As another year comes to a close, let’s take a look back at what happened in the JRNI-verse in 2019.
In case you missed it...
Platform updates
In January, we announced the launch of Studio, our new staff experience. While there are countless benefits to using Studio, the features our customers love the most are:
360-degree customer profiles
Multi-location staff scheduling
New data and reporting section
Enhanced calendar functionality
Refreshed concierge interface
In fact, our customer JoJo Maman Bébé called it a “game changer.” 🤩
In June, we announced the launch of our Marketplace, an array of prebuilt apps and scalable integrations from technology partners, systems integrators, and developers. While we did have several integrations already in use, formalizing the Marketplace reinforces the importance of our RESTful APIs and growing partner community. Keep an eye on this space because we’re always working on building new partnerships and integrations!
With October came the launch of Adaptable Journeys! With Adaptable Journeys, our customers can now leverage a configurable catalog of pre-designed templates to quickly implement bookings for appointments, events, and queues.
These pre-designed templates were the result of analyzing over 70 million bookings from the past decade. This feature set showcases 18 unique layout options and more than 50,000 different permutations. 😲
Though there are several benefits, here’s what our customers have been loving the most:
Mobile and tablet readiness
Easy brand personalization
Integrated Google Analytics
Reduced total cost of ownership
Rapid implementation, quicker ROI, and immediate improvements to customer experience
Company updates
May was quite busy for us! We announced the company’s rebrand from BookingBug to JRNI. We do so much more than bookings, so we needed a name that represents what our product is here to do and the impact it has for our customers.
We also announced a new CEO, John Federman, and a new role for Co-founder Glenn Shoosmith as Chief Architect.
As if we weren’t busy enough in May, we launched a new website and opened our first U.S. development office in Manchester, N.H. Why? Our Manchester office complements our development efforts in London and guarantees that we have around the clock availability.
In August, we closed a $6 million extension to our Series C financing led by PeakSpan Capital with participation from Downing Ventures and Somerston Group. The round brought our total funding to $23.2 million. We also announced our first Chief Technology Officer, Simon Copsey.
What a year! We’ve been working hard on some exciting projects for 2020, and can’t wait to publicly share!
New research
In 2019, we released our third annual research reports for the banking and retail industries. Here’s what we found:
Retail
67% of modern shoppers like the in-store experience.
Consumers want to see improvements to staff behavior and knowledge, staff availability, speed, and the store atmosphere.
55% of consumers would schedule appointments with in-store staff if given the opportunity.
If invited, 64% of consumers would attend a product demonstration in store, half would attend an educational event, and even a majority (54%) would go for DIY workshops.
This year, we also took time to gather with coworkers, improve our skill sets, and add to our JRNI community.
In early May, we gathered in London for a company meeting during which we announced the rebrand to JRNI, aligned on priorities and product updates, and launched our new website.
Between our summer party, Halloween festivities, and holiday gatherings, our team was able to gather together, reflect, and celebrate all our hard work.
What a year! We’re thankful to have great customers, partners, employees, and investors. Here’s to continued success in the new year!