FNB's eBucks reports 26% growth in rewards
The South African coalition loyalty programme, eBucks, has announced that its members have spent a full R1.5 billion worth of eBucks points, out of the total R2 billion allocated since the programme's launch in October 2000, according to programme operator, First National Bank (FNB).
Over the past year, eBucks members have spent 24% more of their eBucks, and earned 26% more than they did compared to the previous year. According to eBucks CEO, Jolande Duvenage, this growth is an encouraging sign that the programme's 2.3 million+ members are finding the programme both relevant and easy to use.
"We measure the success of the programme by the 'spend to earn' ratio, which compares the rate members earn points with the rate at which they redeem them," explained Duvenage. "Currently, our members' average spend to earn ratio exceeds 80%, which is significantly higher than the current international benchmark, which is between 60% and 70%."
One of the trends that eBucks has noted recently is that members are becoming increasingly more savvy about how they earn eBucks points, and that they have begun to change both their banking and their shopping behaviours to maximise rewards. In addition, most members have also begun to use their loyalty rewards to extend their purchasing power.
"As members began to feel the effects of the recession, they became more skilled at maximising the number of eBucks they earned by swiping their FNB cheque and credit cards to pay for their purchases," said Duvenage. "Many are also opting to use their eBucks to buy everyday essentials such as fuel, medicine, groceries and airtime, with nearly half of the total eBucks redeemed each month being spent on these 'bare necessities'."
Another contributing factor to the programme's recent growth in redemption rate has been the addition of relevant redemption partners over the past few years, including Makro, Engen, Incredible Connection, Cape Union Mart, and most recently Dis-Chem pharmacies. Fuel purchases using points (at participating Engen garages) have also become popular since the partnership was announced in December 2009.
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