Crypto and the Rewards Renaissance

Crypto and the Rewards Renaissance

The demand for loyalty programs is increasing

For companies offering their customers, employees or users any form of cashback, rewards or points — now is the time to get ahead of the curve. In this article, we will look at how adding crypto to your loyalty program could not only attract new customers but make sure your most profitable ones also become your most loyal.

Although rewards schemes have become increasingly commonplace across all sectors over the years, the loyalty management industry as a whole is poised to undergo a massive revamp. According to financial analysts, Marketsandmarkets, growth is projected to explode from USD$8.6 billion in 2021 to USD$18.2 in 2026, resulting in a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 16.3% over five years.

With 71.6% of companies expressing an interest in launching a new loyalty program offering, or rethinking an existing one, you can bet that this growth cycle is also set to spark a new wave of innovation within the industry.

Bullish on crypto rewards

The companies that are expected to see the most impressive gains over the next 18 months are those that find creative ways to reach their customers, and that have the capacity to differentiate their offerings, whilst embracing the ongoing “digital transformation”; a phenomenon accelerated by the global pandemic.

Industry research conducted in 2019 found that consumers were already enthusiastic about digital rewards, prior to the pandemic, due to the speed and convenience with which they can be managed and redeemed. Customers frequently express a preference for rewards in the form of cashback, rebates or redeemable points that offer flexibility in terms of how they are spent.

That said, not all digital rewards are created equally.

One of the most exciting and cutting-edge ways that your business can combine all of the above, while taking this shift one step further, can be summed up in a single word: Crypto.

Meet your customer base where they are and aspire to be: in the digital wallet.

If you are familiar with cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance (DeFi) in any way, you will have probably heard the refrain “you’re early”. And the stats agree. An analysis of the number of active Ethereum addresses compared with the number of internet users following its early commercial launch concludes that we are “somewhere circa 1995 in terms of development”.

With the global crypto market projected to explode, resulting in a CAGR of 56.4% and over half a billion new users over the period between 2019 and 2025, incorporating crypto into your new or already existing cashback or rewards scheme could be both an accessible and highly lucrative way to incentivize new sign-ups, retain existing customers and increase consumer spending.

At Cybrid, we call this once in a generation opportunity “Crypto-Led Growth”. We aim to onboard crypto-curious businesses into the space, without you having to assume the upfront costs associated with staffing a technically and legally demanding product build or dealing with extensive compliance processes.

Rewarding innovation

Our programmable RESTful APIs and platform-specific SDKs are made by developers for developers, allowing for the kind of seamless integration and customization that means you can enjoy the benefits of crypto adoption while staying focused on what you do best. And because Cybrid distills complexity to simplicity, your brand will reap all the rewards associated with being relevant to an increasingly crypto-savvy client base, earning the trust and loyalty of your most valuable customers.

At Cybrid, we understand that there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to loyalty programs. We can help your business integrate the kind of crypto offering that speaks directly to your customers and their needs. Be it giving your “cash back” scheme a “crypto back” twist; making interest actually “interesting” by giving returns in a blue-chip cryptocurrency, or building a loyalty spend program that rewards your customers with web3 native tokens, Cybrid has the technology and the partners on the back end to help you elevate your offerings — and your profit margins — in new and dynamic ways.

For more examples of what driving rewards with crypto can look like in practice for your brand, check out our use cases section.

In summary…

The combination of the digital transformation with projections of explosive growth in both the loyalty management sector and in crypto adoption in the next few quarters to couple of years, signals exciting times ahead. Whether your business is looking to make an impact with a first-time loyalty offering or to optimize an existing rewards program in ways that will make your brand stand out over the long term, Cybrid can help.

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