Aisle50 announced today a $2.6M Series A financing led by Origin Ventures, with major participation from August Capital. Aisle 50 sells digital offers from consumer packaged goods companies directly to consumers, who redeem them at bricks-and-mortar grocery retailers using a loyalty card or phone number.
Aisle50’s unique discounts reward consumers for buying in advance, locking up a sale for a brand – and a store visit for the retailer. In April, the company began offering consumers a product subscription program to automatically load discounts to loyalty cards at regular intervals.
‘We’re thrilled to work with Origin Ventures, which is from our hometown of Chicago and has significant experience in consumer-facing investments,’ said Christopher Steiner, who co-founded Aisle50 with Riley Scott in 2012.
Retailers that have adopted Aisle50’s sales channel have seen increases in shopper visits, and average shopping cart values that are 31% higher when redeeming an Aisle50 offer in store. Redemption rates have consistently topped 90%, and more than 140 brands have distributed offers via Aisle50 and its retail partners.
‘Physical retail stores are just beginning to leverage the web in ways that drive consumer engagement and, most importantly, extra store visits and sales increases,’ added Scott. ‘Aisle 50 is at the front of that trend.’
Grocery chains using Aisle50 include NC-based Lowe’s Foods; OK-based Homeland Stores; Shop ‘n Save of Western PA; and D’Agostino in NY. Additional retailers, including Raley’s in Northern CA, will launch in the next six months.
‘We are excited to lead this investment in Aisle50. The company has demonstrated that their unique solution provides value to consumers, retailers, and brands,’ said Brent Hill, a partner at Origin Ventures.
ABOUT AISLE50: Aisle50 was part of the summer 2011 class of Silicon Valley accelerator Y Combinator. Other Aisle50 investors include August Capital, Ron Conway, Yuri Milner, and Plug & Play Ventures, among others. Aisle50 is based in Chicago. For more information, visit aisle50.com/about.
ABOUT ORIGIN VENTURES: Origin Ventures is an early stage venture capital firm based in Northbrook, IL with additional offices in Chicago, IL. The firm was co-founded by Steve Miller and Bruce Barron in 1999. Brent Hill joined as a partner in January 2013. Previous investments include iNest (sold to IAC), GrubHub, Shoutlet, ifbyphone, and Campus Explorer. For more information, visit www.originventures.com.
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