Delivering 24X of Real Impact to Local Economies
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 21 hours ago
It is only fitting that this week we celebrate both Economic Development Week and National Small Business Week at the same time. Since our launch, Open Rewards has partnered with communities across the country to deliver real impact to our local economies.
Did we accomplish what we set out to do? The numbers would say that it's a resounding yes.
Open Rewards, By the Numbers
$54M Local Economic Impact
In the form of real revenue driven to local businesses.
807K Purchases Made at Local Businesses
That’s a LOT of haircuts and coffees!
30K Local Businesses
Cafes, bookstores, and yoga studios — everything that makes your neighborhood unique.
$66.95 Average Amount per Transaction
A casual dinner out for two, or a dress from that cute boutique?
>24X Economic Impact ROI
That means every $1 you invest into the program turns into $24 of revenue for a local business in your community.
87% Behavior Change
Users indicated that Open Rewards influenced them to shop local.
A Nationwide Footprint
Open Rewards is proud to have launched in communities spread across 15 states and provinces, from the Pacific Coast to the Mid-Atlantic, from the Canadian Rockies to the Gulf Coast of Texas. That geographic diversity is not a coincidence - it is proof that the fundamentals of a thriving local economy are universal.
From Small Towns to Major Cities
Our communities are not a monolith. They range from small rural towns of just a few thousand residents to major urban centers with populations in the hundreds of thousands - and the program works for all of them.
10 are business districts, economic development zones, or urban corridors - such as the East Aldine District in Houston and National Landing in Arlington.
36% are mid-sized (25K–100K) - Communities like North Richland Hills, TX and Littleton, CO sit in this range, where a diverse local business scene coupled with a coordinated shop-local effort visibly moves the needle.
31% are small cities and towns (5K–25K) - places like Hondo, TX; Hermiston, OR; Fort Lupton, CO; and Cranbrook, BC, Canada deliver a perfect small town feel and drive outsized impact for the small businesses that make their main streets unique.
5% are very small towns (under 5K residents) - including Jacksboro, TX; Clyde, TX; and Lavon, TX; proof that no community is too small for a shop local program.
13 communities have crossed the $1 million economic impact milestone
Engagement That Moves the Needle
Across all communities, Open Rewards users have made 697,000+ purchases that earned rewards and 110,000+ purchases where they redeemed rewards. 63.8% of registered users are active - that is not a vanity metric: it means nearly two-thirds of every person who signed up is actually shopping local and coming back.
Local Businesses: The Real Winners
Across all communities, 30,950 local businesses are on Open Rewards. These are the cafes, salons, hardware stores, gyms, and boutiques that give neighborhoods their character. Every purchase on Open Rewards goes directly to these businesses - and with an average transaction value of $66.95, each visit represents meaningful, tangible revenue for a local owner.
A Real-Time Economic Development Tool
Open Rewards is not a single-purpose tool. Across our communities, Economic Developers have found creative, targeted ways to deploy the platform far beyond a simple shop-local program. Using rewards a lever, economic developers can dial up and down the rewards offers in real time to influence where consumers go.
Here are some examples:
Supporting businesses impacted by disruptions such as construction
City of Englewood used Open Rewards to triple the standard cashback rate from 5% to 15% specifically for the 25 businesses operating within the construction zone, with immediate effects in reverting the downward slump
Target specific geographies, sectors, or times of year
Camden, NJ offers 50% rewards for their Urban Enterprise Zone. Signal Hill, CA offers 20% rewards for dining at any Signal Hill eatery. Diamond Bar, CA runs weekly promos throughout the year for occasions such as Mother's Day, Small Business Week, and National Donut Day. Lancaster, CA runs "Double Reward Fridays" every Friday of the year.
Layer additional initiatives
Howard County, MD launched The HoCo Digital Farm Passport program to encourage shoppers to visit the farms in the county and win prizes. Monterey Park, CA launched a Mural Selfie Contest when the city unveiled their latest mural, where shoppers can submit a selfie with the mural for a chance to win rewards in the Open Rewards app through a weekly drawing.
Looking ahead
At Open Rewards, we are a Public Benefit Corporation with a mission to help our cities drive local spending and boost local economies. Open Rewards is the tool for every Economic Developer that turns your city into a programmable marketplace. We are incredibly proud of the impact we have achieved so far.
A huge thank you to all Economic Developers like you - it is only because of your willingness to take up the hardest challenges and your never-ending drive to make your communities better that make this impact possible. Our work is just getting started, and we can't wait to keep building together with you.
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