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GO DOWNTOWN

Olympia's New Shopping App

Olympia Downtown Alliance launched a new partnership with the Pacific Northwest loyalty leader SnowShoe with the goal of helping to accelerate the revival of small businesses in Olympia in 2021. The loyalty program lasts for two years. In Olympia, small businesses rebound! 

Olympia Downtown Alliance launches partnership with SnowShoe for small business revival in summer 2021

The new Go Downtown app is designed to help small retail districts and local stores support each other by encouraging visitors to enjoy all the aspects of a small downtown district. The app encourages repeated visits with these features:
  • Earn points by supporting local stores.
  • Find new downtown businesses to visit.
  • Share routes and favorites with friends.
  • Win prizes all summer for shopping, eating, experiencing & enjoying your local businesses!
The Go Downtown app is free to use for all customers and for businesses in Olympia. The Go Downtown app works on Apple smartphones as well as Android phones. Both versions can be downloaded through the standard app store.The experience can also be used as a mobile web application. Click here to tap into a store and store your points without downloading the app to your local smartphone.  If you’re a business, you can sign up to participate in the free program today.
Todd Cutts

Get the Complete Overview

Read all the details in a complete two page document (PDF), which includes information on how to use the application. Note that the application is restricted to the Olympia area during the first six months (July-Dec 2021). The Go Downtown app is based on these principles:

  • Small retail stores do not exist as islands.
  • Customers who visit a single store are likely to visit other stores in a sustainable downtown ecosystem.
  • Customers travel “Retail Loops” in regular routes.
  • Our app encourages existing customer behavior.


Privacy Note: 

All data collected is transmitted to local merchants and the Olympia Downtown Alliance. All data is provided to local businesses to help them engage directly with their customers. No customer data is retained by SnowShoe.

Press Release

A nationwide press release announced this new program. The Go Downtown program launches as part of the Olympia Downtown Alliance’s ongoing Why I Go Downtown initiative to encourage participation in local shopping, dining and entertainment. The new Go Downtown app uses game-based techniques similar to Pokemon Go to encourage downtown shoppers to “check-in” at local businesses.

“We’re thrilled that SnowShoe chose Olympia for this pilot,” says Todd Cutts, Executive Director of Olympia Downtown Alliance. “Downtown Olympia is a vibrant area with hundreds of independent local businesses, and we hope everyone comes back downtown this summer as retail rebounds in Olympia.”

Olympia Mayor Cheryl Selby hopes that consumers will embrace the program. “Olympia residents and visitors alike are enthusiastic supporters of local business,” says Selby. “SnowShoe’s new program adds a fun gamification experience to buying local, and it offers us a way to thank people for coming downtown and encourage them to come again.”

“I’m excited to see people returning to our downtown,” says Kae Stair of Compass Rose. “Our Historic Downtown Olympia district is lucky to have such a close knit community of shops, restaurants, and everything in between, so being able to easily recommend and support our other local small businesses.”

Dean Jones, Owner
Dean Jones, OwnerEncore Chocolates
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“The Go Downtown program is a great new way to discover the unique appeal of Downtown Olympia. There is so much to do and see here -- this is an excellent community builder.”
Kae Stair, Manager
Kae Stair, ManagerCompass Rose, Olympia
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Being able to easily recommend and support our other local small businesses with the Go Downtown app makes so much sense for Olympia. It's easy for customers to use, easy for my team to explain, and I'm also personally excited to use it when I'm shopping and dining in Downtown Oly.
Cheryl Selby
Cheryl SelbyMayor of Olympia
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“Olympia residents and visitors alike are enthusiastic supporters of local business. SnowShoe’s new program adds a fun gamification experience to buying local, and it offers us a way to thank people for coming downtown and encourage them to come again.”
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

The SnowShoe designed program provides each business with a small Spark Tap device which allows for hands-free checkins at each participating business. Consumers can either use a web application or a downloadable smartphone app to “play” the game of visiting as many local businesses as possible. 

The Go Downtown program was designed to allow businesses in the greater Olympia downtown area to reward shoppers for visiting their store. The Spark Tap requires no person-to-person contact, does not require no batteries or electricity and works out of the box after sign-up.

The program is designed this way because research has demonstrated that customers who visit a single specialty retail store are more likely to visit other stores in the same district. Incentivizing this activity lifts repeat visits to the same set of stores by 30%-45%. SnowShoe has developed an application to reward shoppers for completing their favorite shopping routes, also known as loops. Shoppers will simply make a purchase and tap our device with their mobile phone to checkin and earn points, which can be redeemed for a set of prizes administrated by the Olympia Downtown Alliance

For more answers to your questions, please see the complete four page FAQ document (available in PDF form):