South Africans redeem record number of eBucks
In South Africa, members of the eBucks coalition loyalty programme spent a record R46 million worth of eBucks points - equal to US$6.35 million - on travel and shopping during the 2006 holiday shopping season, driven mainly by higher member activity levels and an increased number of first time shoppers.
According to eBucks' CEO, Lezanne Human, the rapidly increasing consumer adoption of broadband internet connections has coincided with an increase in the average size of eBucks members' shopping baskets.
Most popular redemptions Compared to the 2005 holiday season, travel spending using eBucks increased by 23% - a trend which has continued into the new year with a surprising 48% year-on-year increase in eBucks travel revenue in January 2007.
And retail spending using the eBucks card increased by 16%, with a 26% increase in points spent at eBucks' e-commerce partner web sites.
But despite these high growth rates, the eBucks points spent through the programme's own web site still accounted for the largest percentage of member spending during the holiday season.
Airline ticket bookings remain the most popular eBucks travel items, while accommodation, car rentals and special holiday packages are now becoming increasingly popular choices.
Spend-to-earn ratio "Member activity and a robust spend-to-earn ratio are key indicators of a healthy rewards programme," commented Human. "The more members that take part in a rewards programme and enjoy its benefits, the greater value they get. Unlike lots of other programmes we don't benefit from breakage in that our points do not expire. We want our customers to spend their eBucks and experience the reward of getting 'stuff for free'."
During the 2006 financial year, the spend-to-earn ratio grew to over 70%, and the total value of eBucks allocated since the programme's launch had grown to over R800 million by January 2007.
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