Company Profile - ShopBack 

ShopBack is a shopping and rewards platform in Asia-Pacific founded in 2014 by Henry Chan and Joel Leong. Since launching in Singapore, ShopBack has expanded to other countries across the region including Australia, Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan. From a team of six, ShopBack has grown to over seven hundred employees with a mission “to make shopping rewarding, delightful, and accessible.”  

ShopBack partners with thousands of online and in-store merchants such as Amazon, Lazada and Shopee to reward its users with cash back from a range of categories including fashion, beauty, food and beverage, electronics, travel, and groceries. 

How ShopBack started  

The start-up was inspired by the cash-back model in the United States in 2014. The e-commerce business model was largely driven by retailers and brands, and it did not seem to work in Asia. ShopBack tweaked that model and localised it to make it easier for customers to use its platform. ShopBack fertilised the Southeast Asia market by rewarding users for online purchases and established itself as a market leader in the region.  

Early days 

ShopBack launched a limited version of its platform to obtain real customer feedback and tweak problems along the way. When it went live, it received practical feedback from customers, which helped to create a much better product.  After ShopBack’s launch, it studied product-market fit, tracking customer acquisition and repeat orders. ShopBack learned that once customers made a second purchase, the likelihood of them staying was high. The goal was to figure out how to encourage customers to make a second purchase. The eureka moment came seven months after ShopBack launched a localised version of the product in Malaysia. 

ShopBack’s value proposition

Here are some factors that have helped ShopBack achieve its steady growth in the highly competitive e-commerce space in the region.  

Being savvy about how customers shop 

The search for value and a better deal has led both consumers and merchants to ShopBack. Merchants consider ShopBack as an effective media channel as they are only charged for successful transactions.  ShopBack hires local talent in each country and uses local knowledge to reach out to merchants and consumers. It goes down to the ground to better grasp the changing market conditions and understand the unique consumer behaviour across the region.   

Reaching out to mobile-first customers  

ShopBack has focused on building a seamless mobile experience, given the dominance of mobiles in many developing markets. It offers app-to-app integration so that customers can be redirected from the ShopBack app to merchants’ apps.  

Prepared to fail, learn, and try 

Each of the Asia-Pacific markets have different consumer and merchant profiles. In such a dynamic and competitive landscape, ShopBack expects its managers to learn and have the humility to accept better solutions from others.  

A focus on culture fit 

ShopBack tests for culture fit during the recruitment process, in particular for senior hires. It is on the lookout for talent who have the propensity to keep learning and the humility to receive feedback. The person must be able to solve problems and navigate through ambiguity in the fast-moving tech world.  

References 

“How e-Commerce Site ShopBack Makes Shopping So Much Sweeter In Southeast Asia”. (2020, February 25). https://www.edb.gov.sg/en/business-insights/insights/how-e-commerce-site-shopback-makes-shopping-so-much-sweeter-in-southeast-asia.html 

Roth, Andrew. (2021, January 29). “Giving and Reaping Rewards: A Conversation With ShopBack’s Joel Leong”. (Podcast). https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/giving-and-reaping-rewards-a-conversation-with-shopbacks-joel-leong