Greggs the baker has revealed plans to launch a mobile wallet in a bid to increase loyalty among its customers.

During the companys H1 earnings call, CEO Roger Whiteside said: “In the weeks ahead, we’ll be launching our first digital customer loyalty scheme called Greggs Rewards, which will provide a platform for us to carry out more targeted customer loyalty. Our scheme skips over plastic card technology to introduce a smartphone application allowing customers to pay using their mobile phones.”

He highlighted that Greggs was now operating in the ‘food on the go’ market, adding that 72 per cent of visits are for speed and convenience reasons, and that the chain would need to change to reflect this. Greggs’ profit dropped by £4.6m from H1 2012 to H1 2013, with competition from coffee shops and supermarkets both impacting on sales.

Whiteside did not reveal what technology would be used to complete loyalty transactions, although his presentation slide indicated that the app will use QR codes.

We have reached out to Greggs for more information on the app.