Everywhere you look there are deal websites popping up, but one new company is angling for something all together different: the cash economy. KokoChé is a smartphone mobile app that aims to serve communities and businesses that are excluded from bigger companies like Groupon and LivingSocial because they cater to people with credit cards, or do not have websites. The app is launching in East LA, Koreatown, Silverlake and Echo Park in California for Android, and for iPhone in the near future.
We spoke to Adam Díaz, CMO of KokoChé, Inc., who said that his company is looking at the cash-centric consumers, about 1/3 of all adult consumers in the country, who can access KokoChé’s deals by paying a small monthly subscription. Then, real time deals arrive on a user’s smartphone, which they can search with options like “I’m hungry” or “I’m bored,” and unlike Groupon, KokoChé doesn’t take a cut of the sales.
Más Wired: Why one more deal app?
Adam Díaz: We are here to bridge small business owners to smartphone users, and smart phone users to their local businesses. Part of our mission is to keep money local. At KokoChé, we know that the burritos at “El Tepeyac” in East Los Angeles are better than the ones at Taco Bell, and we want to reconnect people to shopping local and supporting local businesses at prices that are competitive with the fast food chains. It is in the best interest of these communities to keep money local. This helps businesses hire more help, thus creating jobs for people that need them.
Since our launch communities are largely cash-based, and use credit cards at a much smaller rate, Smartphones can be their access points to real-time deals. East Los Angeles shows us that there is a large demographic of young, technologically savvy smartphone users who are looking for these instantaneous deals. It is amazing that no other business has systematically addressed this market.
MW: Who is your target user?
AD: Our product is focused on smartphone users who want to access live deals in their area, and any merchant who wants access to Smartphone users. It just so happens that I am Mexican American and feel that I understand the Latino market, on both the consumer and merchant end, and it is the fastest growing market in the U.S.
We are also launching our product in Koreatown. The Asian market which, after the Latino market is the fastest growing market in America, faces the same problems that the Latino market does in terms of having been largely ignored by larger corporations.
Our test market for the Asian American market is Koreatown, and for this we have hired a sales and marketing team with personal ties to this community.
MW: How does it work?
AD:
As a web-based mobile application, KokoChé links users to real time flash deals in their local communities by connecting them to live feeds at the tap of a button, curated by category, location, proximity, and cost.
The buttons include: “I´m hungry,” “I´m thirsty,” “I´m bored,” among others. When using the app, the user will be asked if he or she would like to subscribe to a particular product and can opt to be informed via SMS, email, or push notification on the app. These subscription terms may include such words/themes as “spicy,” “boba tea,” or “coffee,” to name a few examples.
When the merchant signs on using a smartphone or the Internet, he or she can flash out a deal in a number of different categories and control when that deal is active, using start/stop buttons.
The merchant is able to completely control the deal dashboard, by choosing the day of the week, the discounted price (vs. original price) the hours posted, edit the deal, delete the deal, etc. The merchant can post an unlimited number of deals that, once published, immediately become live on the live feeds available to the end user.
To learn more about KokoChé visit the website.
Sara Inés Calderón is a journalist and writer who lives between Texas and California. Follow her on Twitter @SaraChicaD.
