TEMPE, Ariz. – Hownd®, a foot traffic generation platform for local brick and mortar businesses that has generated over $1.7 million in immediate Support Voucher revenue during the pandemic for local merchants, has created economic development partnerships with two more Arizona municipalities.
The City of Tucson which is the second largest city in Arizona, and Pima County, the second largest county in Arizona and includes Tucson and its broader metropolitan area, have joined forces with Hownd to launch the “Shop Our Local Deals” initiative. The program is largely based on the successful first-of-its-kind municipality partnership Hownd developed early on during the pandemic with the City of Tempe in Arizona, where the company is based.
“I commend the City of Tucson and Pima County officials for their economic development vision and swift acknowledgement of the dire situation their local brick and mortar businesses are in,” explains Hownd CEO Brandon Willey. “Given the economic stress they’re currently experiencing and will continue to struggle with for a long time, they need a variety of affordable, practical and sustainable solutions to help them reopen and recover as quickly as possible. We’re happy to be in the unique position to help Tucson and Pima County businesses through this partnership.”
According to Barbra Coffee, City of Tucson Economic Initiatives Director, the Hownd solution was an attractive option to assist with economic recovery. "We knew we needed to be innovative and quickly come up with a set of practical solutions for our struggling local businesses,” said Coffee.
Likewise John Moffatt, Ph.D., Director of Economic Development for Pima County, saw this as a way to extend the reach of the program and support businesses throughout Pima County. “Based on the due diligence we conducted, Hownd’s customer and revenue generation performance record with thousands of businesses, and its proven City of Tempe partnership, this presents a very sensible and scalable approach for supporting hundreds of brick and mortar stores in our region.”
As part of the partnership, the City of Tucson and Pima County have established a combined fund of $40,000 to cover Hownd’s Results-Delivered Pricing, a small fixed flat fee the company normally charges merchants only when it brings them paying customers. The fund will be available over the next 12 months or until it’s depleted. The fund is anticipated to cover the costs to deliver more than 10 times that amount in total revenue generated for thousands of local businesses from nearby consumers through the sale of Support and Gift Vouchers, gift cards, Buy Now promotions, and coupons purchased through the MyHownd mobile app, email, social media, or a participating business website.
While businesses ideally suited for this program include family entertainment centers, health & beauty businesses, restaurants, and bars, the Hownd platform also generates new customers and revenue for other types of businesses.
Businesses based in Tucson and in the greater metropolitan area within Pima County can learn more about the program, request information, and sign up by visiting hownd.com/Tucson-Pima. They can also learn more at connecttucson.com/hownd and pima.gov/SOLD.
Nearby consumers who want to support Tucson and Pima County businesses through this program can download the MyHownd app from their favorite app store.