After a year of beta testing and customer feedback, the Accolades app and platform is now live with selected customers.

Accolades was built by Ovations Group and Thought Faqtory to leverage a new generation of smart app technology that connects to Bluetooth smart devices – most notably Estimote Beacons – in order to deliver a new contextual experience to smartphone users. In addition, it also presents merchants with an opportunity to better understand their customers and engage them at the right time.

Accolades is named and was built to reward the engaged customer with specials, loyalty points and convenient mobile payments in retail environments. Customers will be able to browse, buy, and engage with products and brands via the mobile app. They will be able to connect with friends on social channels and check-in, endorse and favourite brands. They will view products, deals and share their product experiences.

Estimote Beacons provide micro-location accuracy to smartphone users, and allows them to subscribe to relevant offers and specials and receive them when they make sense.

“From a merchant perspective, Accolades offers new insight into mobile consumer behaviour. Through the app, retailers and brands will be able to understand and analyse consumer browsing and buying habits. This will enable them to cross sell and offer promotions that make sense to a customer, based on their detailed profiles as well as the right time and specific location,” says Craig Leppan, Ovations Group Associate Director.

Currently, Accolades is providing merchant branded solutions for the quick service restaurant sector to demonstrate to customers and merchants the power and convenience of mobile for ordering, paying and rewards.

“Our Coffee App is built on the Accolades platform and is in private testing to monitor user experiences around ordering and paying for coffee on mobile and measuring user engagement with location based marketing and analytics and the impact on the conventional merchant point of sale environment,” says Leppan.

“Accolades is still in private testing for pilot merchants, so please contact us at info@accoladesapp.co.za for pricing and to be invited to see the power of the app,” he concluded.

Accolades is powered by Ovations Group Digital and Thought Faqtory.