At seaThe gift-delivery app that permits you to shop at local stores and pick up gifts for a loved one the same day is now available across the U.S. The startup announced Monday that it is rolling out its service nationwide, after previously being available only in select cities, including Atlanta, Dallas, Charleston, Fort Worth, Kansas City, Nashville and Wichita.
The startup was founded by Sarah-Allen Preston after she experienced the stress of getting her newborn undergo open-heart surgery. After receiving thoughtful gifts from family members, Preston desired to make it possible to immediately give gifts to anyone, including those that live out of state, to support their family members in need.
“But when I looked back on the experience, I strangely didn’t remember the stress and the pain. I just remembered how people showed up for me and how caring and supportive they were… So I took that feeling and started amplifying it in the world with technology,” she told TechCrunch.
Afloat goals to offer the convenience of online shopping and quick delivery, while also supporting local businesses without leaving home. Afloat handles the entire gift-giving process, including wrapping the gifts and adding a handwritten note to make them more personal. (Preston said it’s more thoughtful than getting a printed Amazon receipt.) When it involves delivery, DoorDash drivers handle that.
After the pandemic, many customers realized how much they valued local stores. Almost 40% small businesses needed to close during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2021. This desire to buy small stays strong. According to A recent study According to Intuit, 62% of participants said they wish to buy from small businesses in their community. E-commerce giants are also tapping into this mindset, as evidenced by Etsy’s recent gifting initiative, which incorporates curated gift guides that highlight independent shop owners.
The app currently works with 100 store partners, from bakeries and baby stores to bookstores, flower shops, traditional gift shops, jewelry stores, and more. The company claims that it has helped its store partners increase their gifting revenue by 30-50%.
The company has also moved to a SaaS (software as a service) model to permit more stores to hitch the platform, including other forms of businesses like spas and similar businesses. Afloat will offer subscription plans for $99/month (Gold) and $299/month (Platinum), which include a newly launched dashboard that gives stores with marketing and merchandising support, in addition to sales data and other useful features.
“We don’t have to go to the market anymore, which is really exciting… We’ll be able to offer SaaS software anywhere, anytime,” Preston said.
In addition, the company is in the means of creating a subscription package for customers that can give them access to premium features similar to scheduling deliveries and receiving notifications when recent gifts arrive.
Afloat currently has over 30,000 users. It is backed by Goodwater Capital and Techstars, with a combined funding of over $5 million.