How Roast & Co. Grew Return Visits 4.2x in 90 Days
A Nairobi coffee chain turned WiFi logins into a 4,200-person customer database and drove repeat visits from 11% to 46% in one quarter.
Roast & Co. is a three-location coffee chain in Nairobi. Like most independent cafés, they had loyal regulars but no systematic way to bring one-time visitors back. Their marketing was limited to Instagram posts and hope.
The Setup
In January 2025, Roast & Co. deployed Footfall across all three locations. The branded captive portal replaced the static WiFi password with a one-tap login that captured email, phone, and birthday.
Within 30 days, the chain had collected 4,200 verified contacts — a 94% capture rate of guests who connected to WiFi.
The Workflow
Three automated campaigns ran continuously:
- Welcome offer — sent 15 minutes after first visit (“Free pastry with your next coffee”)
- Win-back — triggered after 14 days of no return (“20% off this week”)
- Birthday reward — sent 7 days before birthday (“Free birthday drink”)
The Results
| Metric | Before | After 90 Days |
|---|---|---|
| Repeat visit rate | 11% | 46% |
| Monthly attributed revenue | $0 | $8,400 |
| Contact database | 0 | 4,200 |
| Campaign open rate | — | 71% |
The 4.2x return visit lift came from messaging guests at the exact moment they were most likely to return — not from discounts alone.
Key Takeaway
Repeat visits are not a loyalty program problem. They’re a timing problem. When you message guests based on actual visit behavior, the response rate is 5.6x higher than batch blasts.