Case Study: Currys Unlocks Fresh Revenue from Brand Partnerships Powered by BrandSwap
Currys is the UK’s largest electrical retailer. A specialist seller of white goods, consumer electronics, computers and mobile phones, it boasts a huge online business and over 300 retail stores, equating to a 24% UK market share.
Currys already had a sophisticated retail media strategy, but it entrusted BrandSwap to implement Post-Checkout Rewards to generate fresh revenue. It wanted to launch a new solution in time for Christmas and deliver market-leading results.
The challenge
Currys wanted to test the effectiveness of Post-Checkout Rewards funded by advertisers to create a significant high-margin revenue stream.
What are Post-Checkout Rewards?
Post-Purchase, Post-Checkout, or Post-Transaction Rewards target shoppers who have recently bought a product or service from a retailer.
In a typical process, the retailer offers a reward from a brand partner on their order confirmation page following a transaction. After opting in to receive the reward, the customer opts in to receive a follow-up email from the brand partner containing instructions on how to redeem their gift.
The retailer earns a commission every time a reward is used.
On top of driving revenue, Currys also wanted to satisfy its customers by enhancing their experience. It realised that relevant, attractive rewards would deliver extra value to its shoppers, making them even happier with their purchase.
The brand’s requirements were as follows:
- Control: Currys had high standards for its experience. The brand had to approve all offers and advertisers before they went live.
- Native ad creative: The solution needed to blend seamlessly into Currys’ existing user experience.
- Simple implementation: The solution could not require extra software development or changes to Currys’ T&Cs or GPDR policy.
- Insights: With an eye on the long term, Currys wanted a testing framework to produce actionable insights on the relationship between rewards and cart contents. The brand could then tweak its strategy based on the findings.
Currys evaluated a range of solutions. It chose BrandSwap for its product features, the alignment with its requirements, and general ‘fit’ with the team.
The solution
As Currys is on the Awin affiliate network, where BrandSwap is available through a tag-based implementation, the retailer launched Post-Checkout Rewards with zero development work or changes to its site.
Rewards were offered via a native overlay on the order confirmation page. After making their choices, the customer received an email with instructions on how to redeem their selections.
Choice of rewards: diverse and non-endemic
BrandSwap presented Currys with a set of launch rewards from its extensive library. These were all from non-competing advertisers and selected to complement Currys’ products.
For example, a customer buying a washing machine could find value in a reward from laundry product provider Smol.
Testing framework:
Once the first batch of hand-picked rewards went live, BrandSwap looked closely into how they resonated over certain periods and with specific audiences.
By monitoring different trends, Currys gleaned valuable insights to factor into its strategy going forward. For example:
- Alcohol subscriptions performed particularly well in the run-up to Christmas as customers embraced the festivities.
- Meal kit and health food rewards performed particularly well post-Christmas as customers adopted good habits in the new year.
The results:
Within just three weeks, Currys created an entirely new revenue stream through BrandSwap’s innovative Post-Checkout Rewards technology.
Customers gained an extra experience as Currys brought attractive, non-endemic brand partner offers to a previously untapped area of their site.
Moreover, thanks to the extra data from BrandSwap, Currys now gained the insight to further increase its revenue potential and enhance the overall customer experience.
Highlights from the results included:
- £90 cost per mille (CPM). Measured against an industry benchmark of £16 – £40 from McKinsey, this equates to best-in-class retail media.
- CTR of 13%, outstripping Currys’ averages across paid media, paid social, and display.
- Insights on reward performance and a testing framework for future experiments.
The network’s view:
“The retail media collaboration between BrandSwap and Currys should be celebrated as a true success narrative. With a seamless integration, fuelled by the efficiency of the Awin MasterTag, Currys swiftly showcased relevant advertiser offers to their audience during the peak trading period.
This is just the beginning of what promises to be an exciting non-endemic retail media partnership.”
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