From international giants like Apple and Nike to local retailers such as The Iconic, Cotton On and Mecca, savvy brands are embracing their role as social changemakers, whether it’s replanting forests, educating young girls or elevating Indigenous entrepreneurs.
In the US, Target rolled out its highly effective Target Circle loyalty program, featuring consumer benefits such as the ability to vote for the causes that the retail giant will support. A year after launch, the program’s 50 million active users drove more than 40% of Target’s sales over the holiday season.
And it’s clear shoppers are responding to community support with their wallets.
According to stats from the CommBank Insights Report in 2022, one in three consumers are now more conscious of shopping from purpose-led brands than they were before COVID. Meanwhile, more than one in two consumers are willing to pay more to purchase from socially aware brands. It’s an issue that is close to the heart of Ivan Schwartz, founder and CEO of Points4Purpose. “My son has a developmental disability and, like so many others, I am passionate about helping the countless number of worthy causes in our community to generate new sources of sustainable fundraising to meet their goals. I am equally committed to helping businesses grow by simply investing in the many individual causes as nominated by customers, as well as acquiring new clientele,” he says.
“I believe that retailers have the opportunity to now truly combine purpose with profit. Imagine how powerful it would be if more operators harnessed the enormous power of goodwill – while at the same time, boosting their bottom line.”
A cashback scheme with a measurable difference
Enter Points4Purpose, a cashback rewards platform that lives by its ethos: ‘Get more. Give more.’ This innovative cardlinked and POS-agnostic solution allows shoppers to earn points that can be exchanged for cash and/or donated to the causes that they care about, democratising loyalty like never before. And the good news is that there is no new plastic involved as members simply link their membership to their preferred payment card, debit or credit. More than 2,000 participating charities are on the platform, including the Salvation Army, Surf Lifesaving, Starlight Foundation and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and many more.
“As a direct marketer, I have always been frustrated by the staggering value of unredeemed points sitting on the balance sheets of traditional banks, airlines and retailer loyalty programs. Consumers are also tired of signing up to programs to earn points that are out-of-reach or that they will never be able to redeem,” explains Schwartz.
“As someone who cares deeply about supporting local causes, I am focused on helping businesses and consumers work together to give back to their chosen community cause – whatever that may be. Points4Purpose provides a simple user-friendly rewards platform that brings social and business goals together seamlessly to drive measurable outcomes. And with its cardlinking platform now being rolled out internationally, this powerful platform is now tried and retailer-ready.”
CommunityRewards: A call-out to shopping centres
A new multi-merchant program called CommunityRewards is currently being rolled out by Points4Purpose on the NSW mid-North Coast and shopping centres are invited to get behind their retailers as a central driver in this coalition program, which is supported by Business NSW and many local community organisations including chambers of commerce, schools, sporting clubs and local causes. The plan is to deploy the CommunityRewards program across the five key NSW regions, then nationally.
“Shopping centres play a critical role in their communities. Through CommunityRewards, they can now further support their retailers to drive turnover by enroling local organisations, whether the local footy club or school or to even ensure that there is a regular lifesaving patrol on their local beach. It’s a wonderful opportunity for centres to amplify their support of the local communities in which they operate and grow visitation and turnover – while doing good at the same time,” said Schwartz.
“And with the CommunityRewards integrated local area marketing program designed to support the centre and its retailers, the program becomes self-funding within a six to 12 month period from launch.”
Other business benefits of CommunityRewards for shopping centres include accessing new levels of shopper data (both on and offline), increased shopper visitation and spend as well as the ability to cross-sell across retailers and centre categories, driving turnover throughout the centre.
“In a world where consumers are drowning in information overload, businesses that speak to their individual passions will grab their attention,” says Schwartz. “And while we know that it is increasingly difficult to engage with consumers, CommunityRewards provides retailers with the opportunity to build customer relationships that go far beyond the mere transactional, with the ultimate goal towards building gains in lifetime value.”
Register now for the free webinar on 18 September and join the conversation with some of Australia’s leading retail and community engagement experts:
Find out more information about CommunityRewards and Points4Purpose.
