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PAYBACK, the country’s largest multi-partner loyalty programme, is in talks with a leading private sector bank, several mall owners and neighbourhood merchants to expand the merchant network for its loyalty programme, a top official said.
“This is part of a three-pronged strategy that the company has embarked upon to transform itself from a pure-play coalition loyalty to a loyalty-cum-digital marketing platform”, Ramakant Khandelwal, Chief Marketing Officer, PAYBACK told BusinessLine .
Khandelwal, however, declined to name the private sector bank, stating that both were on the verge of signing the deal.
PAYBACK 2.0’s strategy involves deeper participation with existing partners in offline and online categories; driving digital engagement and adding new partnerships to cover the “white spaces” in the network, according to Khandelwal.
With a base of 115+ million members , the focus is on accelerating transactions and engagement within this customer base.
More customer options
He said, “PAYBACK 1.0 was about getting many partners on a platform and a huge customer base. With over 115 million customers, we have now achieved that. Now, as part of PAYBACK 2.0, we want our loyalty platform to become loyalty-cum-marketing platform.”
He added: “This is applicable not just for online but also for our big core partners like Big Bazaar, who are using our platform to promote their offers.”
Khandelwal said PAYBACK, which is controlled by American Express, was looking at new partnerships, helping them acquire new customers and also retain the existing base as loyal customers.
“We want to provide more options to our customers to earn and burn points, and for that we are looking to add more partners”, he said.
PAYBACK has more than 100 partners including ICICI Bank, Amex, Big Bazaar, HPCL, Bookmyshow, Central, Brand Factory, Hometown, MobiKwik etc.
“We have great assets in the form of a 115+ million member-base and 100+ brands cum partners. New platforms across analytics, digital marketing and offer-engine are driving cases for all our partners, some that are unique to us”, he said.
Besides shopping catchments like malls, PAYBACK is also focussing on bringing its fold neighbourhood merchants such as pharmacies, local stores and so on. Other focus areas are high-frequency consumer spends like dining out, food delivery and cab hailing apps. “We plan to launch a few by the end of the year,” he said.
Digital push
PAYBACK members can earn points on everyday shopping and can redeem them for attractive rewards, at their preference.
Point redemption, which is a primary metric for customer engagement, is the healthiest for PAYBACK among all loyalty programs in the country, ranging from 50 per cent to 80 per cent depending on the categories.
On the digital front, PAYBACK has gone paperless in enrolments. Customers can quote their mobile number to collect or redeem points. Khandelwal said that a new mobile app is in the offing, which will also have a digital card which can be scanned at the stores for ‘earn’ or ‘redeem’ transactions.
PAYBACK will launch a website that will offer a personalised experience, he added.
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