Ptring.com

Inspiration

The choice between large chains like Starbucks and my local coffee shops has always been tough. My loyalty sways because I want to try all the local spots evenly, but I often end up at chains due to their robust loyalty programs. PtRing was born from a desire to level the playing field, giving local businesses a fighting chance to retain customers through a shared loyalty system.

What it does

PtRing seamlessly integrates into Square's existing point-of-sale system, requiring no changes to the business's user experience. It allows customers to earn and redeem loyalty points across a network of local businesses, thus encouraging more frequent visits and purchases at community-based shops.

How we built it

We utilized Square's Loyalty API and webhooks support, combined with AWS Lambda Functions for backend processing. All customer interactions and loyalty points transactions are stored and managed in a DynamoDB database, ensuring scalability and speed.

Challenges we ran into

One of our main challenges was figuring out the logistics of maintaining a fair system for all participating businesses. We needed to ensure that the points system was equitable and beneficial not just to customers but also to every business in the network.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are particularly proud of developing the net points solution, where businesses can easily track how many points they are contributing to and consuming from the shared pool. This transparency helps businesses understand their benefits and encourages them to promote the network.

What we learned

Throughout the development of PtRing, we discovered that many local businesses underutilize or completely avoid Square's loyalty program because not many of their customers reach the loyalty thresholds. PtRing helps solve this by pooling resources and customers, making loyalty rewards more accessible and frequent.

What's next for PtRing

Moving forward, we plan to create a more streamlined process for onboarding to diversify the rewards available and enhance their appeal. We also aim to foster location-based community events that can further drive engagement and loyalty to local businesses, turning every neighborhood into a vibrant marketplace of shared values and benefits.

Built With

• amazon-web-services
• dynamodb
• gatsby
• lambda
• node.js
• serverless
• square
• webhooks