University of Southampton Student Union makes jisp its official deals app

The University of Southampton Student Union, (SuSu) has announced a partnership agreement with Hampshire-based technology company, jisp that will give students a new incentive to take advantage of the latest deals from the city’s retailers.

Under the terms of the agreement, jisp’s free retail app will become the new official deals app for SuSu, providing students at the University with a wide range of discounts and promotional offers from retail and hospitality outlets across Southampton. Retail giants, such as Jack Wills, Millie’s Cookies, River Island, KFC and Crew Clothing Company, have signed up to the app.

The jisp app, which received 774 downloads at the university’s Freshers’ Fayre in three hours, works by giving users access to exclusive promotions, discounts and sales that are personalised and tailored to their specific needs and preferences. And, from information its users provide, together with in-store product capture, jisp continuously improves on the service it offers.

“Since the student union, which is not affiliated to the NUS, does not provide the traditional NUS card we wanted to find a way of ensuring students received the best possible value for their money and to have access to the best possible deals from local retailers and hospitality businesses,” said Pip Doherty of SuSu. “When we saw what jisp had to offer, we were immediately impressed. We see the app as a great opportunity to reach out and engage more closely with students and give them a little bit of help in meeting the challenges of everyday student life. And with more than 20,000 students currently at the university, the potential reach of the app is huge.” 

Julian Fisher, jisp CEO said: “Many of the leading retailers in shopping areas of Southampton, such as The Marlands and Westquay, have already signed up to the app and are providing a wide range of discounts and promotions over it. Some have gone even further and are delivering a broad array of special deals around current events like the Union Fayres and Freshers’ Week.

Looking further ahead, jisp plans to work with SuSu to create stickers that will be planted on posters, walls and windows across Southampton. When students with the Jisp app, tap on a sticker all the relevant information for that café, restaurant, shop or entertainment venue will be made instantly available to them.

Helping students avoid the traditional end-of-lecture, or lunchtime rush for drinks and food, jisp is also looking to create a facility on the app where they can pre-order and pay for their drinks beforehand and then simply collect them during the break.

“In addition to all this, we are currently working with the Union on other initiatives which should also be of great interest to students,” added Fisher. “We are looking to provide interactive map information, for example, including details of lecture theatres, rooms plus any events that are going on, to help them navigate their way around campus and get the most out of University life.  And we also plan to provide the students with an important information resource around issues like finance and housing.”