With mobile-couponing company Shopkick having just launched a joint loyalty program with Target two weeks ago, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company now is extending its merchant reach through an expanded relationship with Giftango.
Giftango, a digital gift card provider, initially partnered with Shopkick to provide electronic gift cards with five retailers, including Fandango and Papa John’s pizza. This expanded relationship will add several retailers in the coming weeks.
From a joint press release:
As shopkick’s popularity increases, the volume of rewards being delivered to users continues to rise. “Shopkick is truly mobile – from earning rewards to cashing them in – so it’s important that gift cards can be delivered and redeemed right from the mobile device,” said Cyriac Roeding, Co-founder and CEO of shopkick. “With Giftango we have a one-stop shop for gift card redemption that provides shopkick users with a wide variety of reward options.”
As Mercator Advisory Group has said with prior Shopkick initiatives, the success of these additional partnerships will depend on the ease with which customers can earn points and redeem them for rewards and getting the balance of those two factors correct.
Fortunately, Shopkick’s mobile app is fairly straightforward. The initial hurdle, however, is reminding yourself to collect “kickbucks” (point that go towards rewards) upon entering a participating retailer. The app needs to be open on the phone to collect points.
