Nectar announces new eBay partnership
Three new link-ups mark tenth anniversary
Nectar – which marks its tenth anniversary this month – has announced a new partnership with eBay.
Nectar cardholders will be able to collect points while transacting at the online marketplace’s UK website, which has 17 million visitors.
The move expands on an existing agreement Nectar has with eBay and means that, instead of having to visit the Nectar website and then clicking through to eBay to qualify for Nectar points, cardholders will be able to link their eBay account with their Nectar Card.
Once the accounts have been linked, Nectar cardholders will automatically collect points when shopping on eBay provided they pay with PayPal. A Nectar logo will appear on product listings where the item is eligible for points in the loyalty scheme.
The move follows two other new partnerships the UK coalition loyalty scheme has announced this month with the Oxfam Unwrapped charity gift catalogue and Tragus, owner of the Bella Italia, Café Rouge and Strada UK restaurant chains.
Nectar says it has also been working major brand partners to reward cardholders for being part of its programme:
• Sainsbury’s is running a double Nectar points promotion in-store and online for customers between 28-30 September. Sainsbury’s has also launched its new Nectar credit card which allows Nectar collectors to earn more points with 10 points on offer per £1 spent in Sainsbury’s for the first 3 months from account opening.
• Homebase offered customers triple points on all purchases on 15 and 16 September in store and online.
• BP is running an instant win, ‘Swipe a Prize’ promotion from 11 September – 8 October
• Expedia has adopted the ‘Cheers for Ten Years’ branding on its website in conjunction with a triple points offer from 14 – 17 September.
• Hertz, is offering triple points during September.
American Express is offering its Nectar Credit Card holders the chance to get 10,000 Nectar bonus points. This offer is available until 7 November and will be awarded when card member spends £1,000 within the first three months of card membership.
Anniversary
Founded in 1992 by Sir Keith Mills, Nectar is now owned by global loyalty company Aimia and claims to have over 18.5 million collectors.
Nectar has also expanded internationally into Italy – where it says it now over has over 9 million collectors – and by launching the brand in Chile.
Founder of Nectar and entrepreneur, Sir Keith Mills commented on the anniversary: “When we launched Nectar ten years ago we said that it was win, win, win. A win for shoppers as they could earn points in lots of places. A win for our partners as it would allow them to keep their best customers loyal. And a win for the growing loyalty industry. I’m delighted to see that our vision was right. Over the past ten years it has been very exciting and satifisfying to watch Nectar on its incredible journey…all the time at the forefront of the loyalty industry.”
David Johnston, president and CEO of Aimia, said: “We have come a long way in the past decade, moving from a focus on transactions to one that’s more about interactions – giving collectors the opportunity to engage with Nectar in-store, online and via smartphones. We are also now using Nectar to incentivise positive behaviour, whether that’s for reusing carrier bags at Sainsbury’s or switching to paperless billing with British Gas. We’ve also started working with local authorities to use Nectar to incentivise activities such as recycling and volunteering.”
