Alliop, a new customer loyalty app, has been launched in Truro and already has eight businesses signed up to it.

Alliop is set to replace traditional customer loyalty cards with a smartphone app that can be virtually stamped when a purchase is made - providing insights for businesses and rewards for customers.

Businesses in Truro have been given the chance to be the first to adopt the new technology. Within the first week of launching eight local businesses have signed up including Illustrated Living, Cornish Food Box Company, Mustard and Rye, The Old Market Chasewater, Emily's Café, Zen Noodle Bar, Secret Truro and Plum Boutique.

Chris Houghton, director of Illustrated Living, said: "Alliop opens up many opportunities to reward our customers and gain valuable insights into purchasing patterns - ultimately giving customers a great experience when they shop with us. As a small business, customer satisfaction is key, so we're thrilled to have an easy-to-use rewards system to celebrate loyalty."

For customers, rewards are offered in a similar way to the traditional loyalty card to incentivise repeat visits. Customers simply tap their smartphone on an iBeacon at the point of sale to collect a stamp wirelessly and gain rewards set by the business.

With each tap the business gains unique insights into customer behaviour, builds a strong database of customer data, and gains the ability to contact customers directly via email, text message and push notification.

Tor Amran, director at the Cornish Food Box Company and one of the first to start using Alliop in the company's shop and café, said: "Previously we had two paper stamp cards for coffee and pasties, but we had no idea how many cards were in circulation, how many stamps people had or how frequently they were visiting. With Alliop we now have access to this information at the push of a button and we can contact customers directly with bespoke messages.

"We are also looking to apply the Alliop technology to our e-commerce food box delivery service, providing customers with a streamlined loyalty scheme."

Alliop was founded by entrepreneurs Natalie Hadfield, Kevin Hadfield and Ryan Shillito. For businesses in the South West interested in getting involved, visit Alliop.com or contact the founders to arrange a live demonstration. The Alliop app is free for the pubic to download on Apple and Android devices from the App Store and Google Play.