Lifestyle app The Entertainer is preparing to release new products and provide some financial relief to customers amid a challenging global economic outlook.
The two-for-one deals company has transformed from a voucher book, which was discontinued in 2017, to an app with offers available in markets stretching from the GCC to the Far East.
It is currently majority-owned by GFH Financial Group, having been founded by Australian businesswoman Donna Benton.
Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine has added to economic uncertainty around the world, denting global growth and exacerbating inflationary pressures.
Many people are feeling the squeeze on everyday purchases and two-for-one deals are a way of potentially saving on dining and entertainment bills.
“When the economy starts tightening, for a company like ours, we become almost a necessity to use as people worry about their finances and they start looking for deals,” Keith Jaggard, chief of revenue for the business to customer segment at The Entertainer, said in an interview with The National.
“We work as a solution. We are currently seeing people redeem more and anticipate having more than 1 million users globally in 2022.”
Over the past five years, The Entertainer has helped its merchant partners earn more than $1 billion in revenue and offered more than $500 million in savings for its members, the company said.
Mr Jaggard confirmed the company is looking to introduce a global offering whereby members have access to deals in every market The Entertainer is available in. Currently, users are only able to use the app in one market.
A free version of the app is also in the works as it attempts to lower the barrier of entry, with third-party advertising a possibility in the future for such a version.
“This year is definitely a time scale we are looking at for the new products,” said Mr Jaggard.
“It is a revamp of the whole range with global as the signature. The UAE bundle is the highest we have at the moment, with access to both Dubai and Abu Dhabi, so this is a step further as we want our members to have more and we want to give something back to our loyal customers.”
In the UAE, there has been a proliferation of two-for-one deals in recent years but Mr Jaggard is confident that The Entertainer is ahead of the competition.
“We have always had that challenge but I think it is about staying ahead of the game in terms of product and our merchant quality,” he said.
“I don’t think there is too many options in the buy one, get one free offers where you can get something like a brunch, which is popular with our members.
“We are constantly asking our members what they would like to see. By listening to them, we can remain ahead of the game and we are pretty much the only app that covers so many lifestyle options.”
The onset of the coronavirus pandemic proved “a rollercoaster ride” for the business, which is used by a large portion of its customers for dining options.
In a short space of time, it had to flip to a delivery model as people stopped dining out amid the preventive measures introduced to protect the health of residents across the UAE.
“Another of the biggest changes we made during Covid was the membership period,” said Mr Jaggard.
“We went to a 12-month membership, so if you bought it in May, it ran through to the following May rather than being strictly January to December. When the pandemic hit, we were still on the old model and most of our members had already bought The Entertainer, so we had to shift and offer delivery instead.”
The Entertainer has offices in the UAE, where it has more than 100 staff, and in Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt, the UK, Singapore and South Africa.
However, it is not looking for new markets in the Middle East at present, instead preferring to focus on its GCC markets and “take them to the next level”, Mr Jaggard said.
Other new developments in the pipeline include the addition of a social element to the app with news stories and details of product launches. The company is also exploring options in the cryptocurrency sector.
“We are not at that stage yet [cryptocurrency], but I don't think we can ignore it,” said Mr Jaggard.
