Dylan Duque, economic development and tourism specialist, provided details on the cash-back saving program during the Jan. 22 council meeting.
This year’s program will run 13 weeks, starting about a month later than last year’s program, according to the presentation. The program provides 5% cash back through shopping at Southlake businesses through an app called Open Rewards.
Zooming in
Duque said the economic impact last year was $1.5 million. He said the program provided a boost in sales tax revenue during the duration in 2024 compared to 2023 numbers.
“As we saw last year, there was kind of snowball effect,” Duque said. “At first it was a little slow, and as we got towards April, we definitely saw the popularity. We're expecting to see that again this year, hopefully.”
Other notable numbers from the 2024 launch include:
- Claimed rewards: $75,000
- Consumer participants: 1,955
- Number of purchases: 16,923
- Consumer origin: 96% of Southlake residents
What’s happening?
Consumers who link a debit/credit card or PayPal will receive 5% cash back for purchases on select businesses throughout Southlake after uploading their receipts, Duque said.
He said that consumers who participated last year will get a text message soon to provide information about this year's start.
Options include shopping, dining and entertainment options, with 50 new businesses added this year. Duque said a total of 373 businesses will take part in the program, as of Jan. 22.
“Hopefully it catches a little bit more popularity as we start the program,” Duque said.
What else?
The Open Rewards app can be downloaded in the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. Duque said that at the end of the program, consumers can cash out their rewards through Zelle, PayPal and other methods.
