November 27, 2017
The Official Black Wall Street App is Bringing Black Businesses to You
Since the holidays are here, we are starting to hear the same question over and over again, how do I buy black? Well, there’s an app for that. Official Black Wall Street, a marketplace app created by Mandy Bowman is for both consumers to buy black and business owners to sell black.
Official Black Wall Street Founder, Mandy Bowman (Image: Instagram)
On the consumer side, using geolocation, the app alerts you through push notifications when you are near a black-owned business. Additionally, according to the site, you can find directions, business info, images, reviews, and more on each dedicated business listing. You can also bookmark your favorite businesses and the app will notify you when they have new offers and updates. Think of it as a Yelp for black businesses with added features.
On the business owners side, you can promote your listing and show up at the top of search results when users search for similar businesses, bridge the gap between you and your customers by messaging them straight from the app, and gain sales by adding your special offers and promo codes, the site states.
I downloaded it to test it out and check out the ease of usage. I could only test the consumer side because well, I’m a consumer. Here is what I found.
At first glance, the user interface is appealing. I like the orange colors and that you are immediately hit with images of black faces. Additionally, I like the fact that you can sign in through the Facebook API. I’m lazy and hate creating and remembering new passwords.
Once you are all logged in, you are hit with a browser screen that showcases locations in your area along with ratings. I clicked on the nearby tab and was immediately shown the black-owned business around me and there were plenty.
Cyber Monday is quickly approaching us, so of course, I scrolled over to see what offers they had. There were a few in beauty, but it seemed a little limited. I assume that’s because this is a fairly new app.
Overall, I thought the user experience was decent. I will give it thumbs up for ease of use and having a plethora of selections. I can’t wait to see what this app grows to become.