The right way to get rewards purchasing at native shops
- Utica Proud app rewards buyers at native companies.
- $10 spent at an area enterprise earns one halfmoon reward, price $1 to redeem at collaborating companies.
- The app is on the market on the App Retailer or Google Play.
The Metropolis of Utica, native companies and app developer Colu Technologies have joined forces to incentivize residents to buy native.
Utica Proud is an app designed to spice up Utica’s economic system by way of redeemable rewards at native companies. These rewards are within the type of a digital forex — halfmoons — that are price $1 at redeeming companies.
How does the app work?
To entry Utica Proud, download the free app at the App Storeor Google Play. You’ll be prompted to place in some private data like your title. After that, you’ll be prompted to attach a debit or bank card.
Colu makes use of Plaid, the identical verification firm because the digital wallet app Venmo, to safe data. It doesn’t retailer private data or promote it to different companies, mentioned Gideon Kafri, operations supervisor at Colu.
If you store at a collaborating native enterprise together with your linked card, you routinely earn halfmoons, primarily based on the deal and quantity you spend. Energetic offers embrace 10% again on retail, eating and wonder and wellness.
In case you spend $10 at an area enterprise, you generate one halfmoon, which is equal to $1 at collaborating companies.
For a restricted time, anybody who indicators up for the app and connects a cost card receives 10 free halfmoons.
What companies are collaborating?
To date, there are dozens of collaborating companies throughout 12 classes, together with eating places, clothes and accessories, {and professional} companies. Each greenback spent at these areas, whether or not it is O’Scugnizzo Pizzeria or the Broadway Theatre League of Utica, generates rewards.
Halfmoons can solely be redeemed at particular “redeemer” companies. These companies settle for halfmoons as forex, saving you cash in your invoice.
There are about 30 redeemers to this point, starting from Hemstrought’s Bakeries and The Health Mill to Golden’s and Mohawk Valley Designs.
How are the rewards funded?
Redeemed rewards are backed by $35,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds from the Metropolis of Utica’s allotment. Whereas patron’s payments are cheaper once they redeem halfmoons, native companies aren’t caught consuming the price for the low cost.
Small companies struggled throughout the pandemic and Utica Proud makes purchasing native enjoyable, mentioned Derek Crossman, town’s neighborhood improvement specialist. Utilizing the app and person spending to distribute the federal funds ensures the cash goes additional than merely distributing the $35,000 instantly amongst companies.
“We’d be giving much less as a result of whenever you go, even in the event you’re redeeming halfmoons, that’s most likely not masking your complete invoice,” Crossman mentioned. “You’re going to redeem $10, $20 off your invoice and the remaining is popping out of your pocket to assist native companies. It’s a approach to maintain multiplying that impact.”
Via the tip of the 12 months, companies will be capable to get double again on redeemed halfmoons, mentioned Joelle Gringarten, advertising and marketing supervisor at Colu.
“In case you’re a enterprise proprietor and in a month, you redeem 200 halfmoons, town will really reimburse you $400 for these transactions,” Gringarten mentioned.
Have comparable apps been utilized in different cities?
Utica isn’t the primary metropolis that Colu has labored with prior to now. The primary metropolis to make use of an app just like Utica Proud was Akron, Ohio.
The Akron app, referred to as Akronite, adopted an analogous components, although the redeemable forex is blimps as an alternative of halfmoons, a nod to town’s historical past with tire producer Goodyear. Rancho Cordova, California, additionally used the app and had stars for its redeemable, whereas Boston merely used Boston Factors.
Source link