Mobile discounts app vouchercloud has shot straight to number one in the lifestyle section of the iPhone app store following its launch at the beginning of February, with nearly 250,000 consumers downloading vouchercloud – leapfrogging the likes of Ebay and Facebook in the sales’ chart. And 10,000 more users are downloading the app every day, the company claims.
The free app delivers exclusive discounts in leading national and local shops, bars, clubs, takeaways and restaurants around the UK, with new deals being continually added.
Brands that have already signed up to Vouchercloud include Thomas Cook, Dorothy Perkins, Majestic Wine, Officers Club, The Harley Medical Group, Café Rouge, Malmaison and Chessington World of Adventure (for a full list see end of story)
The app, due to be launched on other smartphones in coming months, uses GPS to find where the mobile owner is and lists the best deals nearest to them in seconds. The screen voucher is then shown to the shop staff to receive the money-off. Users also receive hundreds of discount voucher codes for online shopping.
The app gets around the issue of spamming users by simply listing them within the app in categories, so the consumer can search for the offers depending on what they’re looking for – dining, drinking, days out, retail, etc. vouchercloud uses GPS technology to pinpoint the offers nearest to them. Users can also search by distance, A-Z or by map.
Consumers redeem the vouchers – which can include a barcode – at the relevant stores, which uses their existing infrastructure to log the discount.
“We ensure all outlets are fully trained and know how to redeem them when they see them,” says Greg LeTocq, director, Vouchercloud. “Some of our retailers ask for a bar code to be included on the voucher, while others request a reason code that they can input into their system.
“We have approximately 2500 offers on vouchercloud, which is growing by hundreds every week,” LeTocq continues. “One key point of difference for us is the merchant dashboard: it enables any business, whether it be Billy’s Bikes or a national High Street chain, to log on and create an account with offers – voucher codes, mobile vouchers or printable vouchers – that they can then control and amend. We have had several people call us the eBay for offers – which we quite like.”
A selection of participating brands:
AMF
Azendi
Bowlplex
Café Rouge
Carluccio
Chessington World of Adventures
Chiquito
Coffee Republic
Dominos
Dorothy Perkins
Eden Project
Faith
Fitness First
Frankie & Benny’s
Headmasters
Hob Salons
Hotel Chocolat
Hotel du Vin
IMAX
La Tasca
Majestic Wine
Malmaison
Marco Pierre White Restaurant
Officers Club
Perfect Pizza
Prezzo
Rush
Strada
Subway
Ten Pin
The Harley Medical Group
Thomas Cook
Young’s Brewery
Zizzi
