It’s a Thursday morning in Dubai’s Media City. Chris Shaw, the CEO of UAE’s revolutionary new cashback app mimojo is paying for a coffee at Ka’ak Al Manara, a casual and quick service Lebanese bakery. Like the rest of mimojo’s partnered outlets across the city it offers a reward. To unlock it, consumers do not need to open an app, there is no pin and there is certainly no need for a loyalty card. Five seconds after Shaw taps his mobile wallet he receives a ping. It is a notification from mimojo immediately followed by a similar one from his bank. Confirmation that he has received cash back in his mimojo account.
“The transaction is seamless,” Shaw says. “Every time I go and transact in one of our merchants and I receive my notification immediately, it still delights me,”
By coincidence, it is also mimojo payday, as it is on the 15th of every month, so there is good reason for Shaw’s positive demeanour. It is on this day that mimojo sends back the user’s accumulated cash from the previous weeks to their credit card, offering a pure form of spend.
“We are not not giving you points to spend in a particular ecosystem or with a certain set of merchants. Nor do you have to tally them up to reach a certain level. It’s pure cashback and the application of that cashback is seamless so that’s huge value,” Shaw says.
“Once you have gone into an outlet, you have transacted and made a payment. That’s one constant that people do. They all make a payment. It just so happens that your card is registered with the scheme that that merchant is registered to as well.”
Shaw has been in Dubai for over 20 years, spending nine of those at the Entertainer before launching mimojo, last year, with two former Entertainer executives Dan Lloyd, and David Ashford. So, he is well positioned to know that the concept of loyalty is not something that is entirely new.
“It’s been around for a very long time. If we cast our minds back to the 1850s, in the States, there was a company called B.T. Babbitt, who was a soap and detergent manufacturer, and retailer. They are generally accepted as the original pioneers of this. They put coupons on their packaging that people would cut out, collect, and then redeem for something in the Babbitt catalogue.”
He adds: “In more modern days, it’s airlines that are the pioneers of it. So, for instance, in the early 1980s, American Airlines were the first to introduce an air miles program. The currencies have since changed, but the principles remain exactly the same. A consumer spends on your product, earns a customised token and then is able to redeem it for something of value within your ecosystem.”
Over the last eighteen months, global consumer purchasing power has been drastically affected by high interest rates and a surge in the cost of living. This has created an insatiable demand for one thing. Cash. The Middle East is no different, and cashback programs are increasingly being seen as a new, more effective mens to traditional reward points in shaping certain shopping behaviours. As well as this, the global Cashback Apps market, which was valued at USD 3,373.2 million in 2022 is predicted to almost double USD 6,141 million by 2031.
“Obviously, we are not immune to inflation in the UAE, and it can be a very expensive place to live. So, in terms of the consumer spending trends, I think there’s two things. It’s not just careful spending that will be a trend this year, but I think it’s deliberate spending. And what I mean is that there is so much on offer for consumers to be deliberate about. For example, Buy Now, Pay Later. We’re seeing a huge trend there and it makes it very easy for consumers to purchase on zero interest credit, basically.”
In a short space of time, mimojo has built up a considerable network of merchants including restaurants, retailers, and beauty salons, tapping into a population of 3.66 million people in Dubai alone. Currently, mostly Media-City based, it is rapidly continuing this expansion to districts around Dubai where it plans to become a regular part of consumers’ daily spending habits.
“Given the current environment we need to be equitable with our merchant partners. We need to give them choice and control back. We’re not going to dictate the type of offers that they run. We’re not going to dictate the tenure that they run the offers for. It’s a platform that they have control and choice over, and the same is true for consumers,” Shaw says.
The model currently operates on a paid subscription basis which consumers can pause or cancel at any time. After an initial try before you buy, two-month free trial consumers can continue for AED 10 a month with up to 35% cashback on brands for all visa and debit card holders.
“Creating value was the start point of the business. Our purpose is to create and share value through frictionless experiences. And in order to compete in what’s a very crowded marketplace, we have to offer a point of difference.”
Shaw adds, that at its core it follows three key principles.
“Firstly, the experience needs to be seamless. You need to be able to earn and burn in a seamless way. And the more seamless you can get the better in terms of value. You as an individual, need to feel that you are getting value for being a loyal customer. Then there is personalisation, which is how I can tailor my scheme to you. You should feel special and feel like an individual when you are using my scheme.
“And if we can get that right; that experience, that value and that personalisation, those are the key to a successful loyalty program.”
