This month, Cashrewards celebrates its 10th birthday. In this op-ed, Anthony Seymour-Walsh, CEO, reflects on the journey of this inspiring Aussie business, which has evolved from humble beginnings to become Australia’s leading cashback ecosystem and a key strategic partner for clients.
Lead image: Anthony Seymour-Walsh – CEO, Cashrewards.
I am excited about the next chapter as we explore new opportunities for the upcoming ten years and deliver more innovative retail and marketing solutions across our cashback platform, Cashrewards, and our full-circle retail media platform, Circuit.
A truly purpose-driven business from the outset
Andrew and Lorica Clarke founded Cashrewards in 2014 after their son survived a serious illness. After experiencing the life-changing work of the Starlight Foundation firsthand, they wanted to create a business with a real purpose at its core.
Over the last 10 years, we have donated over $2m to the Starlight Foundation by matching 1% of all cashback funds that our members withdraw, supporting over 50,000 sick children and their families.
Giving back is in our DNA
Our model benefits both shoppers and retailers. When you shop with your favourite brands through Cashrewards, we receive a commission from those brands that we share with our members in the form of cashback. This can then be withdrawn as cash directly to their bank or Paypal account.
As a chartered accountant by trade and a lover of finding a good bargain, I resonate with our members’ sentiment that they love a good deal. Nothing beats getting cashback and discounts on everyday purchases at brands such as Apple, Myer, BWS, Amazon, Petbarn, Chemist Warehouse, and booking.com.
Over the past ten years, our members have received over $165m in cashback, and we have generated almost $5bn in sales for our brand partners. In the current economic climate of rising costs, it is gratifying to know that we are helping millions of Australian households make their budgets go further.
In my experience, loyalty programs that start by solving a customer problem rather than starting with achieving business goals will invariably stay the course. Finding ways of making this commercially sustainable and achieving mutually beneficial outcomes for members and the program/business ensures the long-term success of any loyalty effort.
I put our success as Australia’s first and leading cashback platform down to three key things: first, the program’s simplicity for its members and brand partners; second, the seamless ecosystem that we have established for the business to create strategic data-informed marketing solutions; and third, the amazing team.
Partner with certainty
We are on an exciting path to becoming indispensable to our partner brands across performance marketing (cashback). When you run a cashback campaign with us, there’s zero risk and zero wastage of your marketing dollar, as you only pay when a member makes a purchase. We help our partner brands increase sales at a lower cost per acquisition.
Our cashback proposition is also “stackable” with other loyalty programs that our partner brands might be running. The savviest customers also use points-earning cards in their payments. We call this the “Cashrewards cashback stack.”
Delivering innovation through our partnership with ANZ
If there is one thing that characterises this great Australian business, it is resilience. The retail sector never stands still. As consumer expectations for a seamless, value-driven shopping experience evolve in the ever-changing digital economy, all stakeholders in the retail environment must be agile and resilient to survive.
And as marketers and retailers innovate, so do we. What worked yesterday may not work tomorrow.
Two years ago, ANZ completed a takeover of Cashrewards through its external innovation partner, 1835i. The partnership embodies our strategic foresight as we continually seek to integrate loyalty and value to improve the financial well-being of our customers. Our cashback offers feed live into the ANZ App, used by over 4 million Australians, influencing brand choice and ensuring Cashrewards and our partners’ cashback offers are front of mind.
Supporting marketing investment efficiency with Circuit by Cashrewards
Retail media is exploding. According to PWC in their latest Global Entertainment and Media Outlook Report, the market in Australia is valued at $850m and is predicted to surge to $3bn by 2027. This growth is partly driven by the demand for first-party data and the opportunity to reach customers as they are about to spend.
Late last year, we added a new dimension to our offering with the launch of Circuit, enabling advertisers to create and nurture intent through the platform. The Circuit offering is unique because we are the first Australian cashback platform to offer a retail media solution and provide a uniquely holistic view of the market and the customer.
Advertisers and brands can access one of the broadest views of customer shopping behaviour in the market. Our Circuit retail media business is already helping brand exposure to high-purchase-intent customers through the awareness, consideration, and conversion funnel. We also support brands in measuring the effectiveness of their brand and media spend in ways other channels can’t.
I’ve seen how quickly the digital landscape is evolving and how customer attention spans are reducing over time. Cashrewards plays a crucial role for marketers in reaching valuable customers with flexibility, relevance, and convenience.
Our vision for the future
As we celebrate the journey of the past 10 years, we look forward with great anticipation to the next decade and beyond.
In our dynamic ecosystem, balancing the needs and objectives of both our members and brand partners is crucial. While our members are essential, we are equally committed to optimising marketing efforts and driving sales for our partners.
We continually seek innovative ways to enhance the Cashrewards experience, ensuring it is engaging and rewarding for all. This includes exploring methods to expedite the “moment of yay” when members receive their cashback. With over two million members today, we envision a future where five million Australians benefit from Cashrewards, discovering even greater value with every shop. Our vision includes deepening partnerships and evolving our consumer proposition through personalisation whilst supporting our brand partners in achieving their goals.
To find out more about Cashrewards, head here.
