Local businesses have long struggled to win the attention of consumers in the face of corporate chains and online giants, and now their very survival is threatened by a global pandemic.
A new startup in Bristol called Giverrang is trying to help by re-tilting the playing field so that independent small businesses start thriving instead of just surviving.
The company will soon be launching a pilot program called “Bristol Bucks” with local businesses in Bristol. The program will feature a free Bristol Bucks rewards card that can be picked up at any participating location.
The card allows shoppers to earn Bristol Bucks cash back on eligible
deals from small businesses, rewarding people for shopping locally with a credit that can only be spent back at local Bristol businesses.
Giverrang Co-Founder and CEO Mark Walerysiak Jr. may be a familiar name to those in Bristol from his work with Bristol Rising and Bristol All Heart, as well as various festivals and shop local initiatives.
“We feel compelled to act,” said Walerysiak Jr. “A cash mob or small business Saturday in November are great, but they are simply not enough when larger companies own the airwaves. We wanted to build a simple, actionable, and rewarding way for Bristolites to get involved in
supporting our great small businesses year round.”
Here’s how it works: A local shopper visits a coffee shop that offers $1 Bristol Bucks cash back on large coffees. When the shopper buys three coffees they simply present their Bristol Bucks
card to the merchant. The merchant scans the QR code on the card and electronically adds $3 of Bristol Bucks to the card.
The shopper then takes their card and spends the $3 at any
participating merchant — for a haircut, a slice of pizza, a fine brew, or whatever they’d like.
“We want to show local businesses that through cooperation we can pull attention away from the large national corporations. Businesses will be able to leverage the customer base of other businesses in the network to acquire new customers, increase sales, draw more foot traffic, and excite local spending,” said Walerysiak. “If you’re the coffee shop owner wouldn’t you want to acquire the customers of the pizza place across the street, the brewery down the road, or the popular hair stylist?”
There are other interesting uses too. Shoppers can load a Bristol Bucks card like a traditional gift card and then give it away to friends and family as a gift, or companies can distribute them to their employees as rewards.
The Bristol Bucks program grand launch is on Monday, March 1st, but in the interim there will be unannounced locations offering cash back in limited quantities so that the system can be tested.
If the pilot program is successful, Giverrang plans to continue the Bristol Bucks program indefinitely.
“We’re testing the waters too,” Giverrang Co-Founder Roy Paterson added. “We want to see how people respond to the program. Do they like it? Is it working? Are businesses seeing value? If it’s something everyone is happy with, our goal is to continue and expand the program to make a big impact on the local economy.”
Giverrang is currently seeking to connect with any small business interested in learning more about the program. The company says they will launch with “a handful of merchants” at first and work to grow the program organically.
For a limited time they are offering merchants who sign up a free 90-day trial, and the chance to lock in early bird pricing for at least the next year.
“The Central CT Chamber of Commerce is extremely happy to see a local company, Giverrang, develop the “Bristol Bucks” local loyalty card,” said Cindy Bombard, President of the Central CT Chambers of Commerce. “As a chamber of commerce it is our motto to shop local so we are
wishing them all the best in their new business. Shopping local is a great way to support the local economy and we are happy to assist them as a chamber member moving forward in their new business venture.
To learn more or to pre-purchase a Bristol Bucks gift card visit https://bristolbucks.com