The loyalty program landscape is undergoing a major shake-up in Australia right now, as customers are searching beyond traditional points-based systems and looking for better ways of being rewarded. Now, savvy shoppers – and retailers – in Australia are signing up with cashback programs, which are already popular in the US and UK markets, where they are experiencing up to seven times the online penetration we have in Australia.        

Unlike other loyalty programs, cashback taps into the customer sentiment of saving, earning and being rewarded and doing it in a better, more valuable way across all categories. When customers shop at participating retailers, they receive real cash savings, no strings attached. Australian owned and operated, cashback pioneer Cashrewards, works with more than 1700 brand partners to reach new customers and stimulate demand by offering cashback without retailers having to drop their prices.

“People’s previous perceptions have definitely changed. Australians used to focus a lot on points-based systems, but due to Covid and not being able to fly, they haven’t been able to use their points, so people are shopping for an alternative solution and cashback is a great option,” explains Sophie Stickland, head of client services at Cashrewards, which raised $65 million in its IPO last year and is now listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

Unlike many other loyalty programs, Cashrewards is performance-based and merchants only pay on conversion – nearly all the money invested in a transaction remains in the transaction, working harder to engage customers.  

So far, Cashrewards has generated more than $2.5 billion in sales for its participating retailers. 

Cashrewards Max: turning everyday purchases into a party

Cashrewards has just partnered with major bank ANZ and unveiled its newest product, Cashrewards Max, giving retail partners access to the bank’s 4.7 million credit and debit cardholders. 

“Our launch with Cashrewards Max is a direct path to more than four times the Cashrewards shopper base, making us one of the biggest and fastest-growing performance and loyalty platforms in Australia, driving more incremental transactions with more frequency than any other loyalty or performance offering in the market,” says Stickland.

Under the Cashrewards Max program, ANZ customers will enjoy faster redemption, better offers and increased savings through retail partners. Australians love savings and they love rewards. For example, Cashrewards Max shoppers can get higher cashback offers when they pay with their linked ANZ eligible credit or debit card at checkout. And this translates into driving greater loyalty, spend and customer satisfaction for participating brands.

Cashrewards and ANZ have also invested in an impressive multimillion-dollar above-the-line fully integrated campaign to promote Cashrewards Max, spanning radio, television, digital and social media. 

“This means merchant partners who have signed up to our Max product offering will join retailers such as The Iconic, Petbarn, Rebel, Uniqlo and Apple and benefit from premium media placements and exposure in a through the line media campaign and ANZ-owned channels,” says Stickland.

Within the new program, the Cashrewards team aims to create market segments that align with their individual merchant’s strategic goals and customer bases. Each participating retailer at Cashrewards also receives detailed data and performance analytics to help them understand their campaigns on the program. 

“We want to align a lot of this activity to our retailers’ key objectives, really understand what they’re trying to achieve and how we can get Max to get them there. It’s about delivering new customers to them and creating high frequency and high spend,” says Stickland.

For more information and to get in touch with the team to get on board with Cashrewards Max, visit cashrewards.com.au/business