A Bellingham company called Accelitec has raised $2.5 million in funding from members of its management team and angel investors to develop its RFID-enabled loyalty card program for small- and mid-sized grocers. The program is being tested by Top Food & Drug at four stores in Washington state.
The cards are equipped with radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. If customers in the Top Food & Drug program buy a product and it goes on sale within a week of purchase, they get credited the price difference plus one percent onto their card. Top Food & Drug is testing the program, which offers various online benefits, at stores in Aberdeen, Lacey, Olympia, and Tacoma.
Accelitec President Peter Gruman described the technology as a tool to help small and mid-tier retailers compete against big box chains like Costco, which already have well-developed loyalty programs.
"No one is really trying to sell to the small guys," said Gruman said. "There's nobody out there trying to sell sophisticated tools to the people who really need it."
Accelitec was founded in 2001 by Tom Bartz, a veteran of Exxon USA and British Petroleum Corp., and initially focused on manufacturing RFID readers, Gruman said. The company's funding to date totals $8 million in debt and equity, he said.
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