Cashpoints was designed, he said, to be simple for shoppers to understand – 100 Cashpoints were equal to $1 and could be spent instantly at any participating retailer.

There were no minimum thresholds on spending.

“From a customer perspective, there’s quite a bit of feedback around, ‘I want instant rewards – I want it now, I don’t want to wait. I could be dead in seven days. I don’t like saving up. I also want a choice of reward, and by the way, I don’t need a maths degree to work out what my balance is’,” says Sutcliffe.

“So just keeping it transparent.”

The popularity of customer loyalty programmes continues to grow, especially in a tighter economy.

“There’s an expectation – especially in this economic climate – that if someone’s offering something for nothing or there’s an incentive, they’re kind of in,” Sutcliffe said.

“It’s pretty tough out there. Just a few bucks make a difference for a lot of families or a lot of people.”

That point is reinforced by the latest NZ Loyalty State of the Nation research, from strategic marketing agency Quantum Jump.

“Appetite for loyalty programmes is only growing despite a year of massive disruption in the category, including the end of two major coalition programmes,” says the research, based on a survey of 1000 New Zealanders, in partnership with AI specialist Yabble.

“Younger people are increasingly enthusiastic about loyalty, fuelled by digital-first programmes and their own inquisitive nature, growing engagement.

“However, older generations are somewhat disconnecting from digital-only programmes.”

The survey also shows 80% of Kiwis prefer loyalty programmes which have a coalition of partners, rather than just one retailer.

Shoppers liked these programmes because they accumulated points faster and had more flexibility. They were also deemed to be better value with more convenience and simplicity, according to the survey.

Cashpoints already has a range of retailers and service providers from across different sectors and is talking to more.

AA Smartfuel had more than three million members when it ended in late January 2024 – Woolworths went its own way, with BP, to create Everyday Rewards.

Another big player, FlyBuys, closed months later.

Everyday Rewards, Air NZ Airpoints and New World’s Clubcard are now the three most popular loyalty schemes, according to the Quantum Jump survey.

Sutcliffe is focused on building Cashpoints’ portfolio of retailers.

“Being customer driven, you want to get the frequency of the everyday purchases – supermarkets are out at this stage, they’ve got their own programmes.

“But there are still a lot of businesses that capture regular transactions. We’re talking to fuel partners; it’s kind of as much as I can say. We’ll work away at that.”

He said the “sky’s the limit” in terms of an optimum number of retailers.

He said that for businesses, joining or creating their own loyalty programme was expensive. “We’ve tried to overcome a lot of those barriers, making it affordable and easy for them.”

Fees were scalable to the size of a business, allowing even smaller firms to join. “We have an all-you-can-eat licence fee … unlimited transactions, you’re not getting clipped as you grow the business.”

He said the initial launch partners were “excited to have an off-the-shelf loyalty solution”.

It gave them, he said, the benefits of their own programme “while being part of a multi-partner village – without having to invest significantly in building their own system, or the skilled team needed to establish it”.

Retailers also had the freedom to implement their own offers tailored to their customers.

“Cashpoints meets a real gap in the market, in a financial climate when recognising and rewarding customer behaviour has never been so important,” he said.

The rise of the savvy Kiwi shopper

Sutcliffe has been in the marketing and consumer industry for more than three decades. Prior to helping found and launch the Smartfuel programme in 2011, he held senior marketing roles at Westpac and McDonald’s.

“Consumers are getting savvier and savvier,” says Sutcliffe, when asked about retail trends in recent years.

“New Zealanders typically are driven by price, and so they’re always wanting a deal. They’ll check them out, find them, and they’ll buy like that.

“It’s a challenge for brands that pride themselves on, I suppose, the brand attributes. You’ve still got to have the brand attributes and be competitive. Consumers are no slouches.”

Digitisation has also made it easier for consumers to access goods and services more quickly. There was now a greater expectation of personalisation. “You can’t just have a blanket reward for everybody. It’s got to be tailored and personalised and timely.”

The Cashpoints retailers

Super Liquor said the new scheme was a “win-win” for the retailer, which has 190 stores nationwide.

“It allows us to tap into a broader customer base while keeping overheads low, which aligns perfectly with our franchise business model,” said Super Liquor chief executive Morgan McCann.

“For our customers, we’ll be focused on delivering even more value through loyalty rewards, and for our franchise businesses, our brand and our supplier partners we will deliver growth through data-driven insights.

“It’s a scalable, data-led solution that supports both customer value and business growth. Plus, we think it’s super simple for customers to understand, which will be motivating.”

Pita Pit has 70 franchise stores.

“We know that households are being thoughtful with their spending right now, and this is a way we can give back to the customers who support us,” said Pita Pit general manager Brett Ingham.

“Because every one of our stores is locally owned and operated, our customers’ loyalty not only gets rewarded, it also directly supports local business owners in their communities.”

Pet Depot says it will use Cashpoints as an impetus to reopen its online store.

“Pet Depot has been looking for a strong loyalty offering since the closure of the AA Smartfuel programme. The launch of Cashpoints has given us the point of difference we have been seeking in an increasingly cluttered and competitive pet supplies market,” said Pet Depot general manager Tania Schrey.

Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.