PAYBACK pursues internationalisation strategy

Rapid growth under the American Express umbrella – After Germany, Poland, India and Mexico, Italy becomes the 5th country in quick succession – High-profile partner companies such as Carrefour and Esso will in future benefit from the multichannel marketing platform  Tomorrow, Thursday, sees PAYBACK launch its successful loyalty programme in Italy, too. This was announced jointly by the parent company American Express and the management team of PAYBACK Italia at a press conference in Milan today. In Italy, PAYBACK has once again succeeded in putting together an incredibly strong portfolio of partners from a range of sectors ahead of the launch. This includes Carrefour, the largest European retail company, the Esso service station chain, leading airline Alitalia and American Express. Some companies already operate successful loyalty programmes, who will be able to collect PAYBACK points in future. The community of partners that benefit from the multichannel marketing platform is set to expand in the next few months.  “This expansion into the third-largest economic market in Europe is a further milestone in our internationalisation strategy,” says Bernhard Brugger, CEO PAYBACK Europe. “Italian companies face stiff competition for customers and PAYBACK offers them a valuable and efficient marketing tool they can use to build customer loyalty.” According to Brugger, the companies gain the opportunity to understand their customers much better and issue personalised offers and coupons through all channels – mailshots, online, e-mail newsletters, mobile apps and in-branch service terminals. Consumers, on the other hand, can collect points and enjoy savings in online and offline shops that are relevant to them.  “We are already market leaders by a clear margin in Germany, Poland, India and Mexico. Now we are going to prove in Italy that PAYBACK provides clear added value for customers and companies,” says Luca Leoni, Managing Director of PAYBACK Italia. Around 50 million customers worldwide are already collecting points with PAYBACK. Italian customers are known to be very keen points collectors: Some 89 percent of customers own a loyalty card.