Currys is the leading omnichannel retailer of technology products and services in the UK. Its dedicated stores and website sell an extensive range of technology products including computing, consumer electronics, domestic appliances and mobiles.
The challenge
Alongside retaining their position in the market, Currys has been incredibly adept at monetizing different areas of their website through value-added partnerships. With the view to bolstering their already established retail media strategy, Currys wanted to explore additional brand partnership opportunities through Awin.
The retailer saw a gap to introduce post-purchase rewards to cultivate a fresh revenue stream and enrich the shopping experience for their valued customers.
While discussing the project with BrandSwap, an Awin brand partnerships solution provider, Currys clarified the importance of a swift implementation. The launch of post-purchase rewards at Currys needed to arrive before the busy peak Christmas trading period, leaving just three weeks for BrandSwap to go live.
Currys, BrandSwap, and Awin laid out three other objectives for the partnership, including:
- Showcase non-endemic, best-in-market advertiser offers to strengthen the efficiency of Currys’ retail media strategy.
- Deliver market-leading performance through a highly native format.
- Leverage data-driven insights to determine shoppers’ preferences for specific rewards at different points in the year.
The solution
As BrandSwap are readily integrated into the Awin MasterTag, Currys benefited from a streamlined method of deployment, eliminating the necessity for any software development or strain on in-house resources. The rewards went live in time for Black Friday, enabling the retailer to drive heaps of extra revenue during the busy Christmas period.
Crucially, Currys gained a rapid method of implementation with a partner that also delivered on the important fronts of advertiser selection, tech innovation, and user experience.
BrandSwap and Awin were able to hand-pick a selection of premium rewards from non-endemic advertisers that were strategically chosen to complement Currys’ products. Among other examples, meal kit subscriptions were earmarked for purchasers of cooking appliances, while offers on laundry products were selected for those checking out with washing machines.
The rewards were showcased through a simple user journey that made them all the more logical for Currys’ shoppers to consider. It worked as follows:
- After completing their purchase, Currys shoppers were presented with a choice of three rewards from third-party advertisers on the order confirmation page.
- Customers could choose to see an additional three rewards, with no limits on the amount they could redeem.
- After making their choices, customers were redirected to the advertiser’s own ecommerce store to finalize their request.
Finer details, like BrandSwap’s designing of the solution to fit natively with the rest of Currys’ on-site experience, ensured the rewards formed part of a seamless customer journey. The decision to highlight advertisers post-purchase also guaranteed zero interference between Currys’ core business and retail media offering.
The results
Within just three weeks, Currys created an entirely new revenue stream through BrandSwap's innovative post-purchase rewards technology, bringing attractive, non-endemic advertiser offers to customers on a previously untapped area of their site.
The partnership between Currys and BrandSwap showcases how major retailers can add new layers to an already successful retail media strategy by rapidly creating new solutions within the affiliate channel.
As for the results, Currys has seen an impressive average CPM of $77 since the campaign launched, with a peak of $89. The latter, when compared with industry benchmarks, would put it in the range of best-in-class retail media. A similar billing applies to Currys’ CTR of 10%, which far surpasses averages for PPC, paid social, and display.
While offer performance remained consistent, crucial trends emerged during the testing and optimization process — another key requirement for the partnership. Alcoholic beverage subscriptions like Beer52 proved popular in the lead-up to Christmas, while meal kit and healthy food products saw a spike in redemptions after the festive period.
Armed with this insightful data, Currys can now select rewards based on customer relevance and seasonal performance, further increasing revenue potential and enhancing the overall customer experience.
