City preps to launch Ritzville Insider free mobile app

The City of Ritzville announced the launch of the Ritzville Insider free mobile app.

The app rewards users for exploring Ritzville’s Historic District and surrounding areas, and shopping at local businesses.

Users can download the Ritzville Insider from the iTunes store and Google Play within the next week.

The app is modeled after 468 Communications’ 468 Insider platform. Based out of Bellingham, 468 Communications helps organizations expand their presence in their communities through use of technology.

For more information on the 468 Insider platform, visit http://www.468insider.com.

The app’s Explore button takes users to a map of Ritzville, which will feature pins showing places of interest. Clicking on each pin on the map will display information about the location or business.

Locations around Ritzville are assigned a point value, which can be collected when the user is within GPS range of the location. Pushing the “Collect Points” button while physically visiting a location will add its points to a user’s point total.

For businesses, the user must be inside of the building to collect the points for visiting the establishment.

The more places the user visits, the more points they can earn and redeem for goods or services at local businesses.

At the app’s launch, rewards locations include: Boxwood Home and Garden, where users can redeem 20 points for 10 percent off anything in the store; Ritzville Drug, where users can redeem 20 points for a 15 percent discount storewide, excluding pharmaceuticals.

Uniquely Washington, is offering a 10 percent discounts on any non-alcoholic item for 20 points, and at Whiskey Gap Distillery, where users can redeem 20 points for 15 percent off any non-alcohol items.

“With its rich history and strong community, Ritzville offers much more than most people realize,” Ritzville Mayor Gary Cook, said in a news release.

“The Ritzville Insider app is a fun way to invite people in and reward them for exploring this city’s treasures – from the Ritz Theatre to our Northern Pacific Railroad Depot Museum.”

For more information about the app, contact Ritzville Clerk-Treasurer Kris Robbins at 509-659-1930 or email [email protected].