Floatinga gift delivery app that lets you shop at local stores and have gifts delivered to a loved one the same day is now available across the US. select cities including Atlanta, Dallas, Charleston, Fort Worth, Kansas City, Nashville and Wichita, among others.
The startup was founded by Sarah-Allen Preston after experiencing the anxiety of a newborn undergoing open-heart surgery. After receiving thoughtful gifts from loved ones, Preston wanted to make it possible for everyone, including those who live out of state, to give gifts instantly to support their loved ones in a time of need.
“But when I looked back on that experience, I surprisingly didn’t remember the stress and heartache. All I remembered was how people showed up for me and how much they cared and supported me… So I took that feeling and continued to amplify it to the world through technology,” he told TechCrunch.
Afloat aims to provide the convenience of online shopping and instant delivery while supporting local businesses without leaving your home. Afloat takes care of the entire gifting process, including gift wrapping and adding a handwritten note for an extra personal touch. (Preston mentioned that this is more careful than getting a typed Amazon receipt.) As for the delivery part, DoorDash drivers take care of that.
After the pandemic, many customers realized how much they valued their local stores. almost 40% of small businesses had to close during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2021. This desire to shop from small businesses continues to remain strong. According to a recent survey from Intuit, 62% of respondents said they want to buy from small businesses in their community. E-commerce giants are also tapping into this mindset, as evidenced by Etsy’s new gift initiative, which features curated gift guides that highlight independent shop owners.
The app currently works with 100 store partners, ranging from bakeries and baby stores to bookstores, florists, traditional gift shops, jewelry stores and so on. According to the company, it has helped its store partners expand gift revenue by 30-50%.
The company has also now shifted to a SaaS (software as a service) model to allow more stores to join the platform, including other types of businesses such as spas and similar businesses. Afloat will offer subscription plans at $99/month (Gold) and $299/month (Platinum), which includes a new dashboard that provides stores with marketing and merchandising support, as well as sales data and other useful features.
“We no longer have to hard launch markets, which is really exciting… We’ll be able to be SaaS anywhere, everywhere,” Preston said.
Additionally, the company is in the process of creating a subscription tier for consumers, which will allow them to access premium features such as scheduling deliveries and being notified when a new gift offer drops.
Afloat currently has over 30,000 users. It is backed by Goodwater Capital and Techstars, with a total funding of over $5 million.
