StreetPin is a new digital platform for the community and retail – two of the hottest topics regarding the future of high streets and town centres. It was launched at the UK:DRIC, the national centre for digital retail innovation in Gloucester, this month.

StreetPin seeks to help independent shops, market stalls and local services without the digital know-how, to make the most of the internet. They focus on the huge gulf between digital sales solutions like pay-per-click, Groupon, keyword bidding etc and traditional sales solutions like printed leaflets, circulars and directory listings. The aim is to help the High Street leverage millions of potential small volume deals, disposal-saving promotions and generally make the most of the ‘here and now’.

Retailers on the StreetPin platform can create their own stand-alone website (Pinboard) within minutes and start trading. Each Pinboard is a blend of community conversations, expert advice and instant deals – everything from recipe recommendations from the butchers, to the pop-up shop discounting goods before they close.

Tim Buick, founder of StreetPin, has been delivering digital solutions for large businesses for 20 years and now seeks to make ‘digital’ accessible to those that ‘don’t do digital’. He has built and tested 5 previous versions of StreetPin and has now pulled all these learnings together into a commercially-ready version 6, and will continue to evolve thanks to retailers’ invaluable feedback.

Tim Buick, founder of StreetPin, said:

“StreetPin champions the pillars of local, instant and simplicity. Where many small businesses may get lost creating a digital ad campaign, the high street sports shop knows that their ideal target audience is the group of 200 runners that meet around the corner every Tuesday and the members of the gym 100m away. StreetPin makes these connections possible, simply and affordably.

“The UK:DRIC has been like an extra member of our team, with introductions, testing, lots of social mentions and invaluable insights. With UK:DRIC’s support, we’ve managed to set up our first real multi-venue trial – in the Eastgate Indoor Market. This is an ideal test-bed for StreetPin as there tends to be a high concentration of entrepreneurial traders, with limited experience of engaging customers that are not in their immediate proximity, especially on a digital/real-time basis. With the trial in full swing, we are receiving lots of great feedback and responsively improving our tools, enabling us to provide a real user-centric product, ready to scale throughout Gloucestershire.”

Emily Knight, Director of UK:DRIC, commented:

“StreetPin is an ideal platform for small businesses looking to make their first step in creating an online presence. StreetPin’s enthusiasm and willingness to learn from both retailers and consumers has created an incredibly accessible interface for businesses to post notices and advertise promotions, removing barriers to digital inclusion. It has also been exciting to introduce StreetPin to businesses working with the UK:DRIC as they can already see the potential in collaboration, further enhancing the digital high street ecosystem we are creating in Gloucester.”
If you’d like more information, or would like them to set up your own demonstration Pinboard (Free until the end of the year), please do contact hello@streetpin.com.

ENDS.

What are the benefits for retailers?

• Get online simply and effectively.
• Get discovered by those ‘here and now’.
• Respond to weather, good supplier deals, a drop in footfall… Post offers on your Pinboard in seconds to reflect your ever-changing business environment.
• Focus on what makes you unique and appealing: the in-store experience and wealth of product knowledge. StreetPin helps you relay this on to the devices of shoppers currently passing you by.
• Turn customers in to communities – generate a loyal following and a reason for customers to keep coming back.
• Collaborate with other nearby retailers and services – how about offering 25% off coffee, delivered straight to the captive audience waiting at the hairdresser next door?

What’s in it for the shopper?

• Promotions don’t need to be the standard 10% off the same products, month in and month out – StreetPin deals are unique and within walking distance.
• Are you a deal hunter? Follow your favourite shops to receive instant updates for ‘buy one, get one free on Tulips until the end of the day’, or ‘half price Zumba class, tonight only’ – instant deals that you’d never see anywhere else.
• Looking for something in particular? Pop on to a Pinboard from the comfort of your armchair and ask the shop owner: ‘Do you have any scallops in stock today?’
• Shopping locally has never been so easy – discover that the market stall you’ve never visited before is selling those headphones you’ve been looking for, and pick them up on the way back from work, instead of waiting for Amazon to deliver them by the end of the week.
• Produce your own FREE Pinboard wherever you are – these forever-free versions need to be created within 250m of your current location to ensure these are contextually relevant. This could be for your local park where you play football, the local mums’ group, an upcoming event…

The real-time directory

• This pulls together all the deals and conversations from the shops, services and communities nearby. For the first time, you can access all that the High Street has to offer in one place.
• You can view all content, or just local deals or just local conversations – whatever you’re in the mood for at any given time.
• By following this directory (it could be for the High Street, or town, or market), you’ll get all the latest, relevant news and offers, directly in your inbox.

If you’d like more information, or would like them to set up your own demonstration Pinboard (Free until the end of the year), please do contact hello@streetpin.com.