Wego, a leading online travel marketplace across the Mena region, has launched ShopCash, an online shopping cashback and deal discovery app for Middle East consumers.
ShopCash is available for download from the iOS App Store, Google Play Store and at shopcash.com
ShopCash users will earn instant cashback for online purchases made with hundreds of popular merchants across the Middle East and gain access to exclusive deals and discounts.
Cashback automatically accumulates in a user's ShopCash wallet with every purchase and can periodically be withdrawn into a user's bank account or via other pay-out methods. ShopCash users will also be able to redeem cashback for air tickets and hotel stays with Wego or for purchases or gift cards with other partner merchants.
"Nobody in the Middle East has done much travelling over the last year but because of social distancing measures we are all spending more time and money online than ever before." said Mamoun Hmedan, Managing Director, Mena and India, Wego.
"It's been a tough year for many, and we know how gratifying it is to get something back. ShopCash gives you real money back into your account for the online purchases that you make. For every brand, for every deal, even on top of the merchant's discount, so basically it's a deal on another deal."
According to a recent study by Kearney, the GCC e-commerce market value in 2020 had reached $24 billion. The pandemic has driven a rapid acceleration in e-commerce adoption by Middle East consumers that has been matched by more merchants investing in e-commerce platforms and digital marketing capabilities.
"The response from the merchants that we've approached has been overwhelmingly enthusiastic,” commented Craig Hewett, Wego Co-Founder, Wego. "Everybody from global e-commerce giants to regional champions to local niche specialists have immediately seen the value of participating in ShopCash and I'm pleased to say that we have a long back-log of merchants to integrate in the weeks and months ahead."
Merchants participating in ShopCash at launch include Amazon, AliExpress, GearBest, iHerb, H&M, Mumzworld, Mothercare, Mamas & Papas, Banggood, Styli, Nike, Ounass, Pottery Barn, GAP, The Luxury Closet, SharafDG, Bath & Body Works and Wego where users will earn cashback on flight and hotel purchases. New merchants are being added each week.
For participating merchants ShopCash is a platform to acquire new customers, starting with Wego's massive user base of frequent flyers, but also to drive sales volumes via a wide range of store, brand and product promotional activities run by the ShopCash merchandising team. These include in-app promotions, flash-sales, audience retargeting, accelerated cashback, coupons, deals and offline co-marketing activities.
All promotional activities can be laser targeted at the precise geographic or demographic audience the merchant is trying to reach. ShopCash will also provide merchants and brand owners with access to valuable shopping analytics.
"We've carefully studied and taken inspiration from the cashback shopping rewards pioneers in other parts of the world including Rakuten, Paypal's Honey, ShopBack, Dosh and Cashrewards,” said Kaushal Pilikuli, Product Director for ShopCash.
"We've adapted the model for shoppers and merchants in the Middle East region starting with the largest e-commerce markets of KSA and UAE, but we plan to quickly expand the service into Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt and across the rest of the Mena region. In the pipeline we have lots of new merchants, new payout methods, new deal types, new redemption methods and a long list of exciting new features."
ShopCash will be a standalone brand and product but will also be tightly integrated into Wego's mobile apps and websites and serve as the heart of the Wego loyalty program. Wego users will be able to earn cashback when shopping for flights and hotels and to instantly redeem the balance of their cashback wallets against travel purchases.