Aussies flock to support local eateries, boosting small businesses on road to recovery

CBA customers have reaped more than $3.2m in cash back through personalised offers via the bank’s new loyalty program, CommBank Rewards.

Of these cash back offers and redemptions, the food delivery service category has been the most popular among customers.

More broadly, food delivery services have thrived in a year of lockdowns. CBA research shows online card spend at cafes and restaurants spiked by 44 per cent in April compared with pre-COVID19 spend in February.

Now as restrictions ease and the summer season sets in, more people are venturing out and increasingly spending in-person at cafes and restaurants. For the month of October there was a 15 per cent uplift in the level of in-person spend compared with prior months.

CommBank Rewards’ most highly redeemed offer this year has been on food delivery services offered through Australia’s home-grown online food delivery platform, Menulog.

So far, CBA customers have received more than $1.8m in cash back to help support more than 24,000 local cafés and restaurants accessed through Menulog. The cash injection has been a welcome relief to the many local cafes and restaurants who are on the road to recovery as restrictions ease.

Menulog Marketing Director, Simon Cheng, said: “We’re really proud of our ongoing partnership with CommBank Rewards and to see that customers are loving the Menulog offer. We’re excited to continue to build on this program and look forward to bringing Australians even bigger and better reward initiatives in 2021.”

CBA’s Executive General Manager, Everyday Banking, Kate Crous, said: “We can really see the Aussie spirit coming through as customers rally behind their local cafes and restaurants. To help support businesses on their road to recovery, CommBank Rewards is providing cash back offers to help customers shop Australian this festive season.

“The push to shop local has been remarkable given we know it’s been such a tough year for so many Australians and Australian businesses. Local businesses are clearly seeing benefits too with these deals offering more opportunities for customers to spend at local cafes and restaurants to help them get back on their feet,” Ms Crous said.

CommBank Rewards is a unique proposition connecting businesses and CommBank’s digitally active customers. The program offers customers access to high value offers and cash back savings to 90+ retailers across food, entertainment and electronics.

Combining the scale and reach of the no. 1 rated CommBank app^ and leveraging the bank’s Customer Engagement Engine (CEE), CommBank Rewards offers customers personalised cash back deals.

To help more Australians shop from national retailers and brands, CommBank Rewards will partner with more home-grown retailers with new offers over the coming months.

CommBank Rewards works in three easy steps. Activate the offer, shop and receive cash back.

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