Melbourne Food and Entertainment App passes 30,000 users

Melburnians love of food and a good deal has helped the Liven Food and Entertainment app to grow to 30,000 users since launching in June last year.

“We launched our beta app in June and the rapid growth has shown we are onto something.” said Patrick Gaskin from Liven.

Since launch, Liven has added over 190 well reputed restaurants and service providers from across Melbourne to the platform.  “Liven users have already saved over $750,000 on food and entertainment while using the app, which is fantastic” says Gaskin.

Really enthusiastic word of mouth from our user base and the addition of more and more great merchants is helping Liven grow their user base by 25 to 30% each month.  “As a young start-up we are delighted to see the response and validation from users.  The ongoing growth is giving us lots of confidence about where we can get to” said Gaskin.  “On average, customers save $60 from their first two uses of the app.”

The Liven app is easy to use and allows customers to enjoy their meal or activity without pre-booking or compromising their experience in any way.  “Our app is all about ease of use and an uncompromised experience for busy people” says Gaskin.  “Group discounts require you to wait for a good deal to come along and then you may have to go at a time that doesn’t suit you.  Similarly, old school voucher offers only work if you remember to have them with you when you are out and about.”

“Because we’re an app, Liven is always with you, ready to be used” says Gaskin. "The entitlement is always right in your pocket."   

When the user comes to pay, they simply redeem the discount on the app and present it when they pay.  Discounts range from 25% to 50%.  Initial use of the app is free, but customers can subscribe and get ongoing access to over $5000 worth of discounts throughout the year.

The number of vendors on Liven has grown by 25% in the past two months and the plan is to have more than 250 merchants in Melbourne within the next three months.  “Initially it was quite difficult to convince vendors to be on a platform with no users, but as users have increased and redemptions increased it has gotten easier and easier to convince merchants to come on board” says Gaskin.  “Now merchants are approaching us, which is great.  But we are still really selective about who we have on board.  They need to have a proven track record of quality on review sites like Urbanspoon.”

Liven believes that the app is a win-win proposition for users and merchants.  Users get discounts and merchants get more customers.  “The Liven app is really top notch and the technology is very simple to use for the staff” said Paul Belette from Cafe Republic. “But what I like about Liven most is the way they really focus on promoting my restaurant as a brand, not as a deal.  Liven is a great marketing method for brand exposure & recognition.”

“One of the most repeated comments about our app, aside from ease of use, is that it has great deals from highly sort after businesses.  That is quite unique and by design.” said Gaskin.  

“As a freemium model we need to ensure it offers great value and benefits for our users.  And the success with our existing merchants is helping open the door to more innovative projects and partnerships we are working on.”

Liven was started in Melbourne, but the young team are already looking at expanding into other east coast cities and overseas.  “We are hoping to become another great Melbourne startup success story” said Gaskin.

ABOUT LIVEN

The Liven app gives its users seamless access to fantastic offers and benefits from some of the best restaurants, retailers and service providers across Melbourne. Liven began operations in Melbourne in June 2014 and users can access discounts from over 190 restaurants and service providers. Since launching, users have already saved over $750,000 and the app has been opened more than 300,000 times. Full membership costs $19.95 per year and provides users access to 289 offers from handpicked business partners and $5202 worth of value.

For comment and questions:

Patrick Gaskin

0410 419 618

patrick@liven.com.au

www.liven.com.au