Shopping | Cashback Incentives Entice Consumers to E-Commerce Industry
We love to shop and its not a surprise that the Philippines is ranked along the top in the list of countries with the high traffic in the internet, ergo e-commerce is not far behind. Internet shopping therefor forms a substantial share in the our use of the internet.
And just as you thought it couldn’t get any
crazier with the battle of popular e-commerce websites and apps, it seems
Filipinos are finding even more and more reasons to click and buy.
One of the most compelling reasons is Shopback,
an innovative cashback rewards program that returns up to 30 percent of money
spent on online shopping. Users should enter partner e-commerce sites through
the Shopback app in order to enjoy these rewards, and they can claim the money
they earn back through transfer to their online bank account, mobile wallet
GCash or PayPal.
At present, Shopback is present in seven
countries in Asia Pacific and counts over 12 million users. It is currently
partnered with over 2,000+ brands from all over the world. The award-winning,
Singapore-based e-commerce startup eyes the Philippine market as one of its
newest and most exciting markets.
“The reputation of Filipinos for being
online-savvy is once again affirmed by the phenomenal growth we’ve experience
in just a couple of years since we launched Shopback in the country,” says
Karoline Santiago, parnerships head of Shopback in the Philippines.
As of August, Santiago reveals that transactions
on the app have increased to 29,000 orders every day compared to just 800 in
the same period last year. “This is still relatively small compared to our
operations in Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia and Thailand but we are optimistic
that the Philippines will definitely catch up with these more established
markets very soon,” adds Santiago.
Top items purchased through Shopback provide a
peek into the online shopping habits of Filipinos these days. Prepaid load and
gaming pins lead the list, followed by electronics and products for moms and
babies. Travel packages, tours and hotel accommodations come next. The rest are
a myriad of everyday essentials, from foodstuff such as brownies to toiletries
such as mosquito repellant.
Since Shopback’s entry in the Philippines in June
2015, the app has enjoyed 1.9 million downloads and has paid a total of
P119,888,596.93 in cashback rewards. Interestingly, the biggest cashback paid
in a single transaction was P422,055.34. The highest total cashback paid to an
individual app user, meanwhile, racks up to P1,006,437.54.
“Incentive programs such as cashback reward is a
vital evolution in e-commerce that will help expand the sector even further,
especially in markets such as the Philippines where there is high mobile
penetration and Internet usage rates,” explains Santiago. Given their rosy
prospects for the Philippine market, Shopback is expanding its local operations
and partnering with more e-commerce outlets and brands.
Shopback is also gearing up for its annual
landmark Shopfest sale on September 9, where it will offer as much as 40
percent cashback and other items for P99.00 that will be exclusive to the
platform. “It is the aim of Shopback to make online shopping not just more
enjoyable and exciting, but rewarding as well,” concludes Santiago.