Loyalty player PassPoints this week
cut the virtual ribbon on a “mall” of online shops, which all share a
common loyalty program.
The idea for PassPoints is to bring aboard smaller e-tailers with a simple
turnkey solution, and keep consumers happy with a wide variety of places
where they can earn points.
“Small businesses can’t afford to spend millions of dollars broadcasting
their message to just attract eyeballs,” said Alan Gunshor, chief executive
officer of PassPoints.
“They must turn visitors into buyers and give people a reason to return to
their Web site. They need to provide services compelling enough to
stimulate word-of-mouth. FrequentShoppers.com offers a
quick, turnkey, cost-effective rewards system to attain these goals.”
This “mall” concept is similar to a solution recently unveiled by MyPoints.com, which it is calling
“instant loyalty.”
PassPoints says its program differs in that stores opting in to the program
are paid a bounty for each “frequentshopper” they sign up. Setup involves
simply establishing a link to a prefab mall, which is privately branded by
the member site.
So far, PassPoints has signed up e-tailers like Fashionmall.com, Lands’ End, The Sharper Image, Borders, PETsMART, Food.com, art.com, healthshop.com, and dELiAs.com.