Being part of a thrifty family on a tight budget, I am interested in trying to save money in any way that I can. LoyalFree, the award-winning digital app for towns, has launched in Dorking, Surrey, not too far from where I live. I love Dorking, it is a fab, pretty-looking market town full of eclectic shops, pubs and cafes.  The Dorking LoyalFree App is an all-in-one destination guide which gives customers an easy way to connect with the town and its businesses from their phone. It also gives the local businesses an easy way to share offers and build customer loyalty.

Currently there are 58 offers on the app for Dorking. I have downloaded the app from the Play Store (it’s free by the way) for my android phone. It was easy to follow you can log in with Facebook or email. Already I can see deals with the cinema at Dorking Halls. You can collect loyalty stamps via the app by just taking a photo with your phone’s camera via the app. For example, collect 10 stamps and you could get a free hot drink in a cafe.

The app notes your location down, so will tell you your nearest town that is taking part in the LoyalFree scheme. At the moment the following locations using LoyalFree are: Loughborough, Leicester, Surrey, London, Market Harborough, Southampton, The Lake District, Scotland, North Notts, Wellingborough, Huntingdon and more places are to be announced soon.

The app is the brain-child of entrepreneurs Jason Nesbitt and Sophie Hainsworth, together they founded LoyalFree nearly two years ago from a local coffee shop in Edinburgh, the intention being to boost business for shops across the UK through an online loyalty scheme. Sophie tells me that the vast majority of the app users are female and aged 25-45.

Currently there are nearly 23,000 customers using the app nationwide. The scheme is proven to help businesses attract new customers via a profile showcasing their special offers, reviews and images pulling together all the vital information for the area, which allows its users to benefit from using just one app for the whole of the UK.

The app also lists local attractions and events, which can be filtered to ‘family’ to help people find things to do in their local area. Impressive stuff – free to download and saves you money too – can’t be bad in my books.

The clever duo have won numerous awards and are expanding quickly – so give them a follow on Facebook and Instagram I hear they often have prize giveaways.

Co-founder Jason says:”‘Having LoyalFree in Dorking gives us a great opportunity to see our app utilised in a unique market town in Surrey that is a big draw for day trippers from London – it’s so accessible as it has three train stations. We are excited to support the local businesses here. We work closely with Dorking Town Partnership to deliver the project.”

 “A local destination guide will also help visitors with vital tourism information while an events section will showcase activities in the town. There are 51 businesses currently using LoyalFree, including SC Fuller, Dorking Sports Centre, Gilliangladrag, Westdaw, Mullins Café, Bakehouse, and Musette Cycle Caffe.”

Next month ‘Tours & Trails’ will be introduced to the app allowing people to experience the area in a digital way.

I would love it if the app came to Caterham or Croydon soon, what an amazing idea.