saveA gift delivery app that lets you shop from local stores and deliver a gift to a loved one the same day is now available across the U.S. The startup announced Monday that it is rolling out its service nationwide, after previously only being available in select cities including Atlanta, Dallas, Charleston, Fort Worth, Kansas City, Nashville, and Wichita.
The startup was founded by Sarah-Ellen Preston after she experienced the stress of her newborn’s open heart surgery. After receiving thoughtful gifts from loved ones, Preston wanted to make it possible for everyone to give instant gifts, including those living in another state, to help their loved ones in a time of need.
“When I think back to that experience, I weirdly don’t remember the stress and the heartache. I just remember how people rallied around me and how much care and support I felt… So, I took that feeling and put it forward into the world through technology,” he told TechCrunch.
Afloat aims to offer the convenience of online shopping and instant delivery, while also supporting local businesses without leaving home. Afloat takes care of the entire gift-giving process, including wrapping the gift and adding a handwritten note for an extra personal touch. (Preston noted that it’s more thoughtful than receiving a typed Amazon receipt.) As for the delivery part, DoorDash drivers take care of it.
After the pandemic, many customers realized how much they appreciate their local shops. About 40% Many small businesses had to close during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2021. The desire to buy from small businesses still remains strong. recent survey 62% of participants in a survey conducted by Intuit said they want to buy from small businesses in their community. E-commerce giants are also capitalizing on this mindset, as Etsy’s survey shows. New Gift InitiativeWhich includes curated gift guides highlighting independent shop owners.
The app currently works with 100 store partners, ranging from bakeries and baby stores to bookstores, florists, traditional gift stores, jewelry stores, etc. According to the company, it has helped its store partners increase their gift revenue by 30-50%.
The company has also now shifted to a SaaS (software-as-a-service) model to allow more stores to join the platform, including spas and other similar businesses. Afloat will offer subscription plans at $99/month (Gold) and $299/month (Platinum), which include a newly launched dashboard that provides stores with marketing and merchandising assistance as well as sales data and other useful features.
“We don’t have to do a hard rollout in markets anymore, which is really exciting… we’ll be able to do SaaS anywhere, everywhere,” Preston said.
Additionally, the company is in the process of creating subscription tiers for consumers, giving them access to premium features like scheduling deliveries and getting instant notifications when new gift offers arrive.
Afloat currently has over 30,000 users. It is backed by Goodwater Capital and Techstars, with total funding of over $5 million.
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