Shoppers urged to ‘Phlok’ to rewards scheme

Phlok rewards consumers who ‘shop local’ by giving them Phlok points – a sort of virtual currency – which can then be collected from, and spent in, any business signed up to the scheme.

The initiative is active in Ireland and Northern Ireland in more than 30 towns and villages after launching in Malahide a year ago. So far, more than 400 businesses are signed up to the network, which has over 15,000 users.

Each time a consumer spends their points the action is broadcast on Phlok’s social network, along with other actions such as ‘following’ a business or ‘checking in’ to a business. The user has a choice as to whether to broadcast the action to other networks such as Facebook.

In return, the consumer is rewarded with points – so, for example, 150 points, worth 15p, is received for ‘following’ a local business on the network, or 100 points, worth 10p, for ‘checking in’ to a business. Shoppers also collect points by buying from the participating businesses.

Paul Graham, founder and CEO of Phlok, said: “When a business signs up to Phlok they get a profile and they can build their own profile or we can do it for them. They pledge to buy a certain amount of Phlok credits to give away to their customers each month.

“So what they are doing is injecting the Phlok virtual currency into their customer base and as you get more and more businesses cluster together to do that, then you get this virtual currency revolving around your local community that can be collected and spent anywhere.”

The high street is facing numerous challenges including the rise of online shopping and out-of-town shopping outlets.

“Consumers want everything quicker, cheaper, faster, all of the time,” said Mr Graham.

“What’s really cool with the high street is that it can deliver all of that. We have just got to remind the consumer about that, and that is where Phlok comes in – giving a reason to shop local. It’s not about charity, it’s not a point of principle, it’s about ‘I’m getting value out of this’.”

Phlok is by no means the first initiative with the goal of reviving the high street.

The Bristol Pound, a city-wide local currency, was launched to back independents. Another scheme, Fiver Fridays, sees shops offer discounted items in an effort to encourage shoppers to return to them.

But Mr Graham said “The difficulty with recent initiatives to stimulate footfall back to the high street, such as Fiver Fridays, is that many businesses can’t afford to discount their prices so heavily. With Phlok, there is no need to discount – it stimulates consumer interest, helping them rediscover great value and choice locally whilst encouraging businesses to protect their margins”.

Attic Womenswear in Ilkley is the first business in the town to sign up to Phlok. Sarah Lyles, owner, said: “We are in a really proactive town and we know that the high street’s changing and I think it will encourage people to shop local and shop with their independents by collecting these points that they can turn into money.

“As a modern retailer we already recognise how vital social media is to the survival of independents on the high street. Phlok gives us the opportunity to build on what we already do, while rewarding customer loyalty at the same time.”

Scarborough businesswoman Tina Boden, co-founder of Enterprise Rockers, an independent community interest company which supports micro businesses, is working with Mr Graham to bring Phlok to Ilkley and other towns across Yorkshire and Humber before spreading UK-wide.

Venture-funded Phlok charges for the credits it offers businesses, taking a margin from those sales.

Mr Graham said: “Our end game is about building a very vibrant community across borders, across towns, and the maths works as it gets economies of scale.”

Phlok is free for consumers to join.

Learning from mistakes

PHLOK was initially piloted in Belfast in Northern Ireland but failed to take off.

Paul Graham, founder and CEO of Phlok, who is himself from Belfast, said: “We got about 50 businesses involved in a pilot in Belfast. It failed, it failed miserably.

“Because we were app only so we were only on an iPhone, we put it out there and marketed it out to about 10,000 people in and around the Belfast area and only about 12 per cent had a smartphone that could actually participate.”

Now, Phlok has its own website as well as being on Android and the iPhone.

The scheme was then launched in Malahide, Ireland, before being rolled out to other towns and villages.