Singapore tech startup Aimazing has officially launched their new cashback product after a successful run of their “lite” programme. Previously focused on corporate clients, the “lite” version of their product was developed to better serve local SME merchants affected by the pandemic. Launched in June 2020, the programme had over 400 local merchants, consisting of both independent and chain stores all around Singapore, such as Morganfields and Partea.
Jun Ting, Founder & CEO of Aimazing said, “SME retail owners don’t just want tools; they want results — especially in these times of uncertainty. At Aimazing, we want to bring power back to merchants, by granting them full access to their reachable consumer base, with the knowledge and autonomy they need to run their own marketing campaigns.”
Going digital to cope with rapid changes
The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority noted a 10-month high in business cessations in September last year, with 457 companies in the retail sector shutting their doors amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. As consumer online shopping habits soared, brick-and-mortar businesses who were not able to pivot in time to a digitized model had to suffer. In Asia-Pacific, e-commerce grew by 15.5% in 2020. With fully-digital retail sectors thriving, physical business owners have come to realise that more has to be done to bring footfall back to their stores post-pandemic.
With a simple plug-and-play solution that any merchant can easily incorporate into their existing POS, Aimazing helps physical stores track their offline transaction data and run their own promotional campaigns. The solution’s in-built cashback loyalty program allows customers to return to the same store and benefit from cashback just by scanning a QR code — driving real footfall back into physical stores.
Jun Ting, Founder & CEO of Aimazing shared, “The biggest challenges most businesses face is not access to technology, but the ability to apply that technology to their business. Especially for SMEs, high installation costs or lack of technical knowledge often form barriers to adopting new solutions. We made Aimazing’s solution with all this in mind, ensuring that our solution is easily implemented and as fuss-free as possible, so that anyone can use it.”
The only information collected from customers is their Facebook PSID, and this is done automatically upon scanning the QR code, with no additional fuss on the part of the merchant or the customer. The PSIDs collected allow merchants to run highly-precise promotional campaigns, building a base of returning customers and acquiring new customers through lookalike campaigns at a lower cost. With full autonomy and access to their reachable consumer base, store owners are able to run their own marketing campaigns with the help of Aimazing, instead of turning to other merchant platforms with less visibility.
Mr Ng Kia Jin, the owner of Myo Restobar, a contemporary Chinese restaurant featured in the Michelin Guide, said that they have seen an increase in footfall to their store as well as an increase in the number of return customers over the past few months since joining Aimazing’s programme. Myo Restobar also boasts an 11.6x return on investment with the Cashback programme they adopted with Aimazing. For their customers, cashback has become an incentive to return to the restaurant, especially alongside the warm hospitality and great food.
Mr Toshiro Munemori and Ms Sharon Woo, owners of Fu-Men Singapore, an authentic and Halal Certified Japanese eatery that serves the delicious Fukuoka’s famous Hakata Udon, said that they have seen much growth since onboarding the Aimazing solution, with an 8.16x return on investment in Cashback and a reachable customer base of over 42% of all their customers. Aimazing has made their customer base easily ‘reachable’: Merchants are able to send automated messages to customers to remind them to redeem cashback and notify them of any promotions, increasing engagement with the brand and adding a personal touch to their communications.
Dedicated to supporting retail and F&B SMEs, the Aimazing solution does not charge additional transaction fees for cashback, which can be taxing for small businesses struggling to stay afloat. Their “lite” programme with local merchants, saw an average ROI of 10.2x for every $1 spent from returning customers redemption of cashback. With its comprehensive tracking of offline transaction data, bi-weekly reports and clear insights that are easily translatable to targeted marketing campaigns — none of which requiring extensive technical expertise on the part of the merchant — Aimazing paves the way to succeeding in a fiercely competitive market.
New board members join
Aimazing has also recently welcomed Chong Chuan Neo and Ng Eng Ho to their board of directors. These appointments come at a time when more merchants recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic are exploring digitization strategies and turning to marketing solutions.
Formerly a Chairman and Country Managing Director of Accenture China, Chong Chuan Neo is the first woman to helm Accenture Greater China (Mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan) as Chairman and Managing Director in its 30-year history. Over a period of three years, she led a team of 15,000 employees to provide end-to-end services in Strategy, Management Consulting, Digital, Technology and Operations to State-owned and Privately-owned enterprises, and Multinational companies. Ms. Chong also coaches, mentors, and invests in startups and emerging companies, including actively investing in companies with a ‘greater cause’ in the Education and Technology sectors.
Ng Eng Ho is currently the Chairman of ZWEEC Analytics Pte Ltd. in Singapore and an independent Board Director of TNG Fintech Group in Hong Kong. He has previously served in top management positions, including ST Technologies Telemedia Pte Ltd., a subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, as Executive Vice President (Operations), and ST Telemedia’s Indonesian subsidiary, PT Indosat Tbk, as the Deputy President Director. Mr. Ng was also Managing Director of Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation Ltd. after serving in various positions at Keppel T&T and its subsidiaries.
The startup is expecting to serve more merchants in driving their marketing efforts through digitization of point-of-sale (POS) data and a clearer view of their total reachable customers, especially in a time of economic uncertainty.
Jun Ting said, “We are excited to welcome Chong Chuan Neo and Ng Eng Ho to our board of directors. Their keen expertise and leadership experience will be invaluable to Aimazing as we scale our capabilities to support the local SME ecosystem.”
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