Not everyone wants to learn how to become a pole dancer – sometimes not even for a day with a discount.
So when Bob Sullivan received a Groupon that offered him such a class about a year ago, he knew the daily deal scene could use some refinements.
“It wasn’t for me,” Sullivan told Bank Innovation. (“Why not?” we asked. Answer: “I’m not limber enough and have other stuff to do.”)
At the time, the problem was that most deal companies were primarily relying on geographic information to shoot over discounts, which meant that the deals were not tailored to their recipients. Fast forward a year later and Sullivan hopes to refine the space by offering consumers more targeted deals based on their transaction data, among other informational points, with a new company. (Other companies that we blogged about here, here and here have also been trying to improve on the daily deals’ relevance.)
“We went heavy on the analytics of data,” Sullivan says.
Expected to emerge out of beta in January 2012 will be Power Wallet (www.powerwallet.com), Sullivan’s attempt at innovating the space. Sullivan tells Bank Innovation that the PFM product will also folds in coupons and discounts.
The coupons themselves through Power Wallet can be very targeted for specific consumers by using rules written so that Power Wallet will determine if an account qualifies, explains Sullivan. Perhaps a consumer needs to be male, have an account carrying a $25,000 balance, also have investments and shops at Brooks Brothers, in order to receive a particular discount at, say, Paul Stuart. That can all be set up.
“Our engine generates advice, offers and solutions,” Sullivan says. “It allows us and our clients to [create] rules to generate hyper-targeted offers to consumers.”
What discount goes to him is processed daily during the night thanks to Power Wallet inking a partnership with Yodlee. In turn, the deal will appear on a consumer’s transactional line, as well as in other areas of the Power Wallet web site, for a consumer to redeem. Bank Innovation took a sneak peak of PowerWallet.com yesterday, and the site appears to be easy to navigate, which bodes well for usage.
Though Sullivan concedes that a number of good PFM providers exist today, like Pageonce and Mint, he wants to provide a service to “the rest of us.” More specifically, his target audience are individuals who have been suffering from the recession, as a result of wages cut or lost jobs.
Unless focused on credit restoration, he says “there are not a lot of products marketing to them.” Power Wallet will target the group, but also has hopes that Gen X and Gen Y will rely on its platform, too. In fact, one of Power Wallet’s major objectives is to drive consumer interactions on the site, says Sullivan. To achieve that, it will reward users with points for doing actions on the platform, as simple as clicking a tab. Once the user hits a certain points threshold, he can redeem something, like a giftcard. In other words, a consumer will be able to see he is getting something for every action he takes on the site, which Sullivan believes helps increase stickiness.
Though he identifies appealing to a wide range of consumers as the No. 1 hurdle for Power Wallet, Sullivan says research he has conducted indicates that people want to save money day to day.
“Consumers are looking at saving today,” says Sullivan. “People want to see offers on groceries and services.”
Even banks have reported that their customers want in on shopping deals.
For now, though, Sullivan says there are no immediate plans for Power Wallet to be white-labeled to banks, because of the long sales cycle and tough audits when selling to financial institutions. Though Power Wallet will be “prepared” to offer itself to banks once it officially launches, the company may not head in that direction, depending on the partnerships it cultivates, Sullivan says.
Regarding budding digital wallets, Sullivan recognizes the future of payments lies with such tools, but expects it will take time before they take off in America.
“Everything is coming down to the phone and iPad within the next two years. The wallet is going there, too,” predicts Sullivan. “We will integrate with the right one when it becomes available.”
In the nearer term, Power Wallet will offer consumers a premium version of Power Wallet by spring 2012 that will center on other credit-driven products, like credit scores and fraud. The data will be used to help consumers secure greater savings, says Sullivan. Additionally, they will offer users a prepaid card. No stripper pole, though.