Doing good isn’t just rewarding, it’s key to future business success

Management

Sponsored by Ibotta

“Doing well by doing good” has become a popular philosophy for companies that find greater success through a commitment to social responsibility. But this adage has taken on a whole new meaning amid inflation and the current cost of living challenges facing so many consumers.

Today, where surveys show 75 per cent of consumers agree that the economy has directly impacted their spending habits on essentials such as groceries, and price is the deciding factor for almost two thirds (64 per cent) of shoppers, businesses can ease this financial burden and strengthen customer relationships by cutting them in on the deal.

Perhaps no one knows this better than our team at Ibotta, where our company mission is to “make every purchase rewarding”. Ibotta has built our business on the concept of doing well by doing good – our partners win when Americans are saving on items they buy and at stores they shop in. When we put more money in consumers’ pockets, we do better as a business. Our trajectory over the past decade proves that embedding these principles into your company is not just a talking point, but the key to long-term success.

Creating a cycle of virtue

Ibotta’s journey began in 2012 with a lightbulb moment 30,000 feet in the sky. Our founder and CEO, Bryan Leach, noticed a fellow flight passenger submitting receipts for an expense report and thought: what if there was a way for people to snap a photo of their receipt and instantly get cash back on their purchases? One idea led to another, and soon Ibotta was born. From day one, our goal was to provide people with an easier way to earn not just rewards, but actual cash back that could be put towards future needs and other purchases.

When we launched, our focus was on providing item-level cash back on grocery items, but we quickly discovered that consumers were interested in rewards on whatever they were buying. We began working with other brands and retailers to maximise the money we gave to shoppers, ultimately expanding our offering across new categories – from toys and electronics, to clothing, to baby care and health products.

We also started introducing new initiatives to support people when they need it most, such as Here to Help, which committed $10 million to consumers facing pandemic-related financial strife, and our Free Thanksgiving program, which offers 100 per cent cash back on Thanksgiving meal essentials. Since launching our Thanksgiving program in 2020, we’ve provided more than 10 million free meals to Ibotta Savers. What began as an effort to relieve the stress of putting Thanksgiving dinner on the table has evolved into an annual campaign and hallmark moment for our brand, one that people have come to anticipate and appreciate. And each year, we find ways to grow the program’s reach and impact, whether it’s joining forces with the New Orleans Pelicans and the Bayou District Foundation to distribute free meals in Louisiana, or incorporating meaningful new additions such as this year’s Free Thanksgiving for Life giveaway.

Eventually, this strategy of doing well by doing good led Ibotta to scale in ways we’d never imagined, establishing an entirely new B2B pillar and groundbreaking performance marketing solution: the Ibotta Performance Network (IPN). The IPN has taken our foundational ethos to new heights, with a truly differentiated model that creates value at scale by allowing us to distribute our cash back offers across our network, to shoppers where they are most likely to engage and most likely to earn.

In true Ibotta fashion, the platform is designed to be a win-win for everyone. As the IPN grows, a higher volume and quality of digital offers are made available to shoppers – 62 per cent of whom are more likely to continue buying from a brand if they are offered some sort of reward, according to our research. These offers accelerate consumer loyalty and engagement which, in turn, drives the kind of incremental sales lift that ignites brand and retailer growth. And ultimately, higher returns for the brand means more money to reinvest in customers – continuing the virtuous cycle.

The imperative of doing good

Building a company around putting money back into consumers’ pockets has not only benefited Ibotta, it has boosted the entire retail ecosystem. To date, the IPN reaches 91 per cent of American households and has credited more than $1.6 billion in cash to consumers. With more than six times the number of national branded offers available to consumers, consumers have over $2,000 of available rewards on any particular shopping trip.

And, in its first year, brands using the IPN saw incredible results. A leading deodorant brand saw a 1,067 per cent daily sales lift, while a prominent donut brand saw an 83 per cent purchase cycle decrease. The IPN is helping businesses drive incrementality and ROI at unprecedented scale, at a time when these KPIs are more critical than ever.

Ibotta’s path underscores that building social responsibility into your brand’s DNA and roadmap can be a key catalyst for growth. Despite the economic headwinds both businesses and consumers have been facing, 55 per cent of consumers we polled said that if a product is made by a company they trust, they’ll buy it, even if it is more expensive. Other recent surveys have found that nearly half (47 per cent) of consumers have switched products or services because a brand violated their personal values. Meanwhile, global multi-year studies have shown that, across industries, companies with higher ESG ratings outperform their peers.

In the face of an escalating cost of living that has impacted public trust in brands, the stakes for businesses have never been higher. Americans are still struggling with higher prices, pulling back on overall consumption and prioritising value-driven brands, even as inflation has slowed down. Companies should not wait for the proverbial storm to pass, because consumers are dealing with these pressures today. Those that put the greater good before greater profit will not only weather the storm, but come out stronger on the other side, forging a path to enduring business success.

For more information, visit Ibotta