Local businesses have teamed up with Apple to offer special discounts to customers who use Apply Pay, the electronic wallet feature introduced by Apple four years ago, as part of the company’s efforts to increase usage of the app.
Edie Freré, owner of Landis Gifts and Stationery and membership chair of the Larchmont Boulevard Association, told the Buzz she is offering 20% off all in-stock items, several of which are pictured above.
An Apple spokesman, who wouldn’t give his name, told us all the deals with local businesses are private, which is pretty standard for the company, which prides itself on not revealing details. But he did say that the goal of the promotion is to encourage local shoppers and businesses in influential neighborhood retail pockets to start using the app.
“Using Apple Pay with your iPhone is faster than using a credit or debit card. Because spending money shouldn’t mean spending more time at the register,” is the official Apple position, according its website.
According to Bloomberg News, Apple has been hitting the streets in local communities with incentives for small businesses to offer discounts to consumers to use the service.
“A crew of Apple Pay ambassadors descended on several Chicago neighborhoods, including Lincoln Park, in advance of the city’s Oct. 7 marathon. “Activation zones’’ for the iPhone maker’s electronic payments service were set up along the route for the race. Spectators using Apple Pay could get $1 tacos from local food trucks.
Four years after introducing Apple Pay, the company is going neighborhood by neighborhood trying to get U.S. retailers and consumers to use the service—no easy task. While as many as one in three households with credit cards tap the app at least twice a month in the U.K., the system is used that often by only 14 percent of those households in the U.S., according to Crone Consulting LLC. And Apple Pay is growing slower here than rival services from the likes of Walmart Inc., according to Crone,” reported Bloomberg.
“We started using it on Friday, it’s easy and it’s fun,” Freré told the Buzz.
If you are starting your holiday shopping and want to shop local, check out the discounts at the following businesses that have signed on for this weekend’s promotion on Larchmont Blvd.
Above The Fold is offering 10% off
Alegria Bazaar is offering 20% off
Daas Optique by Alexander Daas is offering 30% off
Blends is offering 15% off
Bluebird is offering 25% off (exclusions apply)
Bonne Chance is offering 20 % off
CH Boutique is offering 10% off
Chevalier’s Books is offering 15% off
Heavenly Couture is offering 10% off regular price clothing
Kreation Organic is offering 20% off bottled juices
Landis Gifts and Stationery is offering 20% off in stock items
Larchmont Cleaners is offering 30% off
The Mail Shop is offering 10% off shipping
Larchmont Village Wine, Spirits & Cheese is offering 10% off food items
MAC is offering complementary makeup demo
Picket Fences is offering 10% off regular priced items
Ritz Dry Cleaners is offering 20% off dry cleaning
Shopaholic Sample Sales is offering 20% off
The Barking Lot is offering 20% off treats
Thomas James LA by Perverse Sunglasses is offering 20% off
Trina Turk is offering $50 off purchases of $250 or more on Trina Turk and Mr. Turk products
Vincent Hair Artistry is offering 20% off retail
In addition to Larchmont, Apple Pay promotions are also being held in several other Los Angeles retail areas, including South Beverly Drive, Westwood and Silverlake.
