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New deals app launches
A new app has debuted in Bristol offering businesses a new way to connect directly to interested customers.
Spirini uses GPS to allow customers to choose the sort of deals they want to see and businesses to reach nearby customers.
Free for consumers to download, the service allows them to put a call, or ‘genie’, out for local deals in specific categories and eliminate those they don’t want to see. Once they have shopped, customers can recall the genie to avoid further marketing messages.
The platform is flexible and designed for a range of businesses from hairdressers to florists, cafes to bike shops, and offers marketing initiatives including flash sales, daily deals and time-limited offers.
Companies pay a flat £40 a month membership with no commission on deals. The Lido, Manna, Cycle Republic and Barber Brown are among some of the first to sign up.
“The idea came from when I was in a restaurant in Leeds at 6pm,” says CEO Chris Needham. “It was quiet and I realised they had no way of reaching out to people 400m away.”
He believes Spirini is the “last piece in the marketing puzzle”, giving merchants target audiences honed to individual customers looking for specific products in a given area.
“We’re overloaded with information; we need relevancy,” says Chris, describing his annoyance at the barrage of irrelevant ads after buying a kettle online. “Where do you buy a kettle without being bombarded by spam long after you’ve made your first cuppa?”
Spirini launched in Bristol thanks to a long-standing connection with the city, but also for its vaunted approach to new ideas. “Bristol is a good test bed for the rest of the UK,” Chris adds. “There are some great eateries and a good attitude to new things.”
The company is hoping to prove the concept before rolling it out to other UK cities and in coupon-loving America.
“But I want everyone to know it started in Bristol,” Chris says with a genial smile.
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