Member Article

New live virtual high street guide for every UK shopper goes live in over 50 centres across the UK

A new live virtual high street guide for every shopper based on their location and which will reward them for their high street spend have gone live this week.

Local Rewards by Maybe* will enable shoppers to see retailers near them and view their social media content. Local Rewards can work for every UK high street and has already been deployed by over 50 councils and shopping centres across the UK.

The service combines Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and Google Maps data with Visa and Mastercard transaction data to provide a wholly interactive approach to connecting the online and offline shopping experience. A further 100 local guides will go live later this week and town centre teams can request one as a single point of contact for their local area.

The guides enable every shopper to see information from businesses in any town based on existing social media content and allows retailers to connect with shoppers when they are nearby. Every purchase by a registered shopper in participating retailers reveals a live visual local guide to other nearby retailers. It does not require any shopper to download any apps.

“Local Rewards creates a “live” shop window for every high street. Maybe* research revealed that 66% of shoppers look online for inspiration but that tends to promote a website purchase. Local Rewards groups all social media content by location to encourage people to browse locations and then be rewarded for their local spend. Our aim is to enable shoppers to have a better shopping experience, discover businesses that may not have known before and be rewarded for their high street spend says Polly Barnfield OBE, CEO of Maybe*, the tech company that has developed Local Rewards.

“High streets need infrastructure that until now has only been available for online retailers,” adds Barnfield. “They need to communicate with shoppers in real time and showcase the experience they have on offer. In order to compete, high street retailers need to up their digital game, promote their physical stores and collaborate. Local Rewards helps them collectively to do just that.”

“We have been trialling the Local Rewards in Putney and found that local businesses like the way it encourages customers to explore their neighbourhood. It showcases to customers what shopping local is all about and gives people the online discovery of their local town centre in one easy to use directory,” explains Nicola Grant, CEO of the Putney BID.

“Local Rewards offers every UK high street the opportunity to connect with consumers in their online worlds too. This is a game changing opportunity for every retailer on each of the UK’s High Streets they need to be able to adapt to shoppers’ rapidly changing behaviour”, comments Diane Savory, Chair of the Gloucestershire Local Enterprise Partnership.

Barnfield believes there is a proportion of people who have been holding off for when stores will reopen because they love shopping locally.

“There is an increasing desire to shop local as a result of COVID 19. Let’s not forget it’s one of this nation’s favourite pastimes. Our Live Shop Local Guides capture the essence of every high street and will showcase not just the gifts available but also conveys the essence of each local high street; the carols, the lights and mulled wine that will go “Live” from the 2nd of December to invite people to enjoy a safe Christmas shopping experience and provide essential support to High Street Retailers.”

Ends.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Adam Gilbert .