LocalBonus, which launched last summer in NYC, has expanded their universal loyalty program to Seattle, Portland, Sacramento, and Denver with a network of over 800 merchants. In a nod to their strong business model, they also recently announced a round of seed funding to the tune of $500,000. Curious as to how are they going to cut through the noise in such a crowded space, CEO and Founder Derek Webster explained what sets them apart: Like the other loyalty programs, rewards are linked to your credit or debit card. LocalBonus rewards, however, aren’t for coupons – they are for a fully redeemable cash value. An added incentive is their LocalBonus Wolfpack, so if 5 or more members shop at a merchant on any given day, members will earn double points at that merchant. The markets they decided to expand into aren’t the most obvious ones – where is Boston, DC, San Francisco, LA, Chicago? “We weren’t looking for just tech-savvy cities,” said Webster. “We are looking to prove this concept in the proverbial Main Street USA.”
