lukeslobster.com.

For any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to reach out to orders@lukeslobster.com or visit our FAQ page. Thank you again for your patience as we go through our awkward teenage years and learn what’s really right for our brand and our guests.