Open rates are slipping. Privacy rules are tighter. What once felt like one-to-one engagement now feels like noise.

Marketers are asking the same question: what’s next for personalized marketing?

The answer is already on your customers’ phones.

Apple Wallet and Google Wallet are no longer just payment tools. They have become always-on engagement channels. From loyalty cards and gift cards to event passes and real-time offers, mobile wallets give brands a direct line to the lock screen with personalization that actually sticks.

Badge is purpose-built for Apple Wallet marketing and Google Wallet personalization, helping brands launch campaigns that combine speed, scale, and measurable impact.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to:

• Understand why traditional channels like email and SMS are losing effectiveness

• See how mobile wallets enable real-time, personalized marketing through lock-screen access, geo-location, and dynamic updates

• Explore real-world use cases in retail, eCommerce, events, hospitality, travel, and gift cards

• Learn how Badge helps you create and launch Apple Wallet and Google Wallet campaigns quickly, with no-code tools and API-first flexibility

From Email Fatigue to Mobile Wallet Engagement

For years, email has been the backbone of personalized marketing, but its impact is shrinking. In 2024, the median open rate across all industries was reported at 42.35%. At first glance that number looks strong. But Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection automatically marks messages as opened, inflating the numbers and masking the real story: far fewer people are engaging than marketers think.

Industry-level benchmarks reveal just how uneven performance really is:

• Travel and transportation: 22.57% (lowest-performing sector)

• Publishing companies: 30.91%

• E-commerce: 31.08%

• Retail: 37.50% (still below average despite its dependence on repeat engagement)

• Non-profits: 53.21% (one of the highest performers)

• Religion: 59.70% (an outlier, not the norm)

The reality is clear: email engagement is inconsistent, unreliable, and far below what marketers need for personalization.

Mobile wallet marketing offers a better path forward. Instead of competing for space in an inbox or text thread, brands can issue wallet passes that customers actually choose to install in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. These passes are opt-in by design, update in real time, and respect user privacy while still enabling hyper-relevant engagement.

Why Mobile Wallets Are Built for Personalized Marketing

What makes mobile wallets different from traditional channels is how naturally they fit into customers’ daily lives. They are not another inbox to clear or a notification feed to swipe away. They are built directly into the smartphone experience, making personalization both seamless and timely.

Here’s why Apple Wallet and Google Wallet are powerful tools for personalized marketing:

• Always-on access from the lock screen: Wallet passes live on the lock screen, always just a tap away. Whether it’s a loyalty card, digital coupon, or event ticket, customers can find them instantly without digging through apps or emails. This persistent visibility makes mobile wallets ideal for real-time customer engagement.

• Geo-location and contextual triggers: With location-aware technology, mobile wallets make personalization hyper-relevant. A retailer can deliver an offer when a shopper is near a store. A hotel can send a room upgrade notification at check-in. These contextual touchpoints feel timely and helpful, not intrusive.

• Real-time content updates: Unlike static email or SMS campaigns, wallet passes update automatically. Balances, loyalty points, offers, and reminders refresh in real time, keeping information accurate and useful. This consistency builds trust and encourages repeat engagement.

• Default push notification opt-in: Mobile wallets come with one of the strongest engagement advantages: push notifications are enabled by default. When a brand updates a pass, the notification appears directly on the customer’s device. These alerts consistently achieve higher open and redemption rates than email or SMS, making them one of the most effective ways to drive action.

Together, these features make Apple Wallet and Google Wallet personalization more powerful than any traditional channel. Mobile wallets don’t just send messages. They create ongoing, contextual, and measurable experiences that strengthen customer relationships and drive long-term loyalty.

Use Cases That Prove the Future is Wallet-Based Marketing

Mobile wallets are not just a future concept. They are already transforming how brands connect with customers. By combining personalization with real-time delivery, Apple Wallet marketing and Google Wallet personalization are giving companies across industries a measurable competitive edge.

Here are four ways mobile wallets are driving engagement today:

1. Retail & eCommerce: Driving Loyalty and Repeat Spend

Retailers are using mobile wallet loyalty programs to move beyond plastic cards and generic email offers. Instead of blasting promotions that often go unopened, brands can:

• Embed digital loyalty cards and personalized coupons directly into the wallet.

• Issue rewards tailored to behavior, such as 10% off for lapsed shoppers or double points for frequent buyers.

• Trigger geo-location reminders when customers walk near a store, creating a seamless path from awareness to purchase.

For example, a retailer could send a push notification with “double points today” the moment a loyalty member enters the mall. It is a level of real-time customer engagement that email or SMS cannot replicate.

2. Events: Enhancing the Attendee Journey

Event organizers are replacing clunky check-in apps and paper tickets with wallet-based passes that sit on the lock screen. With mobile wallet passes, organizers can:

• Eliminate bottlenecks by letting attendees scan directly from Apple Wallet or Google Wallet.

• Push personalized updates such as schedule changes, workshop reminders, or post-event offers.

• Keep the experience connected from registration through follow-up, extending engagement well beyond the event itself.

This creates smoother entry, higher satisfaction, and stronger retention for future events.

3. Hospitality & Travel: Seamless, Contextual Experiences

Hotels and airlines are leveraging mobile wallet engagement to create frictionless guest journeys. Examples include:

• Hotels issuing digital room keys that also promote spa discounts, dining packages, or upgrades during the stay.

• Airlines sending real-time boarding updates, lounge invitations, or gate-change notifications straight to a traveler’s device.

These contextual touchpoints reduce frustration, unlock upsell opportunities, and ensure the brand stays visible at the exact moment of need.

4. Gift Cards: Extending Engagement Beyond the Purchase

Gift cards stored in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet go far beyond a one-time transaction. Brands can:

• Keep digital gift cards visible in the wallet for ongoing engagement.

• Send seasonal nudges about unused balances or highlight nearby locations where redemption is possible.

• Deliver personalized promotions tied to holidays or birthdays, turning a simple gift into a long-term customer relationship.

This approach increases redemption rates and makes every card part of the future of customer engagement, rather than a static payment tool.

Why Choose Badge for Personalized Mobile Wallet Marketing

If mobile wallets are the future of personalized marketing, you need the right platform to unlock their full potential. Badge is purpose-built for Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, helping brands launch campaigns that combine speed, scale, and measurable impact.

With Badge, you get:

• No-code campaign creation: Marketers can design and launch branded wallet passes such as loyalty cards, gift cards, event tickets, or membership cards using a no-code, intuitive interface. Campaigns can be tested, updated, and published in minutes without waiting on engineering support.

• API-first flexibility: Developers can integrate Badge directly into existing apps, CRM systems, or loyalty workflows using a robust API library. This enables programmatic control over issuing passes, syncing customer data, and automating engagement at scale.

• Default opt-in notifications: Every pass update automatically sends a push notification to the customer’s lock screen. Unlike email or SMS, no additional opt-in is required, which leads to consistently higher open and redemption rates.

• Dynamic content updates: Balances, loyalty points, rewards, and promotional offers refresh in real time. Customers always see accurate information without reinstalling a pass, which builds trust and increases repeat engagement.

• Native Placements: These embedded clickable links turn every pass into a personalized microsite. Brands can promote upsells, surveys, reservations, or external landing pages directly within Apple Wallet and Google Wallet.

• Fast and scalable launch: Mobile wallet passes can be issued in under 30 minutes. Whether starting with a pilot campaign or expanding across thousands of stores, Badge supports both quick deployment and enterprise-scale adoption.

Badge makes mobile wallet marketing simple for marketers, flexible for developers, and measurable for decision-makers, all within one platform.

Why Acting Now Secures the Future of Personalized Marketing

Mobile wallets are no longer just digital storage for payment cards. They are redefining how brands approach personalized marketing and real-time engagement. By living on the lock screen, enabling dynamic updates, and delivering privacy-friendly opt-in notifications, mobile wallets solve the challenges that email and SMS can no longer overcome.

Mobile wallets are shaping the future of customer engagement, delivering real-time, opt-in personalization that traditional channels cannot match.

Ready to see what personalized mobile wallet marketing can do for your brand?

👉Talk to our team and learn how Badge helps you launch campaigns in minutes, not months.

Badge Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Why are mobile wallets the future of personalized marketing?

Mobile wallets like Apple Wallet and Google Wallet offer real-time, opt-in engagement that email and SMS cannot provide. Customers receive loyalty rewards, event reminders, and offers directly on their lock screen. This makes mobile wallets one of the most effective channels for personalized marketing because they are timely, privacy-friendly, and built into the devices customers already use every day.

How do mobile wallets improve customer engagement compared to email or SMS?

Email open rates continue to decline, and SMS is often seen as intrusive. Mobile wallets solve this by combining:

• Default opt-in notifications that reach the lock screen automatically

• Dynamic content updates that refresh rewards, balances, and offers in real time

• Geo-location triggers that deliver context-aware promotions when customers are nearby

These features consistently drive higher open rates, stronger redemption rates, and deeper mobile wallet engagement than traditional channels.

What types of campaigns can I run with Apple Wallet and Google Wallet?

Brands are already using wallet passes for:

• Loyalty programs that track points and rewards

• Gift cards that update with balances and reminders

• Event tickets with real-time schedule updates and check-in access

• Membership cards that simplify access and renewals

• Coupons and offers that refresh automatically

Every wallet pass becomes a living touchpoint for ongoing customer engagement rather than a one-time transaction.

Are mobile wallet campaigns secure and privacy-friendly?

Yes. Wallet passes are opt-in by design, which means customers choose to install them. Brands can deliver personalized content without relying on third-party cookies or invasive tracking. This makes mobile wallet marketing both effective and compliant with modern privacy standards such as GDPR and CCPA.

How does Badge help brands launch mobile wallet marketing campaigns?

Badge is the leading mobile wallet marketing platform for Apple Wallet and Google Wallet. It provides everything teams need to scale campaigns, including:

• No-code tools for marketers to design and launch passes in minutes

• API-first flexibility for developers to integrate passes into apps, CRM systems, and loyalty workflows

• Engagement features like push notifications, dynamic updates, and Native Placements (clickable in-wallet links)

• Real-time analytics to track adoption, redemption, and ROI across all wallet campaigns

This combination makes Badge simple for marketers, flexible for developers, and measurable for decision-makers.

How quickly can I get started with Badge?

Brands can issue their first Apple Wallet or Google Wallet campaign in under 30 minutes. Badge is designed for speed and scale, so you can start with a small pilot program and expand to thousands of stores or millions of users without heavy development cycles.