December 10 2006

How much is a new customer worth?

Do retailers gain loyalty through online promotions or does a good offer turn into acquisition of lots of one-time purchasers? How about giving away cash? The owners of a new affiliate-based loyalty site will be finding out fairly soon as cash starts to be passed back to shoppers.

InternetCashback.co.uk is offering consumers discounts and cash back on a wide range of products if they click through from the site and buy from one of the participating retailers. Using the affiliate networks to track purchases and reward customers is nothing new but this site if offering £10 cash just for joining up (although it's not collectable until another £30 worth of cash backs has been earned).

Having deals from 600 participating retailers in one place could be a good way for marketers to keep an eye on how much a new customer is worth to their competition - £50 for home insurance from Barclays anyone?

Emma Herrod