TopCashBack

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TopCashBack
Web address www.topcashback.co.uk
Type of site Cashback website[1]
Registration Required
Launched 2005
Alexa rank 9,718 (September 2012)[2]

TopCashBack is a cashback website based in the UK, with offices in Uttoxeter (Staffordshire), Bolton (Greater Manchester) and Charing Cross (London). The website passes on commission usually paid to third-party referrers directly to its members.[3] It also lists voucher codes and provides product comparison tools.

The website's member base uses TopCashBack as a portal of retailer websites. Commission is paid by these retailers on each purchase made on their sites and this is then passed back to the members. Cashback websites have become prevalent with the rise in popularity of ecommerce stores and shopping online, with the aid of a tracking cookie the purchase can be recorded on the merchant's website as a referral from TopCashBack.

TopCashBack launched its second TV advert on Sunday 16 September 2012.[4]

History

TopCashBack was launched in Summer 2005 as a completely free 100%[5] cashback website. The website is funded by advertising revenue.

According to the TopCashBack website, the company was "Founded on a bootstrap budget in 2005 by two computer programmers, Oliver Ragg and Mike Tomkins. The two friends identified the potential that the new affiliate marketing industry offered; both as a business model and as a way to help people genuinely save money."[6]

TopCashBack reached one million members by August 2011 and had 1.5 million members as of 23 August 2012.[7]

In May 2011, TopCashBack opened a London office to handle public relations with the media, and partnerships with other companies including the affiliate networks. TopCashBack was listed at number 5 in the 2011 The Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 and at number 35 in 2012.

A US site was launched in November 2011.[8]

TopCashBack launched a toolbar[9] add-on for popular internet browsers in October 2010.[10] The toolbar is designed to sit on the browser window and track cashback earnt, avoiding the need to navigate from the main site. The toolbar is also designed to notify the user if the merchant they are visiting offers cashback rewards, and also highlight merchants that offer cashback in search engine result pages. The toolbar offers most features of the main site, with personal account login, savings information, and related social buttons.

'Snap & Save'[11] was launched in February 2013,[12] allowing members to upload pictures of receipts from some supermarkets and earn cashback on items that are on offer on the website. The scheme is integrated with the site's mobile application.[13]

Charity Support

Members can donate a portion of their cashback to a named charity. The highest profile charity raising campaign was for the Cancer Research UK fund. During the course of 2 November 2012 – 28 February 2013 TopCashBack donated £1 to Cancer Research UK for every new fan joining their branded Facebook page,[14] raising a total of £13,363. The charity was nominated by the TopCashBack community as the most favoured for their CSR project and therefore were the focus charity for 2013.

Retraction from eBay

On 1 February 2013, eBay closed its relationship with all cashback sites including TopCashBack. As an alternative to cashback rewards made on purchases, eBay instead decided to focus on a mutually exclusive contract with another affiliate.

See also

Quidco

References

  1. ↑ Luthra, Archna (6 September 2011). "'Top Cashback Sites:Make £100s when you shop online'". Money Saving Expert (London). Retrieved 25 September 2012. 
  2. ↑ "topcashback.co.uk Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2012-09-14. 
  3. ↑ Thornhill, Jo (8 September 2012). "I spent £10,865 online and claimed back an incredible £7,272: Do cashback websites really give you money for nothing?". This is Money (London). Retrieved 14 September 2012. 
  4. ↑ "TopCashBack releases Christmas ad campaign". The Drum (Glasgow). 17 September 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2012. 
  5. ↑ Johnson, Chris (15 November 2011). "TopCashBack vs FatWallet - 100% Model To Take On USA's Cashback Elite?". A4U (Bristol). Retrieved 20 September 2012. 
  6. ↑ "A History of Top Cashback". TopCashBack. 
  7. ↑ "Park Group PLC - TopCashBack adopts flexecash card". Yahoo Finance (London). 23 August 2012. Retrieved 20 September 2012. 
  8. ↑ "TopCashBack thrust into the US spotlight as it saves consumers $150,000 in six months". 1 May 2012. Retrieved 20 september 2012. 
  9. ↑ "TopCashBack Toolbar Add-on". 
  10. ↑ "Top CashBack Toolbar Launch". 20 October 2010. 
  11. ↑ "Snap & Save - Offers". 
  12. ↑ "Top Cashback's Snap & Save supermarket shopping tool reviewed". 14 February 2013. 
  13. ↑ "'Cashback website launches app to get money back on supermarket shopping with a photo of your receipt'". 4 February 2013. 
  14. ↑ "Cashback for Cancer Research UK". 2 November 2012. 


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