I’ve long wondered when someone would start leveraging existing LBS apps as a platform to add layers of functionality on top of, and it looks like a team at Jumpfox — a mobile app development firm — has done just that.
They’ve created a new startup and mobile app called “TappLocal,” which aims to emulate the rewards and location-based offers being integrated in existing LBS apps like Foursquare and Yelp, but do so independently to create a so-called “location-based ad-network” strictly for highly relevant LBS offers. The tech is then offered up to partner LBS apps for integration.
Here’s how it works: TappLocal uses their backend to create a geofence around certain partner venues. When a user crosses that boundary and happens to be using one of the partner apps, a deal indicator will pop-up in real-time. Clicking this area opens a larger area explaining exactly what the deal is. Simply click one more time to verify you wish to use the deal, show it to the store that it’s valid at, and the offer is validated and redeemed on-the-spot.
Taking things a bit further, TappLocal also includes what’s called “Flash Deals,” which is basically a way for local merchants to move certain items quickly. If a merchant has a product that’s expiring, or they simply want to drive immediate foot traffic through the door, they can trigger a “Flash Deal” which is then distributed throughout TappLocal’s localized network.
The app is still in closed beta and was developed to work with both iPhone and Android apps, though more integrations are in the pipeline. The startup is tight-lipped about mobile apps already signed-up to utilize the concept, though they did say the partner apps on the roster already have a combined 1.5 million users. As for costs for retailers, there will be a one-time fee up-front, followed by smaller monthly fees and a cost-per-conversion rate.
This is a brilliant idea, though it should be interesting to see what happens if the big players decide to block access to such concepts. Still, focusing solely on the offer-portion of the growing LBS ecosystem without worrying about an app itself is a genius approach. We’ll be watching these guys closely.
