Have you ever stopped to wonder why these apps exist? Is their sole purpose to fulfill a solid business investment or act as a means of charity? The answer is both.
The fact of the matter is, a myriad of South African students are on a low disposable income and are eager to save money where they can. However, after they complete their studies, this will (hopefully) no longer be the case.
Businesses are betting on this and see these future salary earners as potential customers. And it all starts with a mobile app.
That’s why many brands have signed on with student discount apps to offer exclusive deals to anyone with a valid student ID card. These offerings include everything from restaurant food and takeaways to technology and entertainment.
You can find any one of the following student discount apps by doing a quick search on Google Play or the Apple iStore.
Varsity Vibe
Varsity Vibe is a South African student discount app that’s been operating for well over 9 years. The student app offers discounts in various South African provinces, including Gauteng, the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Free State.
With a motto like #NeverPayFullPrice, you can only imagine the kinds of deals this app has to offer. Students can get a range of discounts and deals on everything from food, fashion, and technology to travel and home living.
To sign up, users have to meet the following criteria:
- Be registered at a South African tertiary institution with a valid student ID card, or
- Have a Standard Bank account and fall in between the ages of 16 and 25
The latter is due to Varsity Vibe’s partnership with Standard Bank, which gives users the benefit of gaining premium access at no extra cost. With that said, there is a freemium version available, however, it does come with limitations and students won’t be able to get deals on all the brands they want.
To get full access to everything the student discount app has to offer, students have to pay for the premium version, which is a once-off fee of R200.
UNiDAYS
UNiDAYS is a global app that was originally founded in 2011. Even with its international demographic, the student discount app offers a variety of deals on clothing, technology, and food to South African students.
Membership is entirely free and is available to anyone over the age of 16. All students have to do to sign up is download the app, fill in their details (such as their email address), and verify that they are, indeed, students.
Once students have signed up for the UNiDAYS app, they’ll gain full access to exclusive discounts on everything from lifestyle, food, and drinks to technology and fashion.
Van Schaik
With over 70 stores located in South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, and Zambia—Van Schaik has been providing students in South Africa with access to educational materials for over 100 years.
Educational materials include academic texts as well as reference material and stationery. These offerings can be bought via the Van Schaik bookstore, or online.
To benefit South African students, the bookstore created its own Rewards Mobile App, which offers students discounts and points that they can use either in-store or for online promotions. There’s also a store card available to both students and parents that helps them buy school books throughout the academic year.
With that said, Van Schaik isn’t just about the books anymore. The student discounts app allows users to find deals on a variety of items, including:
- Lifestyle products, such as magazines, general books, bags, and headphones
- Electronics, including everything from calculators to home appliances
- Computer equipment, such as laptops, hard drives and memory sticks
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