Cashback shopping reward scheme wins award
The Daily Mirror’s cashback shopping website has won an award for bringing the concept of cashback as a shopping reward into the mainstream. 
MirrorCashback.com won the Commercial Partnership category of this month’s Association of Online Publishers Awards 2009.
The site was developed in partnership with CashbackPartners.com owned by V A C Media, the biggest operator of customer loyalty websites in the UK.
Readers log in to the cashback site before visiting any of 2,000 mainstream retailers and buying the same goods and services they normally do.
The referral fee paid by online retailers is shared with consumers. It was launched in November 2008 with significant coverage in the paper, including an eight-page supplement, and online on Mirror.co.uk.
The judges at the awards said: “Through strong editorial support and sustained in-paper and online promotion, the partnership has brought cashback to the mainstream.
“In exploring new commercial activities, this partnership provided a fundamental understanding of the consumer and the potential for longevity.”
CashbackPartners.com partnerships director Nadeem Azam added: “We are delighted! MirrorCashback.com was our highest profile launch in the last 12 months and is incredibly popular with readers.”
“It’s estimated there are still 20 million people in the UK who don’t use cashback, making it a lucrative potential market for companies with existing customer bases.”
V A C Media has a total network of 180 websites supported by 62 staff.More than 550,000 shoppers use the network to purchase items from 2,000 retailers.