With almost two-thirds of consumers saying that they always choose the same brands/products they usually buy[1] and with the rise of auto-replenishment services taking hold, there is increasing pressure on brands to differentiate themselves and encourage shoppers to move away from tried and tested products.
In the last couple of years, cashback has proved an effective way to drive trial and provide sampling at scale with brands engaging shoppers on their mobile phones and rewarding customers with, as the name suggests, cash incentives. We have however seen a recent trend with brands moving away from cash as the reward.
Experiences over cash
One of our clients – an international beauty manufacturer – has been using our cashback solution to reward customers with experiences. These include subscriptions meditation apps, fitness apps as well as gym passes to shoppers upon proof of purchase. For one of these campaigns, traffic was driven from social media with brand posts and influencer collaborations. Given that thirty percent of consumers will try new products based on influencers’ recommendations and one-quarter of consumers say they “trust advertising more” when it features people they follow online[2], using brand-influencer collaborations is proving a good way for brands to reach and build credibility with new audiences.
Points mean prizes
Creating incentive programmes has also proven a successful way to incentivise trial of your product and encourage repeat use. We’ve been running a points-based reward programme for a world leading vaping brand where shoppers are rewarded with points for each proof of purchase uploaded and receive unique moneyback codes for free product when they pass points targets. This has proved a sticky service with the number of purchases uploaded per month steadily increasing.
In some cases, cash will remain the right incentive to drive shoppers to purchase. Brands shouldn’t shy away from exploring alternatives though as the implementation could be easier than they think.
References
