ICO Analysis: RainCheck ICO Review

 RainCheck ICO Review: A complete assessment and evaluation on RainCheck ICO, which goals to disrupt the online-to-offline commerce house.

This represents the author’s private opinions and doesn’t – in any way- represent a suggestion of an funding or monetary recommendation. Please assume warning when investing in cryptocurrencies and accomplish that at your personal danger, as this can be very unstable and you’ll lose your cash.

Overview

Raincheck is an online-to-offline (O2O) commerce platform that permits retail manufacturers to trace and affect on-line product discovery to bodily, in-store gross sales. On the person finish, Raincheck platform permits them to supply for merchandise on-line and be notified – at a contextual and related time – when the product is obtainable in close by shops. Simultaneously, customers will likely be notified of varied gives and rewards that’s presently relevant to them.

Raincheck plans to create an entire the O2O loop by integrating a decentralized peer-to-peer (P2P) loyalty and fee community into their present commerce platform. The final purpose is to succeed in all knowledge factors and stakeholders throughout the online-discovery and offline-purchasing loop.

Here are the next issues that Raincheck goals to resolve:

Absence of Offline Data Analytics: Statistics present that 85% of persons are more likely to browse for merchandise on-line and make a purchase order bodily on the retail retailer. Though it’s simple to collect client behavioral knowledge on-line, present expertise prevents knowledge to be gathered as soon as customers go away the web retailer
Broken Customer Loyalty: The present loyalty applications are confronted with apparent weaknesses; most individuals don’t use their loyalty factors since they may by no means accumulate sufficient factors for a worthwhile reward. Additionally, loyalty applications can accrue vital liabilities to companies.

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Interview with Founders

We had the chance to have interaction in a high-level interview with RainCheck’s Founder & CEO, Cameron Wall. We requested a number of necessary questions on RainCheck in accordance with a number of metrics. Have a have a look at the interview under:

Application

Raincheck goals to supply customers with a personalised procuring expertise whereas enabling companies to measure digital advertising spend offline,the place most gross sales happen. This is achieved by way of their patent-pending commerce platform that permits companies to trace online-to-offline gross sales cycle and in addition allows card-linking loyalty capabilities for person’s debit/bank cards.

Card-linking is a means of linking up customers funds playing cards (debit/bank cards) on to a service provider’s loyalty program, digital provide and cash-back bonuses.

Here is the overall overview of the Raincheck platform:

The Raincheck platform is split into 10 interconnected modules that may function on a number of situations, with every module being as open as attainable to allow large third-party acceptance. All situations are primarily based on the AWS Cloud Environment. Now, you will need to perceive that the Raincheck platform makes use of a centralized construction because it makes use of Amazon’s AWS cloud server. The integration of  blockchain performance comes on the subsequent step, which is on the fee processing community.

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Tokenization of Payments Data

In order to efficiently hyperlink offline gross sales knowledge with on-line knowledge, knowledge relating to the fee networks have to be built-in into the general framework. That is why Raincheck will tokenize private knowledge related to a funds card (debit/bank card). This token-based system will seize the offline-to-online knowledge that’s accessible at product (SKU) degree fairly than the merchant-level, which beforehand has been uncommon. Here’s an instance:

Merchant-Level Promotion: Spend $200 at service provider ABC tomorrow and obtain $2O cash-back
Product (SKU) Level: Buy product CDE tomorrow and obtain 20% cash-back or 30 loyalty factors

Tokenizing fee card knowledge and integrating it to a standard Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system would create a extra customized system for finish shoppers. Here is how the token-based system will work within the better scheme of issues:

Stakeholders

The core performance of the Raincheck platform will allow monitoring, measuring and rewarding customers from on-line product uncover to bodily, in-store buying. Here are the benefits that stakeholders will achieve utilizing the Raincheck platform:

Users: Shoppers can use Raincheck’s free service to be rewarded by simply discovering on-line merchandise and shopping for them at a later time (each on-line or bodily retailers) by way of rebates, reductions and cash-backs
Retail Businesses: Businesses would have the ability to collect vital client behaviour knowledge from O2O gross sales which beforehand would have been unattainable, which may now be used of their advertising evaluation.
Payment Processors: The likes of Paypal and Stripe can now seize offline gross sales derived from on-line discovery and will increase their income channels by way of commissions or charging charges by way of the O2O cycle
Financial Institutions: Banks can create extra customized card schemes for his or her prospects by accessing SKU-level knowledge
Channel Partners: Distributors similar to on-line publishers may characterize new income channels for companies

(See extra: Guide to Cryptocurrency Liquidity: Understanding Liquidity & Its Importance)

Technical Overview

The Raincheck platform will likely be made up of the prevailing centralized commerce platform (fueled by AWS server) with a decentralized element which is the Loyalty & Rewards platform that’s constructed on the Stellar Network. Stellar was chosen since it’s a high-throughput, decentralized blockchain with low latency and robust safety. Here is the technical overview of Raincheck’s platform:

Unique Selling Point

There are a number of components that make Raincheck stand out:

Patent-Protected Technology: Raincheck ‘s expertise is presently patent-pending and as soon as granted, will function a robust moat to discourage rivals in a profitable market.
End-to-End Data Points Bridging the Online and Offline World: Raincheck’s answer will focus on the Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) degree as a substitute of solely the service provider and spend degree that’s the established order of the business. This implies that your complete knowledge level from when a web-based product is found to when it’s bought in an offline retailer could be gathered and utilized.

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Team

Cameron Wall (CEO) leads the staff with a belt of entrepreneurship ventures targeted on cellular and internet improvement for international enterprises. His experience in cellular and cloud-based purposes is a pure match for the enterprise. William Lin (CTO) heads the technical finish, with experience in cloud primarily based backend and front-end improvement of internet platforms and cellular purposes. Although Raincheck’s web site and whitepaper mentions William’s experience in machine studying, synthetic intelligence and blockchain programs, there isn’t any indication of these abilities as per his earlier working expertise. The enterprise finish is headed by Peter Bremner, who has robust company and authorities hyperlinks from his established company background.

There are 8 different staff members that takes on blockchain improvement, synthetic intelligence and cellular improvement.

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Advisers

Raincheck encompasses a complete record of advisors with experience in every technological layer of the Raincheck platform, from the expertise facet to the retail facet. Leveraging the experience of a wide-array of consultants from the technical and enterprise facet is at all times a great indicator.

Though complete, there appears to be no distinguished advisors for Raincheck.

Traction

There are 4 indicators of Raincheck’s progress up to now. They embody a pilot program, cellular purposes, browser extensions and awards they’ve achieved.

1. Pilot Program

Raincheck has efficiently engaged in a pilot initiative of their platform in 2017. The 6-month pilot section in Australia noticed 6 retailers leveraging on Raincheck’s platform. The approximate variety of customers have been 2,675.

The pilot program shed a number of fascinating insights that supported Raincheck’s speculation that folks would save on-line merchandise they’re found for a later level sooner or later. It additionally revealed that the bodily retailer represents a very powerful channel of gross sales acquisition for retail manufacturers.

2. Mobile Application

Raincheck has a cellular app each within the Google play retailer and the Apple retailer. Here is how the app appears like:

Here is a have a look at the critiques of the cellular app from each Google and Apply playstore:

The quantity of critiques is inadequate for a reputable conclusion for the reason that app has gained a restricted assessment fee, which might be simply manipulated. The set up charges, which is a greater indicator of person reception appears to point minimal traction, with the Google play retailer gaining solely 500+ installs. Given the paunch of the cellular app in 2016, this appears to point lacklustre traction amongst customers.

3. Mobile Extensions

Raincheck has additionally developed browser extensions for its utility, each in Chrome internet retailer and Apple’s Safari. However, the quantity of customers which have downloaded the extensions aren’t convincing of Raincheck’s traction:

Chrome’s model has solely amassed 44 customers of Raincheck’s utility, which is extraordinarily small. This just isn’t a great indicator of Raincheck’s traction.

4. Awards

On the awards entrance, Raincheck has raked up a number of awards that embody these from Visa and Accenture. Here are the accolades that they’ve obtained:

Awards are undoubtedly a optimistic indicator of a robust undertaking idea. Winning a number of awards from distinguished establishments places Raincheck a step forward of many ICOs that haven’t reached this degree of recognition.

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Token Economics & Utility

Token Metrics

35% of the whole pre-mined provide of Raincheck’s native tokens will likely be distributed on the ICO. This is a comparatively decrease allocation in comparison with different ICOs, which normally allocates upwards of fifty% of their token provide to the ICO. A decrease ICO allocation equates to better centralization of the token provide, which might be unnerving for traders. Fortunately, Raincheck is clear about its token provide breakdown. Here are the vesting schedule for various classes of their token distribution:

Strategic Pool: Tokens will likely be reserved over a 3 12 months interval and will likely be allotted to strategic companions and enterprise organizations to stimulate participation and traction.These organizations can be supplied a chance to buy RAIN tokens at market charges
Team: Tokens will likely be vest 12 months from the beginning date of the sale interval, to align workers with long-term aims
Advisors: Tokens will likely be frozen for six months from the top of the general public sale interval and can then vest over a 24 month interval
Rewards Pool: Leftover ICO tokens will likely be transferred to the rewards pool, which will likely be used as to reward participation within the ecosystem and promotion of Raincheck. There will even be a token-burning mechanism the place RainCheck will periodically purchase again and burn RAIN tokens utilizing the revenue generated from the O2O procuring and abroad commerce enterprise

Raincheck’s $28 million hardcap is on the greater spectrum of ICO funding, which is kind of stunning given the bear market the overall cryptocurrency market has been experiencing for the reason that begin of the 12 months. It will likely be extraordinarily onerous for Raincheck to hit their hardcap given the state of the market.

(Read extra: Analyzing Cryptocurrency Risk: Existing Coins vs ICO)

Token Utility

Raincheck will characteristic its personal utility token that known as RAIN, which will likely be used as the first foreign money throughout the Raincheck platform. Users have to possess RAIN tokens to entry the vary of companies and features on the platform. Here are the use-cases for RAIN token:

Medium-of-exchange between retailers and customers
Value unit inside Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), which will likely be staked by manufacturers in relation to their group membership
Rewards buying and selling between completely different loyalty applications and schemes

These use-cases will gasoline the demand for RAIN tokens. Given the fastened provide of pre-minted tokens, the long-term worth of RAIN is straight tied to the success of Raincheck’s platform. Additionally, the burning mechanism employed by Raincheck to buy-back and burn RAIN utilizing operational earnings would serve to reinforce RAIN’s long run worth on condition that its provide would periodically lower.

Roadmap

Here is the roadmap for Raincheck:

Raincheck has a protracted observe file when in comparison with the vast majority of ICO initiatives. It was established approach again in 2014 and has launched its platform in 2016. Moving ahead, the completion of Raincheck’s answer may stretch so far as the 2nd quarter of 202, which is a good distance forward.

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Strengths

First Online-to-Offline Commerce Solution: Raincheck has created an end-to-end options to seize offline retail knowledge together with on-line client knowledge, which may show invaluable to manufacturers and companies in understanding their shoppers extra.
Scalability: Raincheck’s platform is constructed on the Stellar blockchain, which may course of way more transactions that its rivals constructed on the Ethereum blockchain. This deal with scalability is significant in guaranteeing that Raincheck’s platform can scale with extra transactions in a viable method.
Track Record: Raincheck has been working for near 4 years, which places it on the greater percentile of ICO initiatives with a observe file and a working product.
Accolades: Raincheck has received a number of awards and recognition from distinguished institutions similar to VISA and Accenture for his or her undertaking, which is an effective signal of credible undertaking mannequin.
Patent-Protection: Raincheck’s core system is patent-pending, which if granted, permits for better limitations to entry for future rivals

Weaknesses

Centralized Core System: Raincheck’s core system is constructed on an AWS, centralized server with the decentralization side coming from its loyalty & rewards platform. Since its core system is centralized, it’s weak to varied dangers which might be mitigated utilizing a decentralized system.
Little Traction: Looking at indicators of traction by way of cellular utility and browser extension downloads, the numbers are small contemplating Raincheck has launched them in 2016. This is an indication of poor person attraction in direction of Raincheck’s options.
Little Hype: There appears to be restricted assets and publications surrounding the potential impacts of Raincheck’s options, which may considerably improve commerce business

Summary

Raincheck gives a viable answer in bridging the web commerce world to the bodily, in-store gross sales cycle that may show invaluable to retail companies which might be gearing in direction of a extra data-centric strategy in understanding the shoppers. Though Raincheck’s decentralized loyalty platform and token-based construction, the ultimate piece of an entire online-to-offline commerce answer may lastly be in the best way for the business.

Verdict: Good Project

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Beneficial Resources To Get You Started

If you are beginning your journey into the complicated world of cryptocurrencies, this is a listing of helpful assets and guides that may get you in your approach:

Trading & Exchange

Wallets

Read additionally: Guide on Privacy Coins: Comparison of Anonymous Cryptocurrencies and Guide To Cryptocurrency Trading Basics: Do Charts & Technical Analysis Really Work?

This represents the author’s private opinions and doesn’t – in any way- represent a suggestion of an funding or monetary recommendation. Please assume warning when investing in cryptocurrencies and accomplish that at your personal danger, as this can be very unstable and you’ll lose your cash.

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