How Shop San Joaquin is driving local economic growth and community engagement

Shop San Joaquin (SSJ), powered by the Open Rewards app, was recently an Award of Merit winner at this year’s California Association for Local Economic Development (CALED) annual conference. As of June 2025, just 12 months after launching, this program has already made a significant impact in San Joaquin County, not only boosting local spending but also strengthening economic resilience, providing valuable data to guide future initiatives and ensuring the continued growth of the region. 

In this article, we share insights directly from the team at San Joaquin County that managed this program on how it started, how it works, and the tremendous impact they have seen.

1. Program goals

Shop San Joaquin (SSJ) is a program created by San Joaquin County’s Employment & Economic Development Department (EEDD) to foster economic recovery and resiliency. SSJ directly invests in the local businesses, with a focus on aiding the recovery of one of the most impacted industries in the region—small businesses.

“Our goal for the program was to increase foot traffic to these small businesses, boost consumer spending in our county, and create a sustainable, community-driven economic cycle that supports long-term business growth in our region.”

2. Shop San Joaquin implementation

Through the Open Rewards app, Shop San Joaquin incentivizes consumers to choose local businesses rather than larger, non-local franchises by providing them with 100% cash back on qualifying purchases, up to $200 annually. The rewards are then redeemed locally by making subsequent purchases at eligible stores, thus ensuring that every dollar stays local.

“A critical tool in driving our program’s success was the user-friendly Open Rewards app. Through our contract with Bludot and our subsequent use of the Open Rewards app, we’ve been able to connect consumers directly to local businesses.”

For small businesses, Shop San Joaquin provides a cost-free marketing opportunity. Businesses are automatically added to Open Rewards without any administrative burden, gaining visibility across multiple platforms, including the program landing page, social media, and promotional materials. 

“This low-cost, high-reward model is particularly beneficial for businesses with limited marketing budgets, allowing them to reach new customers and build brand recognition at no additional cost; and ultimately, it supports the diversification of the local economy.”

Operationally, the Open Rewards platform allows the County to streamline the reimbursement process for consumers and businesses and gather key program data such as spending trends, which businesses are most popular, and the geographic areas with the highest participation. 

“By leveraging this data, we can adjust our promotional strategies in real-time to address any gaps in engagement and ensure maximum program impact. Our data-driven approach is essential in understanding where we’re succeeding and identifying areas of improvement.”

3. Marketing and promotion

Furthermore, to ensure SSJ’s success, the County recognized the importance of broad community outreach. They implemented a comprehensive public relations strategy to ensure the program’s adoption and foster collective responsibility among residents, businesses, and local media.

“Through our contract with Bludot and our in-house marketing, we have used strategic media outreach, social media campaigns, flyers, direct business outreach, workshops and more to raise awareness about the program and encourage widespread participation.” 

The Shop San Joaquin program has over 6,500 users as of June 2025. This high level of engagement speaks to the program’s success in driving both initial participation and continued use. The County’s ongoing outreach has helped build excitement around the initiative, ensuring it remains at the forefront of the community.

“The app’s simplicity also ensures ongoing participation and becomes a convenient solution for modern consumers, while its backend offers valuable insights into consumer behavior, enabling real-time adjustments and data-driven decisions to improve the program’s effectiveness. This data not only helps improve the program's efficiency but also offers small businesses and community partners valuable marketing insights to inform future growth strategies.”

4. Impact

Since its launch in July 2024, Shop San Joaquin has generated over $889,539.15 in rewards distributed to consumers, and helped drive over $2.2M in revenue to the local businesses in the program. These funds are injected directly into the local economy, primarily benefiting small businesses in the area. 

“The direct financial incentive not only spurred immediate consumer engagement but also encouraged sustained participation. This has become a recurring and continuous opportunity to directly inject capital into the local economy. In doing so we fuel both short-term consumer spending and long-term business growth.”

Shoppers have been vocal about their experience with the program, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive:

• "I love this program and app. We have a lot of credit card debt right now, so this really helps with the bills!"— Shopper at Royal Gymnastics & Sports Academy

• "This is the best app to make you go out and try something new." — Shopper at Mountain Mike’s Pizza

• "We would have just gone to the mall. Having this app is why we went there." — Shopper at Joe Hassan’s Clothing

These testimonials show how the program has encouraged residents to spend locally rather than opting for larger chain stores, with many mentioning how the app directly influenced their decisions on where to spend their hard-earned dollars.

SSJ’s lasting impact is also reflected in the long-term benefits for participating businesses. Many have reported that the SSJ program and its benefits, along with associated promotional efforts, are creative and engaging. Even after the program concludes, the exposure gained will continue to attract customers, solidifying their place in the community's shopping habits.

As one business owner put it, “We wouldn’t have been able to reach this many customers without this program—it's been invaluable for business growth."

“From handmade crafts to locally grown produce, the businesses featured on the app reflect the county’s cultural richness. This program not only boosts the local economy but also preserves cultural traditions and supports the growth of locally owned businesses. Our small businesses are not just economic engines—they are the heart and soul of the community.”

5. Building long-term economic resilience

Shop San Joaquin goes beyond immediate rewards—it’s part of a long-term strategy for community resilience. By providing an easily accessible tool for consumers to support local businesses, Shop San Joaquin strengthens the foundation of the local economy, creating a more diversified and sustainable market. 

What truly makes SSJ special is how it fosters a stronger sense of community pride and solidarity. As a community-driven initiative, it encourages residents to actively participate in the local economy and take pride in supporting their neighbors, making it not only beneficial but also personally meaningful to residents and small businesses. Now our residents are not simply shopping—they are contributing to the collective success of the area, knowing that every dollar spent locally stays local.

As the program continues to evolve, it will serve as a model for other communities looking to grow their economic resilience. It can be easily replicable in other regions, making it a truly scalable model. 

“The beauty of this program is its adaptability—from small towns to large cities—while still maintaining the core structure of consumer incentives and business promotion.”

To learn more about how Open Rewards could be deployed in your community, schedule a demo today.