Singapore’s Shopback targets more Phl users

Singapore-based startup Shopback is aiming to increase the number of users and total spend for the cashback reward provided to shoppers this year as it takes advantage of opportunities in the fast growing e-commerce market in the Philippines.

Shopback Philippines country manager Prashant Kala said the startup is aiming to see the number of users rise by three to four times and for its total spend to grow by 100 percent in the country this year.

Shopback provides cashback as a reward to shoppers who make purchases from partner e-retailers on the startup’s platform.

For every sale made through the Shopback platform, the startup gets a commission from its partners.

Shopback gives part of its commission as a reward to shoppers using the platform to encourage them to keep on making purchases online.

At present, Shopback has 954,000 users in the Philippines.

It also has 300 retail partners which include Zalora, Booking.

com, and foodpanda. “We want people getting used to ecommerce. If you look at Southeast Asia, I think Philippines is one of the most important market right now because the growth opportunity is huge. And the Filipinos, the power in terms of shopping in terms of value, the mindset is changing. People I think are more aware...It’s more competitive here. The world is looking at Philippines right now and it is the same at Shopback,” Kala said.

He said that while there is not much awareness on what a cash back is, he is hopeful this would change and more people would be encouraged to shop online using the Shopback platform.

“Currently, challenge we see is more on awareness on what exactly a cash back is. People understand rewards and people understand discounts,” he said.