Pomona, an app that lets shoppers collect loyalty points announced that it has secured an undisclosed seed funding round led by Frontier Capital. Telecom firm Prasetia and a number of angel investors also joined the round.
As part of the investment, Frontier Capital CEO Handi Irawan will become chairman of the board at Pomona. As a CEO of a consulting and market research company, he will bring his experience and connections in marketing to aid Pomona.
Through the partnership with Frontier Capital and Prasetia, the startup will also be able to leverage on their expansive network – connecting them to major Indonesian corporations and retailers.
Tennova Cipta Inatech, based in Indonesia is the operator behind O2O marketing solutions Pomona which gives users rewards for checking in and making purchases at retail locations. This point rewarding system incentivizes users’ shopping experiences and groom their behaviors.
“One of the things offered by Pomona among others is the points redemption feature which allows users to redeem attractive prizes such as shopping vouchers. With the rewards, consumers are encouraged to shop or window shop in affiliated shopping centers,” said Pomona’s CEO Benz Budiman.
The app also recently added a feature for users to generate more point, whereby consumers simply need to scan barcodes of products they are interested in. According to co-founder Benz Budiman and Ari Suwendi, this feature has reached a 200,000 times usage within one month of its launch.
In this way, Pomona helps increases the physical engagement with brands, products, and services. While retailers, especially those with multiple stores and major brands can use what they learn about consumer behavior to craft tailored marketing campaigns.
The app was launched about a year ago, with the aim of positioning itself as the Shopkick of Indonesia. It has been downloaded about 70,000 times and has built a network up to 650 merchants in Jakarta, including supermarket chain Ranch Market and Gramedia bookstores among some.
At present, Pomona has also forged a notable partnership with Grand Indonesia, the largest mall operator in Indonesia, and some big retail brands such as supermarket chain Ranch Market and Gramedia bookstores.
“The mediation of physical retail stores and smartphone through location-based mobile technology is revolutionizing the way modern consumers shop today. Pomona has created a funnel connecting shoppers, retailers and brands, where everyone wins,” said Handi Irawan of Frontier Capital.
Pomona will use the latest capital to aggressively accelerate the company’s marketing operations and partner acquisition as well as to increase technological capability.
By Vivian Foo, VCNewsNetwork
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