VANCOUVER, B.C. June 1st, 2022,  Fobi AI Inc. (FOBI: TSXV FOBIF: OTCQB) (the “Company” or “FOBI”), a leading data intelligence company using artificial intelligence to help clients turn real-time data into actionable insights and personalized customer engagement is pleased to provide shareholders with a comprehensive update as to the status of the imminent 8112 Universal Digital Standard Coupons rollout and the significant business impact expectations on Qples By Fobi.

QPLES EXPECTED TO DOUBLE CUSTOMER BASE AND ISSUANCES FROM EXISTING CUSTOMERS

The new 8112 Universal Standard is being championed by The Coupon Bureau (TCB) and provides several benefits to both brands and retailers such as reduced fraud, better attribution of coupon redemptions and the ability to now stack coupons which will greatly reduce the time customers currently spend redeeming at the register. The biggest benefit of 8112, however, is for end users, who will finally be able to redeem coupons from their mobile phones as compared to the vastly inefficient printing and/or cutting out of paper coupons.  

8112 TIMING IS PERFECT AS INFLATION HITS RECORD LEVELS NOT SEEN IN 40 YEARS - DRIVING CONSUMER DEMAND FOR COUPONS

Fobi estimates that the launch of 8112 will immediately double the number of Qples customers and revenue, as well as increase the amount of business with current customers as brands look to capture the multiple immediate efficiencies of 8112.

A second, major and unforeseen catalyst for Qples is the record rise of inflation rates to levels not seen in the last 40 years. As a result of record price increases across the entire retail spectrum, the average U.S. family is now spending an additional $4,000 per year and will be forced to reduce spending unless retailers and brands are able to provide agile discounts through coupons that only 8112 can achieve.

The launch of 8112 coupons also comes at a time when due to rising inflation and shrinking wallets, coupons have become even more important than ever to shoppers worldwide looking to save money, and Qples by Fobi is there to capitalize on this increase in velocity for coupons.  

AMERICA’S BIGGEST RETAILERS REPORTED 40% INCREASE IN INVENTORIES

Business Insider recently reported that “In recent earnings calls, retailers including Walmart, Target, Kohl's, and Dick's reported that their inventories surged by roughly 40% compared to the year prior. Taken together, these excess inventories represent several billions of dollars worth of overstocked products taking up valuable space on shelves and in warehouses.”  This astronomic rise in inventories could provide a further catalyst to adoption of 8112.

BRANDS AND RETAILERS TARGET JULY IMPLEMENTATIONS

Due to the benefits mentioned above, CPG brands have been impatiently waiting for retailers to begin implementing the new standard within their stores.  Many major brands have announced a July 2022 launch of 8112 coupon content and retailers now have to implement 8112 in their stores.   This has finally started to happen with The Coupon Bureau expecting 3-4 national retailers and 8,000+ mid-tier and independent grocers connected by the end of 2022, with additional announcements for national grocers coming online in Q1 of 2023.  

As a result, Fobi has commenced negotiations with multiple brands around 8112, with deals expected to be signed as soon as the first retailer implementations begin.  The recent press release for Fobi’s 8112 deal with Vericast, who work with tens of thousands of CPG brands, highlights the readiness of the market for 8112 and the importance of this new standard for Fobi’s business and revenue growth.   

Brandi Johnson, CEO of the Coupon Bureau stated: “With these latest announcements from national retailers who are finalizing their implementation plans for 8112, we are finally seeing the critical mass of retailers that we need to get the standard launched. The CPG brands have been waiting for this day for such a long time, and they are very excited that soon their customers will be able to redeem their coupons anywhere and that they will have so much greater visibility into how their coupons are being used.  Qples by Fobi is extremely well positioned between the Brands and the Retailers to provide the 8112 digital coupon platform that will help propel the Industry into the 21st century.  I’m so proud to be working together alongside the Qples and Fobi team on this initiative.”

QPLES AND FOBI’S WALLET PASS INTEGRATION NOW COMPLETE MAKING QPLES BY FOBI THE ONLY COMPANY IN THE WORLD TO BE ABLE TO DISTRIBUTE COUPONS VIA A BROWSER, THEIR APP OR THROUGH A WALLET PASS

Fobi’s Wallet Pass platform has now been fully integrated with the Qples platform, which means that Qples can now distribute coupons through a browser, through their iOS and Android Apps and now also through a Wallet Pass.  This makes Qples by Fobi the only company in the world able to distribute coupons through all three of these channels.  Increased coupon distribution leads to increased coupon utilization, which leads to additional revenues for Qples.  

In addition, with the Passcreator integration and through the power of Fobi’s AI Data, activation & personalization, Fobi can provide unparalleled real-time engagement and attribution metrics.  The segmentation, attribution and data measurement provided by the Fobi data exchange enable CPG Brands to make better data-driven decisions around their campaigns.  This is something the CPG Brands have been looking to achieve for a very long time, and Fobi can now deliver this at scale. 

8112 UNIVERSAL COUPONS CAN FINALLY BE UTILIZED BY CPG BRANDS FOR ECOMMERCE

There have always been retailer coupons available online through E-Commerce, however due to the lack of a safe, effective universal standard for digital coupons and the corresponding increased risk of fraud, CPG manufacturers’ coupons have not been made available through Ecommerce.

Qples by Fobi is well positioned to provide 8112 coupons to Ecommerce sites and expects this to be a significant further means of revenue generation moving forward.  

Rob Anson, CEO of Fobi stated: “We are here for the “long game” and this is the exact manner in which we approach, assess and act on all long term strategic initiatives. We made a hard and conscious decision to press pause and to take a step back and focus on a few key internal housekeeping details which were necessary in order for us to realize and truly maximize the value as to the timing and launch of 8112. We strongly felt that by taking a step back and ensuring we were focused on completing the necessary integration work, we would benefit by way of becoming a front runner in regards to providing a clear path of transition and support for deploying 8112 across all CPG retail activation channels. Our decision is now looking to pay dividends long term for the company and shaping the company’s future as a result of the anticipated and significant impact that 8112 will now have on our company’s growth trajectory.”

As a reminder, Fobi will be holding a webinar regarding their Q3 Financial Results today, June 1^st at 9am PST. Registration for the webinar is here.

This Press Release Is Available on the Fobi website and the FOBI Verified Forum On AGORACOM For Shareholder Discussion and Management Engagement.

About Fobi

Fobi is a cutting-edge data intelligence company that helps our clients turn real-time data into actionable insights and personalized customer engagement to generate increased profits. Fobi's unique IoT device has the ability to integrate seamlessly into existing infrastructure to enable data connectivity across online and on-premise platforms creating highly scalable solutions for our global clients. Fobi partners with some of the largest companies in the world to deliver best-in-class solutions and operates globally in the retail, telecom, sports & entertainment, casino gaming, and hospitality & tourism industries.

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