PassPoints Cuts Virtual Ribbon On Rewards Mall

Loyalty player PassPoints this week cut the virtual ribbon on a “mall” of online shops, which all share a common loyalty program.

The idea for PassPoints is to bring aboard smaller e-tailers with a simple turnkey solution, and keep consumers happy with a wide variety of places where they can earn points.

“Small businesses can’t afford to spend millions of dollars broadcasting their message to just attract eyeballs,” said Alan Gunshor, chief executive officer of PassPoints.

“They must turn visitors into buyers and give people a reason to return to their Web site. They need to provide services compelling enough to stimulate word-of-mouth. FrequentShoppers.com offers a quick, turnkey, cost-effective rewards system to attain these goals.”

This “mall” concept is similar to a solution recently unveiled by MyPoints.com, which it is calling “instant loyalty.”

PassPoints says its program differs in that stores opting in to the program are paid a bounty for each “frequentshopper” they sign up. Setup involves simply establishing a link to a prefab mall, which is privately branded by the member site.

So far, PassPoints has signed up e-tailers like Fashionmall.com, Lands’ End, The Sharper Image, Borders, PETsMART, Food.com, art.com, healthshop.com, and dELiAs.com.