A power balance is in the process of shifting in the retail world where brand loyalty is one of the most valuable assets a consumer owns, often unknown to the consumer themselves. Identifying this changing trend, eCommerce company Mobecom (ASX: MBM) has acquired rewards business Neat Ideas to enhance their customer engagement platform. 

Core to the acquisition are the 50 enterprise clients that already utilise Neat Ideas for employee and loyalty reward services which include Coles, Bunnings, Officeworks, Kmart and more. 

“Having access to over 50 enterprises and over 4 million consumers will allow Mobecom to accelerate its business model and cross sell each company’s products,” said Mobecom Executive Chairman, Iain Dunstan.

Loyalty rewards have become one of the richest data points within the retail industry in recent years by being able to track buying behaviour of customers. By identifying trends around pricing, location, marketing susceptibility and basket sizes, retailers can accurately predict consumer behaviour unbeknownst to the consumer. 

These subconscious marketing tactics hold even greater value to retail conglomerates such as Wesfarmers which owns Bunnings, Officeworks, Kmart and previously Coles, where cross promotional opportunities are rife. 

The acquisition will be funded by $2.04m in cash and up to 1,500,000 MBM shares subject to performance milestones. 

Linking its 50 enterprise clients to more than 4 million Australians signed up for loyalty schemes, Neat Ideas generated $11.4m revenue in FY20 which was slightly down on the $13.3m in FY19, the former figure impacted by the COVID-19 retail lockdowns. 

By acquiring Neat Ideas from vendors John & Carol Beardsley, Mobecom will accelerate it’s tech stack without undertaking it’s own development expenses while seeking to upsell existing Mobecom clients and cross-sell those coming onboard via Neat Ideas. 

Specialising in brand engagement through their Mosaic platform, Mobecom reported $656k in receipts for the quarter ended 31 March 2021 with net cash outflows of $337k. 

While some may not be aware, 89% of Australians are enrolled in at least one loyalty program with the average being 4.4.