A cashback website is a type of

reward website A loyalty program or rewards program is a marketing strategy designed to encourage customers to continue to shop at or use the services of one or more businesses associated with the program. Single-company vs. coalition programs Loyalty progr ...

(often also available on a mobile app) that pays its members a percentage of the money that they spend when they purchase goods and services via its affiliate links. Leading cashback and similar programs providing U.S. consumers with rewards for shopping online with multiple vendors include Capital One Shopping, Ibotta, Rakuten Rewards and PayPal Honey.

Customer journey

When a customer makes a purchase online, instead of visiting the retailer directly, they may choose to follow a link from a cashback website to generate a monetary reward when buying products or services. The cashback website receives a

commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

from the retailer that, after the purchase is confirmed, is shared with the customer who made the purchase.

Cashback app

A cashback app is a mobile application that offers users a percentage of cashback or rewards for making purchases through the app. These apps provide users with savings on various transactions, including online shopping, bill payments, groceries, and services like insurance.

Digital channels

Consumers can receive the cashback or similar rewards by searching on the cashback program's website, but usually also via its

mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a smartphone, phone, tablet computer, tablet, or smartwatch, watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop appli ...

, via

browser extension A browser extension is a software module for customizing a web browser. Browsers typically allow users to install a variety of extensions, including user interface modifications, cookie management, ad blocking, and the custom scripting and st ...

s. The plugins may also alert consumers to better prices for the same product from the program's participating merchants, or to available discount coupons.

Time frames

Users of cashback websites can know ahead of time how much they stand to get back for their purchases at each specific retailer before they buy."Crusader guide to getting the best from deals and vouchers"
''Sunday Express''. Retrieved 2016-07-02. The amount of time that it takes to receive the cashback benefits is dependent on the site. Certain sites will make their payments every four to six weeks, while others will only issue their rebates after a few months. The time gap between purchase and cashback payment is observed to rule out cashback payment to cancelled or returned goods.

Amount and forms of payment

Sites vary on what form of cashback rebates they offer their users. Some programs will provide the users with a percentage of the total purchase price, while others have a flat sum that they pay out for each action. Many cashback sites offer users a reward for referring others to the site. Payment is generally made to the user in the form of bank transfers, gift vouchers, online sites such as

PayPal PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American multinational financial technology company operating an online payments system in the majority of countries that support E-commerce payment system, online money transfers; it serves as an electronic alter ...

, bank checks, mobile recharges or online orders at the request of the user. Some cashback websites place a threshold on a customer's account such that a user may need to make several transactions in order to be able to receive a reward. Others sponsored by banks offer fixed or percent for purchases of certain items or from certain vendors that are given as a credit on the shopper's credit card bill.

Other features

Some cashback sites also offer discussion forums, paid online surveys, daily deals, and other rewards to increase traffic and maintain customer loyalty.

References

{{Customer loyalty programs Cashback and rebate Reward websites Reward, cashback and comparison-shopping digital platforms