SnowShoe and Olympia Downtown Alliance Team Up to Make Shopping More Fun

SnowShoe, a local customer loyalty company, announces the pilot launch of a new technology to connect customers with businesses in downtown Olympia. The new Go Downtown mobile app pairs with the company’s unique SparkTM check-in device to create an immersive downtown shopping experience. SnowShoe chose downtown Olympia for this pilot because of the community’s successful “buy local” movement. The Olympia Downtown Alliance is an active partner in the launch. “We’re thrilled that SnowShoe chose Olympia for this pilot,” says Todd Cutts, Executive Director of Olympia Downtown Alliance. “Downtown Olympia is a vibrant area with hundreds of independent local businesses, and we hope everyone comes back downtown this summer as retail rebounds in Olympia.”

SnowShoe CEO Ned Hayes is positive about the partnership. “SnowShoe developed this loyalty program specifically for downtown districts like Olympia,” says Hayes. “We are eager to see how people respond to this new and exciting way of shopping and dining together.” The program is launching as part of the Olympia Downtown Alliance’s ongoing Why I Go Downtown initiative to encourage participation in local shopping, dining and entertainment. The new Go Downtown app uses game-based techniques similar to Pokemon GoTM to encourage downtown shoppers to “check-in” at local businesses. The SnowShoe solution inspires multi-store shopping trips by encouraging users to create “shopping loops” and to share favorite routes with friends.

This cross-promotion loyalty between local businesses is predicted to lift repeat customer visits to downtown Olympia by over 55% year over year. Olympia Mayor Cheryl Selby expects consumers to embrace the program. “Olympia residents and visitors alike are enthusiastic supporters of local business,” says Selby. “SnowShoe’s new program adds a fun gamification experience to buying local, and it offers us a way to thank people for coming downtown and encourage them to come again.” Local stores and restaurants participating in the program can recommend other businesses, building cross-store loyalty across the downtown region. “I’m excited to see people returning to our downtown,” says Kae Stair of Compass Rose.

The daily gift store has been a flagship downtown shop since 1998. “Our Historic Downtown Olympia district is lucky to have such a close-knit community of shops, restaurants, and everything in between, so being able to easily recommend and support our other local small businesses with the Go Downtown app makes so much sense for Olympia. It’s easy for customers to use, easy for my team to explain, and I’m also personally excited to use it when I’m shopping and dining in Downtown Oly.”

Dean Jones is owner of Encore Chocolates and Teas, which offers chocolates from all over the world and 325 different flavors of tea. He is also looking forward to the kick-off of the new program. “The Go Downtown program is a great new way to discover the unique appeal of Downtown Olympia,” says Dean. “There is so much to do and see here — this is an excellent community builder.” Download Today The free Go Downtown app is available now at go-oly.com for mobile web, iOS and Android.

Learn More: GO-OLY.COM