Ibotta Partners With Leading Companies to Offer Consumers First-Ever Rewards for Purchases Made on Mobile Apps

DENVER, CO, (PRNewswire) - Ibotta, the mobile shopping app whose users have earned more than $110 million in rewards on in-store purchases, today launched a brand-new way for consumers to discover great brands and earn rewards on mobile, in-app purchases. Through partnerships with mobile commerce leaders such as Boxed, Groupon, Hotels.com, and Jet, Ibotta will offer rewards to shoppers for ordering goods and services directly from their smartphones and tablets.
  As part of this app-to-app marketplace, Ibotta, which already features an array of offers from leading brands and retailers for rewards on groceries, clothing, electronics, and other in-store items, will now feature a Mobile Apps category. Launch partners include leading mobile innovators Boxed, delivery.com, DoorDash, Drizly, Groupon, Hotels.com, Jet, and Spring.

"More people than ever before are making purchases through mobile apps as a convenient way to shop right from their smartphones but, until now, there hasn't been a way to save on those in-app purchases," said Bryan Leach, founder and CEO of Ibotta. "Now, shoppers can unlock offers through Ibotta before they shop on other apps, and automatically earn rewards whenever they book hotel rooms, order food delivery, purchase concert tickets, and more."
Ibotta commissioned a recent survey* on the mobile shopping habits of smartphone users that showed increased consumer interest for a more seamless way to earn rewards on mobile purchases. Nearly 62 percent of respondents said they would be more willing to make in-app purchases if offered rewards, and 75 percent said they would be more willing to try a new app if they earned cash back on a first purchase.
Button, the leading contextual commerce company that powers the app-to-app deep-linking experiences for Ibotta, provides seamless navigation from Ibotta to the purchase flow on partner apps. Consumers start their shopping journey with the Ibotta app, where they can unlock offers, and then are taken directly to the selected native app to shop for goods and services. Once users complete an in-app purchase, Button automatically verifies the Ibotta rewards in near real time, providing users instant feedback on their rewards. Since the user rewards drive a higher intent to purchase from consumers, Button's commerce partners find it to be one of the highest converting channels for mobile app acquisition. According to a Button case study, publishers boast revenue increases north of 450 percent versus driving users to mobile web.
With more than two million mobile apps available for download in the United States, and Americans spending more than $100 billion a year on mobile purchases, Ibotta's app-to-app marketplace gives consumers a new way to discover innovative mobile brands, and purchase products and services on their smartphones and tablets. It also provides Ibotta partners with the first app discovery affiliate platform to drive additional downloads and incremental in-app spending through offers and rewards.
Prior to the app-to-app marketplace, brands with mobile apps had limited options for driving mobile commerce through performance marketing tactics. Through this new offering, Ibotta becomes the one-stop shop for in-app rewards and another vehicle for partners to engage shoppers.
"Together with Ibotta, Button is changing the way users discover and transact within the app economy," said Michael Jaconi, co-founder and CEO of Button. "As we've seen with the success of companies in China, becoming the launching point for transactional behavior is arguably the most prolific and durable business model that exists in mobile. By creating enjoyable experiences for users and uncapped revenue opportunities, Button's helping to introduce this model to the U.S., and we're thrilled to play a role in this evolution and in the innovation Ibotta is pioneering."
Early partners are already seeing the benefits of this new technology:
Groupon: "We're thrilled that Groupon's entire marketplace of amazing local deals will be conveniently accessible to shoppers everywhere through Ibotta," said Paul Koura, head of global affiliate marketing for Groupon. "Whether it's dinner at a Michelin-starred restaurant or a luxurious massage and spa package, we're giving people an additional way to connect with the local businesses in their neighborhood and discover exciting new things to eat, see, do and buy."
Hotels.com: "With over 50 million downloads, the Hotels.com mobile app provides travelers an unparalleled hotel booking experience," said Paul Cunha, senior director of global retail and business development for the Hotels.com brand. "With hundreds of thousands of properties, member-only deals, and now a cash rewards offering through Ibotta, we're focused on delivering great value to everyone looking for the perfect accommodations."
Jet: "We're excited to be partnering with Ibotta and Button on this innovative app-to-app marketplace," said Lauren Picasso, associate director of marketing for Jet. "At Jet, we're focused on helping our customers save more money on the things they already buy. We are thrilled that this partnership will help shoppers discover the value of Jet with the added convenience that comes with shopping on our mobile app. And with Ibotta rewards, it's truly a win-win partnership for the customer."
Spring: "At Spring, we're committed to offering the best possible mobile shopping experience for our users, and we're excited to partner with Ibotta on the launch of their app-to-app marketplace," said Zach Miller, VP of commerce partnerships at Spring. "Now with Button as the connective thread between us, we're able to open up the entire Spring catalog to Ibotta users through one simple click."