Online retailer eBay to offer customers loyalty points

eBay is to start offering loyalty points to its customers.

The online marketplace giant has signed up as a member of the Nectar loyalty programme, allowing holders of the loyalty card to collect points when they spend money with eBay.

The launch is one of three new partnerships announced by Nectar as it marks a decade in business. The scheme has also teamed up with Oxfam Unwrapped and restaurant group Tragus, owner of Bella Italia, Café Rouge and Strada restaurants, to offer points when purchases are made.

David Johnston, president and chief executive of Aimia, the company behind Nectar said: “We have come a long way in the past decade, moving from a focus on transactions to one that’s more about interactions – giving collectors the opportunity to engage with Nectar in-store, online and via smartphones.”

Nectar was founded in 1992 by entrepreneur Sir Keith Mills. Today it has 18.5m collectors and says that since launch it has given back almost £2bn in rewards. Online shoppers earn points when they shop through the Nectar.com portal with more than 500 retailers. In its decade in business, Nectar estimates that the global loyalty industry has grown from being worth £2 billion twenty years ago to an estimated £105 billion today.

Mills said: “When we launched Nectar ten years ago we said that it was win, win, win. A win for shoppers as they could earn points in lots of places. A win for our partners as it would allow them to keep their best customers loyal. And a win for the growing loyalty industry. I’m delighted to see that our vision was right.”

Sainsbury’s was a founding partner in Nectar. Its chief executive Justin King said: “Ten years on and our Nectar loyalty programme continues to be a key source of competitive advantage. The data enables us to understand our customers better and to offer them efficient, meaningful and targeted promotions, which in turn helps us increase customer loyalty.”