Deal will mean half of all UK internet shoppers can earn Nectar points on eBay
Nectar, the UK’s most popular loyalty programme, and eBay, the UK’s largest online marketplace, have today announced a major new strategic partnership which will enable Nectar card holders to collect points automatically when they shop on eBay. The announcement coincides with the celebration of the Nectar programme’s tenth birthday.
The move will benefit millions of consumers by combining the spending power of Nectar’s 18.5 million collectors and eBay UK’s 17 million unique monthly visitors. It is a significant extension of the affiliate relationship that eBay previously had in place with Nectar eShops where shoppers earned points if they clicked through nectar.com. Now, eBay shoppers will be able to collect points on successful bids and ‘buy it now’ transactions once they have undertaken one simple step to link their eBay account and their Nectar card. eBay’s largest categories for UK shoppers are fashion, home and garden and electronics, with 65% of goods traded on the marketplace globally now bought new or at a fixed price.
eBay.co.uk shoppers who are not currently Nectar card holders will be able to apply for a card via the eBay website. Transactions must be made via PayPal in order to be eligible for points. Once accounts have been linked, Nectar collectors will be able to collect points on a huge range of products from the 60 million live listings on the UK site – from clothes and accessories, to furniture and electronics.
The partnership marks a significant step in extending the proportion of household items on which Nectar points can be earned. Currently points can be earned on 50% of household spend – including groceries, DIY, holiday bookings, household bills and petrol. The addition of eBay as Nectar’s strategic online retail partner is a significant step in increasing the level of household spend eligible to earn Nectar points.
Jan-Pieter Lips, Managing Director of Nectar, said:
“This partnership will have similar reach to those we have in place with other household names such as British Gas, BP and Homebase which have enabled millions of people to collect Nectar points and get ‘something for nothing’ on their daily household spend.
“eBay is one of the most popular online shopping sites in the UK and Nectar has a fantastically engaged, savvy community of collectors so the two brands are a natural fit. It’s testament to the strength of our proposition that eBay has chosen to partner with us and it marks a clear strategic development and a commitment to digital for Nectar as a business, as well as an appropriate way of celebrating our tenth birthday.”
Alex Von Schirmeister, Vice President of Marketing for eBay in Europe, said:
“Half of all UK online shoppers visit eBay each month and this new partnership will allow us to reward their loyalty and keep them coming back to the site even more often. As we all start planning for Christmas, UK shoppers will remain value conscious. eBay has the advantage of offering customers a selection of new items from our 100 high street partners including big names in fashion and home and garden, making it easy to browse, compare prices and find that ideal gift or purchase.
“By investing in the Nectar programme and promotions planned for later in the year, all of our 190,000 eBay UK business sellers will benefit from a potential boost to their sales in the important Christmas trading period.”
Consumers will be able to collect Nectar points directly from eBay.co.uk site in October. To celebrate the launch, eBay will be running a number of promotions in key categories over the Christmas shopping period.
The eBay announcement follows the recent launches of two other new Nectar reward partnerships with Oxfam Unwrapped and Tragus Group, operator of Café Rouge, Bella Italia and Strada.
About Nectar
Nectar, the United Kingdom’s leading coalition loyalty programme, is owned by Aimia, a global leader in loyalty management.
In 2012, Nectar is celebrating 10 years of rewarding British shoppers and has given back almost £2 billion of rewards to collectors, including money off shopping, travel, days out and cinema tickets.
Over 18.5 million collectors earn Nectar points when shopping for groceries, doing DIY, booking a holiday, paying household bills, buying petrol and even getting their car serviced. Collectors also earn Nectar points every time they shop online via nectar.com at over 500 leading online retailers.
Nectar was awarded the “Best card-based loyalty programme” at the 2012 Loyalty Awards for Europe and the Middle East.
For more information about Nectar, please visit: www.nectar.com.
About eBay
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Founded in 1999, eBay.co.uk is the UK’s largest online shopping destination, providing a platform for over 17m unique visitors per month to buy and sell new, unique and used items in a fun and easy way.
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eBay has around 60 million live listings on the UK site, with fixed price goods accounting for the majority (65%) of items sold globally.
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Sellers of all sizes, including 190,000 registered businesses and over 100 well-known brands and retailers use eBay.co.uk to reach the UK’s largest online shopping audience that receives around as many visitors per month as London’s Oxford Street.
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Over 4.5 million shoppers regularly look for Clothing, Shoes and Accessories on eBay.co.uk. Transaction volume on eBay Fashion grew 30% YoY over 2010, outstripping the market.
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Globally in 2011, eBay transacted $5billion through mobile devices, an overall increase of 150% from 2010. eBay is predicting $10 billion of transactions taking place via a mobile device in 2012, revised upwards from $8 billion.
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In the UK an item is purchased every second on eBay via a mobile device.
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eBay.co.uk is owned by eBay Inc, which has expanded to include a range of brands that help consumers find and purchase the goods they want. These brands include eBay, PayPal, Shopping.com, RedLaser, Milo and others.