flexReceipts (YC W16) Helps Retailers Re-engage with Customers After a Sale

by Y Combinator3/8/2016

Although consumers increasingly like to shop online, over 90% of
purchases made today still occur offline, in physical stores. Even so, the growing field of targeted digital marketing is primarily focused only on driving online
purchases — completely ignoring a big part of the industry’s shopping activity.

flexReceipts is a company launching out of our current batch that bridges this divide,
helping retailers understand who their offline customers are and effectively target them
online to drive engagement and repeat sales — all by leveraging the data rooted in good old fashioned receipts and bringing it up to modern times.

Ken Yeung at VentureBeat wrote about flexReceipt’s very clever solution in a recent article:

“At a time when everything is being made ‘smarter,’ the time has come
for a smart receipt. That note you receive in paper format or
electronically after making a purchase hasn’t really evolved for
decades, and merchants are losing out on a potentially valuable touch
point. FlexReceipts enables retailers to exploit this proof of purchase with targeted offers based on data they know about the customer.

This Y Combinator startup provides a marketing platform that captures
a customer’s email address at the point of sale and combines that with
any known information to engage them through the electronic receipt. The
company leverages the data gleaned to embed custom promotions, product
recommendations, videos, surveys, and more, all with a focus on growing
loyalty. So if you happen to buy a shirt from Macy’s, for example, and
then enter in your email address to receive an electronic receipt,
FlexReceipts may include a coupon toward your next purchase or notify
you of other clothing that goes with the shirt you just bought.

‘On a website, retailers know who you are and can tailor the experience
for you. FlexReceipts is very similar to that but with receipts. We know
who you are, what you’ve purchased in the past, and can better pinpoint
you with the right targeted promotions, discounts, and more,’ cofounder
Jay Patel told VentureBeat in an interview.”

Read the full story about how flexReceipt works in VentureBeat here.

Author

  • Y Combinator

    Y Combinator created a new model for funding early stage startups. Twice a year we invest a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200). The startups move to Silicon