16 Jul 2012 09:01
16 July 2012
2ergo Group plc
London TubeMap partnership
2ergo Group plc (AIM: RGO, "2ergo" or "the Group"), the mobile solutions company, has signed a partnership with mxData Ltd to integrate "TikTap™", 2ergo's contactless coupon redemption technology into "TubeMap", the official licensed Transport for London tube map application.
With over 5 million downloads and 100,000 daily users, TubeMap is the most downloaded and used cross platform tube map smartphone application. This rich application provides travel alerts, live departure boards and station information, helping users find stations and plan journeys as well as providing Oyster card balances. By integrating this application with TikTap™, TubeMap users will now be able to take advantage of easy-to-redeem money off vouchers and coupons, thereby creating an unrivalled user experience.
TikTap™ is a local commerce platform developed specifically to help merchants generate a mobile brand presence and attract customers to their store. It comprises a specially developed "TikTap™" app (available on both iOS and Android platforms) and associated in-store "pods" attached to each participating merchant's cash tills. These pods enable the customer to redeem offers selected in the TikTap™ app simply by tapping their smartphone over the pod at point of sale. Merchants benefit from increased footfall, improved loyalty and comprehensive analytics regarding their customers' retail habits.
As a result of this agreement, selected merchants local to the 300-plus London Tube station network, will be able to promote time-sensitive, location relevant offers to TubeMap users, helping them attract new customers, whilst providing travellers with quick-to-redeem offers based on their travel schedules, location and planned movements in and around London.
2ergo plans to roll out Phase One of its pod infrastructure to merchants across London over the next four to six months. 2ergo will accrue a one-off fee for each installed pod and recurring revenues from monthly licence fees per pod, as well as consumer transaction fees.
Neale Graham, Chief Executive of 2ergo, commented:
"Five million TubeMap users will soon be able to access a superb range of location-based offers from various retail, hospitality, leisure and visitor attractions in London, simply by tapping their phone on our in-store TikTap™ pods. Furthermore, by using real-time travel data, retailers will also be able to proactively use the application to alert users to travel delays and issue vouchers that will ease the tension of frustrated commuters.
"Until now, a key challenge preventing the mass adoption of mobile couponing, mobile loyalty and mobile payments, has been the difficulties surrounding redemption of the offer at the cash till or point of sale. TikTap™ solves this problem with a simple "plug and play" contactless solution.
"We now look forward to installing a network of pods in selected outlets adjacent to the tube network across London."
For further information, please contact:
2ergo Group plc | +44 (0)161 874 4222 |
Neale Graham, CEO | |
Jill Collighan, Group Finance Director | |
College Hill | +44 (0)20 7457 2020 |
Jon Davies/Rozi Morris | |
Numis Securities Limited | +44 (0)20 7260 1000 |
Stuart Skinner as Nominated Advisor | |
David Poutney as Corporate Broker |
About 2ergo Group plc
2ergo Group plc, the owner and international provider of innovative, proprietary contactless mobile technology podifi™, delivers coupons and vouchers, loyalty, proximity and payment solutions to organisations of all sizes in order to assist them to develop and execute their mobile strategy.
Market leading brands such as Aviva, Ladbrokes, PizzaExpress, Rightmove, O2, Orange, Talk Mobile, Transport for London, Phones4U, Procter & Gamble and Visit England have all benefited from 2ergo's end-to-end mobile solutions to increase sales, mobilise business processes, reduce costs and enhance customer relationships.
Headquartered in the UK, 2ergo has been a pioneer of enabling innovative mobile business solutions since 1999. 2ergo is an exclusive Mobile Partner for Microsoft's Innovation Outreach Programme.
For more information visit www.2ergo.com
About podifi™
The podifi™ mobile marketing platform is a simple self-service web tool which empowers merchants to create, launch and manage mobile coupon based offers, deals or loyalty programmes within minutes.
Based around small, low-cost pods, podifi™ offers retailers the ability to build intimate customer relationships by enabling fast, contactless transactions via any smartphone, simply by tapping the phone on the pod. This means that mobile coupons and vouchers can be redeemed, mobile loyalty cards can be swiped and mobile payments transacted, without the intervention of sales staff in store. podifi™ gives merchants complete control over their campaigns, whilst also providing extensive analytics of all of their customer's transactions over the pod.
podifi™ makes use of standard technology already used in smartphones, and requires no additional handset chip or hardware (such as barcode readers or PIN machines) or staff training. The technology is compatible with all currently available smartphones and has been designed to interact seamlessly with near field communications (NFC) handsets as and when they are made available.
About TikTap
"TikTap™" is a local commerce contactless coupon redemption technology developed specifically to help retailers and hospitality outlets generate a mobile brand presence and attract customers to their store. It comprises a specially developed "TikTap™" app (available on both iOS and Android platforms) and associated in-store "pods" attached to each participating outlet's cash till. These pods enable the customer to redeem offers selected in the TikTap app simply by tapping their smartphone over the pod at point of sale.
The TikTap™ pods are compatible with existing smartphones and plug seamlessly into the vast majority of existing electronic cash tills, including units up to 15 years old. The pod sits at point of sale and recognises any device on the iOS or Android platform (including tablet devices). The system is based on 2ergo's recently launched podifi™ contactless technology platform.
The TikTap™ pods are plug and play devices, connected to the retailer's cash till by means of a simple cable, using either a USB or a Serial port. While simple in its installation, the pod recognises the presence of offers in the device which have been 'Tik'd' into the app's digital wallet. A simple 'Tap' over the pod validates and redeems the offer, instantly reducing the bill on the EPoS terminal by the promotional amount, creating a more reliable redemption experience for consumers, and providing a full audit trail of redemptions for businesses.
About mxData Ltd
mxData is a leading provider of live information to a generation on the move. With offices in Manchester, London and Cambridge, mxData develop and deploy mobile data applications and services, and our name derives from our specialism in mobile exchange of data.
mxData is a privately owned company which over the past four years has expanded considerably and been voted one of the top 50 mobile companies to watch by O2 and Real Business magazine, the company continues to build upon this with the aim of being the leading provider of live information to a generation already on the move.