InMarket, the leader in 360-degree consumer intelligence and real-time activation, has acquired Key Ring, the top loyalty app, from Vericast.
Key Ring launched during the first wave of digitization in offline commerce over a decade ago. Since then, more than 14 million people have downloaded Key Ring, storing over 60 million loyalty cards across tens of thousands of retailers.
As part of InMarket, Key Ring will bolster an industry-leading suite of owned-and-operated apps, including List Ease and CheckPoints, that span the journey as shoppers plan, save and organize. These properties empower brands to reach highly engaged, opted-in shoppers in real-time, while closing the loop on measuring campaign effectiveness.
“Key Ring has helped busy people save money effortlessly for more than a decade. As a result, it’s become a beloved brand, with a longstanding and deeply engaged user base,” said Todd Dipaola, CEO and Founder of InMarket. “As part of InMarket, Key Ring will be a critical asset linking millions of shoppers across thousands of retailers, while creating value for users and driving results for our brand partners. We’re committed to building on this legacy of creating experiences that drive closed-loop results for partners wherever we can.”
“We founded Key Ring to be a compelling model for value and convenience for millions of users,” said Chris Fagan, Founder of Key Ring. “InMarket is an ideal home to launch a new phase of growth, and I’m excited to see Key Ring users receive great support from a dedicated team.”
The Key Ring acquisition underscores the growing importance of first party data from opted-in consumers, and the value of real-time contextual advertising. Key Ring creates strong value in the form of savings, rewards and better shopping experiences.
“We live in an opt-in world, and consumers want to participate in apps that make their lives easier,” said Dipaola. “Accordingly, we’re focused on building value across our entire shopper community. Whether a shopper is on the hunt for deals, looking for seasonal gourmet products or planning the next two weeks of groceries, technology can improve the experience through utility and timely content.”
For brands, Key Ring can help InMarket attribute ROI from online and offline loyalty card transactions, coupled with location, to verify visits and sales lift. At InMarket, these efforts are forming a closed-loop backbone enabling brands to measure their advertising investment from first impression to sale to repeat sale.
InMarket, a bootstrapped company, continues to outpace well-heeled competitors in organic growth, acquisitions, profitability, first party data, and stability. Its vision is to discover what matters to consumers and marketers alike. The Key Ring transaction is the third asset purchase for InMarket in the past 16 months: In September 2020 it acquired NinthDecimal, a pioneer in location-based attribution and analytics, and in August 2019 it acquired location platform ThinkNear.
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