Card rewards consumers for buying locally in Portland

Original: Card rewards consumers for buying locally in Portland

Much the way IndieBound aims to encourage consumers to buy from independently owned bookstores rather than national chains, so Oregon-based Supportland is using incentives to reward them for choosing local businesses when they buy products and services of any kind.

Now in beta, Supportland has developed a rewards card that works at any of the company's network of some 50 locally owned Portland-area businesses. Using the free card, consumers are rewarded with points every time they make a purchase at one of those business. Those points, in turn, can be used toward the purchase of specific products or services at any participating businesses. Locally owned Poppy Massage, for instance, offers a one-hour massage for every 500 points earned at any business or businesses in the Supportland network.

Following its official Portland launch in January, Supportland hopes to expand across the US, with points transferable among regions — the entire infrastructure has been packaged, in fact, so that it can be completely re-branded wherever it's implemented, the company says. An iPhone app, meanwhile, is also in the works. One to partner with, emulate or otherwise get involved in?

Website: www.supportland.com
Contact: info@supportland.com

Spotted by: Sarah Anne Jackson