Mass transit riders in Hoboken, New Jersey, now have the ability to begin receiving discounts, savings and special offers from merchants along their travel routes through the Shop and Ride mobile app for iOS devices.

The Shop and Ride app, powered by Xerox, delivers personalized, hyperlocal, mobile offers to transit riders based on their preferences and travel patterns, according to a press release. Beacon technology placed in local bus shelters and at merchant sites communicates with the app, notifying users of existing offers in the area or at a particular store. With a single touch, riders can save a coupon to redeem immediately or at a later time.

Merchants can share two mobile offers per week with Shop and Ride app users. Xerox provides real-time tracking of deal conversions and anonymized data — for instance, the number of users who save, open and redeem the coupons. This allows merchants to make data-driven decisions as to which offers will resonate with consumers, according to the announcement.

“Hoboken is the ideal place for us to test the Shop and Ride app because of its size, its more than 200,000 transit riders, the number of area merchants and proximity to New York City,” said Chris Holmes, Xerox vice president of mobile commerce solutions for payments and the public sector. "Our research shows that riders want offers for food, shopping and entertainment based on their likes as they travel. Shop and Ride was developed with this in mind so deals are timely, relevant and readily available."

Xerox is working closely with AR James, a local transit advertising agency, to connect with local merchants and introduce the Shop and Ride app to Hoboken.

"This app is part of a new wave in advertising innovation," said Jim DeLucia, CEO of AR James. "The endeavor with Xerox takes our successful approach to advertising in transit shelters and stations to a new level, connecting riders and their mobile devices through the use of beacon technology."

Xerox is currently working with 35 merchants in Hoboken to extend deals to New Jersey Transit riders. The list of merchants is expected to grow to at least 60 by the end of the summer, according to the announcement.