Upromise rewards reaches 140 online retail participants
Customer loyalty program Upromise Inc., launched only two years ago, now features 140 online retailers on its site. The save-for-college program, in which registered members get up to 5% of the cost of qualifying purchases deposited into a college fund by participating merchants, has become “one of the fastest-growing marketing programs in the country,” according to a spokesman for the Needham, Mass.-based company. It has more than 3.5 million registered users. Its grocery service, added last May, has more than doubled to 28 from 12 participating manufacturers and from more than 2,000 to more than 5,000 qualifying items.
Because participating merchants pay that percentage to the customer’s fund only when a purchase is made, it’s a pay-for-performance twist on the traditional loyalty program. “Marketers see this as money they’d otherwise spend on something like direct mail or celebrity endorsement,” says the spokesman.
Launching originally with 100 merchants on its web site, Upromise’s expanded online roster now includes top merchants such as Lands’ End, the Sharper Image, 1-800-Flowers.com, and more. Registered shoppers who use the links on Upromise.com to get to the online merchants get the contributions from purchases deposited in the designated fund by the merchant. With the Upromise members program also operating through registered grocery and credit cards in land-based stores, restaurants, and even with services including AT&T long-distance service, online represents the smaller part of contributions, says the spokesman, but the web has played a key role in explaining the program to shoppers and in registering them.
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