The past decade has seen online shopping truly take off in Pakistan, so much so that there are now brands that have built themselves up from scratch only through their online presence. E-commerce platforms have managed to make their flagships sales full-fledged events which shoppers wait for to make big purchases. Last year, Savyour introduced consumers in Pakistan to a new concept for online shopping – cashback. On the face of it, their sell of earning cash just for shopping online through their platform might sound too good to be true, but this is literally their USP. “Consider Savyour to be your online shopping companion. It is Pakistan’s first and only savings app that offers its users cashbacks and discounts from hundreds of brands across multiple categories. While there are many apps in the market that offer discounts and deals, we are the only app in Pakistan that is offering cashbacks straight into the wallet of Savyour users on top of the deals and discounts they can avail from our partner brands. There are no hidden terms and conditions, no minimum or maximum limits on the cashback customers can earn through Savyour’s app,” stated Umair Gadit, CEO, Savyour, when asked about how he would describe the app to an average shopper. While new for the Pakistan market, cashback is actually a well-established mechanism abroad. Players like Rakuten, BeFrugal, Swagbucks and Ibotta have helped users around the world save millions of dollars on spending they would have done anyway had they not routed through these platforms. So, what exactly is cashback, and how is it different from other reward/loyalty points that are already being offered by brands and bank cards? Umair breaks it down in simple terms, “Cashback is an easy way for consumers to earn cash. They shop as usual, and earn a certain percentage of the amount they have spent. What differentiates cashback is the fact that what customers save in their Savyour wallet is hard cash, which they can redeem directly into their bank account as soon as they hit a minimum of 200 rupees. They are not bound to spend this amount on the Savyour app only and are free to utilise it as per their own discretion, which is why cashback is more powerful than reward programmes/loyalty points. I would even go as far as saying if you are not shopping through Savyour, you are leaving money on the table every time you are shopping online”. When asked where he envisions Savyour by the end of 2021, Umair shared “The broader goal is to make Savyour a full-fledged online shopping companion for users. We hope to achieve this by expanding our key categories – Grocery, Food, Fashion, Beauty & Personal Care and Electronics. Simultaneously, we want to further cement our presence in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.”