Australia’s Cashrewards Helps Promote Brands with Cashback and a Great Cause

As marketers, most of us know that cash back is a way of life, but it’s been especially prevalent in the land down under. The Australian cash back site Cashrewards enables shoppers to earn cash back on everyday shopping from regional and global brands, all while making an impact with local children’s charities to give back in a bigger way.

We chatted with Jodie Hoad, Client Services Team Lead at Cashrewards to learn more about best practices for the Australian market, what’s next for digital marketing, and the best way to win the Aussie consumer’s heart.

Jodie Hoad, Client Services Team Lead, Cashrewards

CJ: Tell us a little about Cashrewards.

Jodie: Australian-owned and operated, Cashrewards is the leading Australian cash back ecosystem enabling members to receive cash back on transactions when purchasing online or in-store at over 1,800 retailers, plus a selection of exclusive offers and promotions from its retail partners.

Cashrewards was founded in 2014 in Sydney by Andrew and Lorica Clarke after their son developed and survived a serious illness. Seeking a way to give back to those who supported them, they created a business with real purpose at its heart.

Eight years on, Cashrewards is still a business that focuses on giving back. By earning a commission from the retailers we partner with, we can pass savings back to Aussie shoppers, while donating cash from every sale to a charity close to our hearts. Since our launch, we’ve driven more than $2.7B in transactions for brands, translating into more than $120M back to shoppers and helping more than 23,000 sick kids in the process.

CJ: What problems does your business solve?

Jodie: Cashrewards is a must-have product for consumers and brands. Its pay-on-performance model for business partners and popular easy-to-use cash back service for consumers provides a powerful value proposition for consumers and businesses alike. Cashrewards’ brand partners can turn wasted media spend into unrivaled returns, and Cashrewards members can shop and save with zero hassle.

CJ: How does affiliate marketing fit into your business model?

Jodie: Business partners are often onboarded via affiliate networks. Many retailers have affiliate programs already in place, allowing Cashrewards to integrate efficiently with brand partners at scale, enabling a streamlined process with account management support, and driving mutually optimal outcomes.

CJ: Who’s your audience? What do they care about and what’s their shopping behavior like?

Jodie: We have a highly valuable member base. Cashrewards members are twice as likely to earn over $150K, more than the average Australian. They’re more likely to be female, with 69% aged between 25-49. Our members describe themselves as considerate, intelligent, and frugal.

Generally, we find that our audience likes to try new products and brands and are influenced by labels and rate quality ahead of price. They tend to enjoy shopping but also getting value, and want the best deal, being careful about what they spend. 62% of members make a general online purchase at least once a fortnight, including through Cashrewards, and have a strong preference for shopping online.

CJ: What types of products and categories do well with your audience?

Jodie: Travel, fashion, food delivery, technology, health & beauty, and alcohol.

CJ: Tell us about the Australian market. What sets these consumers apart?

Jodie: Australians have embraced 2021 and 2022 with renewed confidence in comparison to 2020. All market reports indicate online shopping growth has dramatically increased year on year, supported primarily by Millennials.

Australian Millennials are the savviest generation and generally have a strong preference for online shopping across all categories, while Boomers have a strong preference for in-person shopping. Australian shoppers also prefer shopping with Australian brands and can be very loyal to large Australian loyalty programs. We also see data to represent a strong focus on recommendations from friends and family/word of mouth.

CJ: What are some unique trends you’ve been seeing in the markets you currently operate?

Jodie: It’s OK to be a savvy shopper. It used to be a bit embarrassing to pull out a coupon or ask, “Is this on sale?”, especially for a luxury brand. We’ve also seen many that want a discount, but don’t want to search for it. That’s where our browser extension is prevalent for engaging shoppers. It also assists retailers with increasing basket size. Also becoming more prevalent are serious concerns about delivery costs, especially with the recent delays with delivery.

CJ: What trends do you see arising within affiliate or the digital space and how are you handling them?

Jodie: Personalisation is expected, such as the “The Netflix effect”. This is a focus for our business. We are working to further enhance the shopper experience by learning more about favorite stores and preferred categories at the sign-up stage and later in the lifecycle for current members. The expectation of discount promotional codes and sales that are easy to find is rising when shopping online. We offer product and messaging around cash back and coupons, which allow shoppers savings on top of savings. Greater use of mobile and multi-screen shopping has been a steady trend for some time now. We are consistently redeveloping our mobile strategy, for example, with app-to-app tracking.

CJ: Where do you see the future of digital media?

Jodie: Consumers’ love of social media will continue, which will trigger new platforms into the market. This gives more opportunities for brands to reach their audiences and tap new ones. 

With third-party cookies imminently disappearing from Google and privacy changes from Apple, companies that own a significant permission first-party data will look to further monetize data and create new media assets, opening new revenue streams. These companies will become increasingly crucial for brands as they look for more accurate tracking of their audiences through the “path to purchase” touchpoints. This affects practically the whole online universes such as retailers, marketplaces, streaming services, banks, and FinTech, i.e. payment platforms.

CJ: Any success stories you’d like to highlight?

Jodie: We have many as we work with our brand partners based on what objectives they want to drive. For example, this could be new customers, repeat purchases, re-engagement, loyalty, and larger basket size. Our most recent success story is with BoozeBud, who saw a 629% return on ad spend with Cashrewards.

CJ: Are there any current accomplishments or awards your company has won that you’d like to share?

Jodie: We’re delighted to announce that Cashrewards was named 2021 ‘Publisher of the Year’ by another affiliate network in their Asia-Pacific 2021 awards. The award submission was a testament to Cashrewards’ dedicated client services team and their relationships with our valued brand partners. Cashrewards is a Pledge 1% company, meaning one percent of the company’s equity and one percent of cash back rewards are donated to the Starlight Children’s Foundation.

Cashrewards is one of Australia's leading cash back communities rewarding cash back online and in-store, from over 1,800 brands. Interested in partnering with Cashrewards? Contact partners@cashrewards.com.