For cafes, barbers, caterers and local shops
Nobody selling local advertising can say this: the person told us what they wanted before they walked in. Ask Lucilla answers with your live deal, and you get a claim, a timestamp, and a repeat-visit count with no name attached. Free to list, then a flat monthly plan sized in claims.
Free plan: 50 claims a month, no card · Text CANCEL to stop texts
+1 (314) 237-4046 · no app, no install · example
Example. What staff see after they scan, type or text a code.
The problem
Small businesses pay for clicks, impressions and automated outreach, and still struggle to see who actually walks in.
The average cost of one search-ad lead across industries in 2026. A lead is a call, form, chat or email, not a visit. Google says the store visits it reports are “modeled numbers”.
LocaliQ / WordStream 2026 Search Advertising Benchmarks; Google Ads Help
Only 18% of small businesses feel very confident their marketing is effective. Meanwhile, of small businesses that use AI for marketing, 81% use it to write content.
Constant Contact Small Business Now, 2025; LocaliQ Small Business Marketing Trends 2026
45% of US consumers now use ChatGPT or another AI tool for local business recommendations, up from 6% a year earlier.
BrightLocal Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (US adults)
The fix
How it works
Text your offer, like “20% off lunch this week”. Where a POS or calendar is connected, live prices, stock and booking slots follow it.
How deep the discount goes, which items, who qualifies, and a hard cap on claims.
Inside your limits, Ask Lucilla answers customer demand with your deals. Outside them, it asks you first.
15 live connectors
Shopify, Clover, Toast and Mindbody are pending approval with their platforms, not on us. Tiles marked “in review” are not live yet.
The proof
Ad platforms infer intent: someone walked past a door, or scrolled past a video. Because the customer asked first, the visit is counted, not inferred.
Every claim is a one-time code.
Staff scan or type it, a connected register takes it, or a paid online order uses it.
A check-in on the customer’s own phone is shown to you as self-reported, never added to the counted visits.
Payment settles on-chain and can be audited. The visit is enforced like a cinema ticket: one code, burned once, at the counter.
Growth engine
of small businesses say customer referrals are their best source of new customers.
LocaliQ Small Business Marketing Trends Report 2026 (owner survey, self-reported)Customers pass your deal to friends or local creators with their own code.
Referrers earn only for visits your shop confirmed. You set the amount per visit and a monthly cap.
Dispute any referred visit for 7 days before you pay.
Referral and creator payouts go from your card to the referrer through Stripe. We never hold the money. Payouts are rolling out shop by shop.
Pricing
A flat monthly plan sized in claims, in US dollars. At the cap, no new codes until next month or a plan change: a hard cap, never an overage charge.
0% fee on deal and reward claims on every plan. Friend and creator bonuses are separate, and only ever go to visits confirmed at your shop. A paid plan is cancelled from Plan & billing in your dashboard. Every plan and the FAQ
We’re opening in Hamilton and Toronto now. Early shops get set up by hand.
Built with
Owner FAQ
You pay nothing on Free, and your listing stays up. Claims only count when someone picks your deal.
When a customer shows a code, your staff scan it with the app, type it in, or text REDEEM and the code to Ask Lucilla. That marks it used, once. You can add team members so they do it from their own phone.
Your plan price and nothing else: on Free that is $0 USD. No plan bills per claim, and there is no fee on deal or reward claims.
You do, from your card, and only for a visit your shop confirmed at the counter. You set the amount per visit and a monthly cap. You have 7 days to dispute a referred visit before it is paid. The payout goes through Stripe; Ask Lucilla never holds the money.
Square and Lightspeed connect today. Clover and Toast are pending approval. You don’t need a POS at all: staff scan or type the code, or text REDEEM and the code.
There’s an app if you want it. You don’t need it. Listing, deals, codes and your weekly numbers all work by text.
I’m SB. I’m building Ask Lucilla in Hamilton and listing the first shops myself. Text me and you’ll get me, not a sales team.
Launch incubator alumni · +1 (314) 237-4046
One text. Ask Lucilla reads your website and Google listing and asks only for what is missing.
+1 (314) 237-4046 Text “List my business”Text CANCEL to stop texts.
