This new app could revolutionize the way you shop. Here’s how you can try it — and get a free beer
If Tim Griffin gets his way, Charlotte buyers can use their phone to pay for goods and services, no matter the seller.
His new app, Cloosiv, is coming to Charlotte soon, and you can test it later this month.
“It’s a tool for the consumer and that’s what we want to build,” Griffin said. “It’s not that it’s a social media site and you’re going to stay glued to Cloosiv, but it’s something that you can use every day.”
The idea behind the app is simple: make quick and easy purchases in everything from a coffee shop to a local boutique by using its two main functions, order and pay, and scan and pay.
“Let’s say you’re at a brewery at a table with your friends, and you’re ready for your next drink,” Griffin said. “You can simply open up the Cloosiv app, order the beer you want, pay for that beer on your phone, and be notified when it’s ready for you to pick up at the bar.”
The same basic concept can be used at a local retailer if you wanted to buy a new shirt. Scan the bar code, pay on your phone and walk out of the store.
Griffin hopes that Cloosiv can be the one-stop shop for your purchasing needs. The name itself is meant to indicate the inclusion of all merchant types and consumers, as well as the feeling that the personalized app is exclusive to the merchant and consumer.
“If I download the Starbucks app and then I download the Walmart app, they are very different experiences, and I have to relearn how to use each app,” Griffin said. “This one is the same wherever you go. You’re going to be comfortable using it.”
Cloosiv will use an artificial intelligence engine to adopt a proactive marketing approach in hopes of making a strong connection with its users.
“We’ll have a picture of who you are as a consumer and as a human being because we’ll know that you drink coffee every morning, you only drink IPAs, you wear jeans and a T-shirt, and you frequent these places,” Griffin said. “We are going to be able to segment exact customer bases with products we know they like and that the consumer will finally find value in. You’ll be getting deals for things you care about.”
Currently in beta testing, the app has partnered with a few local breweries to give you a chance to get a free beer and a hands-on experience.
The beta test tour starts Oct. 18 at Lenny Boy Brewing Co., then heads to NoDa Brewing Company Oct. 23, The Unknown Brewing Co. Oct. 24, and finishes up at Resident Culture Brewing & Blending Oct. 25.
Cloosiv will pick up your first beer as you download and try out the new app (be sure to get there by 5 p.m.) and donate $1 for every purchase during these stops to ACEing Autism, a tennis program that serves children with autism.
Twenty merchants have currently signed up to partner with Cloosiv, but Griffin does not want to rush the app out before it is ready.
“We are being very deliberate in how we roll out because there needs to be enough merchants using it at the same time for there to be value for the customer,” he said.
Griffin also plans to provide more consumer testing around Black Friday, along with events like Queen City Brewers Festival and Taste of Charlotte.
Photo: Cloosiv
This story was originally published October 3, 2017 at 11:00 PM with the headline "This new app could revolutionize the way you shop. Here’s how you can try it — and get a free beer."