Fygo, a Fintech startup founded by Durham and St Andrews alumni during the COVID-19 pandemic, launches innovative student marketing & loyalty app for local businesses in Durham. For businesses wanting to take back control of their revenue as lockdown eases, partnering with Fygo provides a simple way to get more Gen Z customers and keep them loyal. What’s more, there’s no need for the technical know-how and it only takes a couple of minutes to join.
Verified students and staff at Durham University can now turn any normal bank card into a loyalty and rewards card using Fygo’s free mobile app. Students and staff link any bank card to the app through a secure interface and when they spend using a linked card at Fygo partners they instantly receive cashback. They don’t have to say, show, or scan anything.
Since Fygo links with users’ normal bank cards, businesses don’t have to update their system or even train their staff. Fygo automatically recognises in-store and online card payments, meaning small businesses can promote omnichannel sales. Fygo maps the user journey from viewing a business page through to when they spend in-store or online, allowing businesses to see Fygo’s exact impact on sales and revenue.
COVID-19 has adversely impacted students’ savings as they have largely been unable to work alongside their studies, while Gen Z and Millennials increasingly expect to discover and interact with businesses through mobile apps. Fygo offers students a convenient, stress-free solution to discover businesses and automatically get more value from their purchases.
When students know they are getting the best value when they spend, they are more confident to shop. Purchases at partner businesses are automatically recognised without users having to take any action, and cash rewards instantly credited to their accounts act as a welcome income supplement.
“From customers’ perspectives, Fygo is paying them cashback instantly and automatically when they make a purchase at a business” said Toby Lowenstein. “And what’s awesome is that the business is credited for the experience”. Reports show that Gen Zs feel a lasting sense of gratification when they receive automatic rewards, which improves their loyalty; 75% of Gen Z and Millenials are likely to re-visit a business that offers cashback (GCK Gen Z and Millennials as Customers study, 2020).
With Fygo, student customers always pay full price at checkout or point of sale, maintaining the value of businesses’ products and services. Not only do businesses receive the money from purchases immediately, rather than waiting for deposits, as is the case with delivery platforms, but they also retain the value that would otherwise be lost if they reduced the price of the purchase with a discount.
Importantly, Fygo partners can change their offer when it suits them. This allows businesses to increase the number of walk-in customers and their average transaction value while staying in charge of profit margins. Fygo then uses machine learning to suggest the right offers, to the right students, at the right times. Personal account managers are also available to help businesses strategize their offers and ensure success.
“COVID-19 has been devastating for local businesses’ revenues and consumer confidence has fallen significantly. Every Durham business can use Fygo to bring back walk-in student customers and increase their revenue with minimal effort, and at a low and easily-trackable cost” said Jonah Lowenstein, Co-Founder at Fygo. “For businesses that already receive student customers, the same report has shown that 70% of Gen Zs & Millennials increase their average transaction value if they know they’ll receive cashback following the purchase (GCK Gen Z and Millennials as Customers study, 2020)”.
To help organically spread the word about local Durham businesses, Fygo has made it easy for users to share offers with friends. Also, to help businesses better communicate with their customers, Fygo partners can send a personalised pop-up message to customers’ phones when they make a purchase. This feature gives every Durham business the power to communicate directly with their customers and promote a specific product or service at the moment of sale, inspiring repeat purchases.
“By making purchases at independent Durham businesses personalised, rewarding, and social, we’re helping businesses get more student customers and keep them loyal as we come out of lockdown. Several hundred students have already pre-registered to download Fygo, with several thousand more expected to download the app once it goes public in early April. Many businesses resort to blanket discounts or expensive marketing and loyalty solutions to try and get more student customers. Fygo is on a mission to give businesses an easier, more reliable way to increase their revenue” said Ben Champion, Co-Founder at Fygo.
Understandably, free cash flow is not available to many independent businesses in the wake of the pandemic. That’s why Fygo has no upfront costs, and offers a pay-per-sale model, meaning businesses only pay a small fee when a Fygo user makes a purchase. Importantly, this means that Fygo and its partners are aligned with their incentives. Fygo also helps businesses improve their products and services with free customer insights.
To support businesses to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, Fygo is giving Durham-based businesses a range of free perks. Businesses that join before March 25th can claim £200 of complimentary cashback for their customers, a free photoshoot, and a money-back guarantee on Fygo fees if they are not satisfied with their results after one month.
- Businesses can find out more about partnering with Fygo for free – https://www.fygo.co/business/
- Students can join the waiting list – https://www.fygo.co/
