Rakuten Rewards Canada, the leading Cash Back and shopping rewards company in Canada, is partnering with Scene as part of its expanded Scene+ program as the e-commerce company continues to grow its business in Canada.
Since launching in 2012, Rakuten.ca has helped Canadians earn over $70 million in Cash Back at over 750 retailers.
Claire Sweeney, Vice President of Marketing at Rakuten Rewards Canada, which is headquartered in North York, Ontario, said just over 6.5 million Canadians are currently earning Cash Back in points through the company for every eligible purchase at hundreds of retailers.
“In the last two years, for Rakuten specifically, we’ve grown over one million members. We’re definitely seeing a lot of consumers gravitating towards cash back or rewards platforms as they’re trying to supplement their daily spending but also help with bigger ticket items that they might be purchasing as well,” she said.
Rakuten is the name of the parent company in Japan and the name translates in Japanese to ‘optimism’.
“There’s definitely the growth of e-commerce and retailers being forced to accelerate their e-commerce strategy as well as consumers being forced to as well with the global lockdowns. That’s definitely a contributing factor. What we also have seen is the willingness of Canadians to try more brands that they wouldn’t have necessarily tried before,” said Sweeney.
“It just gives people more opportunity to discover new brands and products.”
In a news release, officials said SCENE and Scotia Rewards have partnered up and expanded to create Scene+, giving Canadians an enhanced loyalty program with more ways than ever to earn and redeem points for entertainment, shopping, dining, cash-back rewards, and more. By partnering with Rakuten.ca, Scene+ members can earn up to 20 per cent more Cash Back on their everyday purchases from fashion & beauty, to home goods – and everything in between.
“Partnering with Rakuten is a natural fit. Our mutual goal to bring ease to the customer experience led us to a seamless partnership,” said Matthew Seagrim, Managing Director at Scene+. “There’s a real trend in the loyalty space toward everyday interactions. Members want to earn points in ways that are convenient for them, and this partnership helps our members do that.”
Jennifer LaForge, General Manager of Rakuten Rewards Canada, said member experience is at the forefront of everything the brand does, “and this first-ever partnership with Scene+, expands what we offer to be the most rewarding shopping experience in Canada.”
Sweeney said the partnership is a natural fit for Rakuten because it expands on the company’s goal to be the most rewarding shopping experience in Canada.
The partnership will lead to growth in the number of users on the Rakuten site but Sweeney is not able to share growth expectations.
Ebates Inc. was founded in San Francisco by two Deputy District Attorneys who specialized in online fraud and identity in 1999. Through international expansion, the Canadian version of the Cash Back site was launched, built by Canadians for Canadians from headquarters in Toronto in 2012.
In 2014, Ebates Inc. joined the Rakuten family of companies, a multi-national corporation with businesses in 29 countries.
In 2019, Ebates became Rakuten.ca in Canada expanding to a new headquarters in North York, Ontario.
Sceme+ travel is a major scam – please note that 1) when you buy a ticket using a scene credit card, you are really using the Expedia travel service and you will have to use this service if you have any credit card that is connected to Scene+ primarily offered through Scotiabank. If you have to cancel your ticket for any reason, you do not pay the cost directly to the airline but to scene+ (Expedia) and you will have a credit that you are told you can use for 1yr. If when you rebook the value of the new travel is less than the previous, you will lose the difference (lost!!!) and you will also be forced to pay a change fee of $200. Scene+ will tell you that this is because it’s an airline policy but you never paid your funds to an airline, you paid it to scene+/Expedia so, in reality, the airline has nothing to do with this. It is a massive scam. I just lost $2000+ because I did not know about this policy when I was buying the ticket, I trusted this system that was offered through my bank, Scotiabank. Now I have to cancel my credit card that has Scene associated with it as well as my bank card. I want nothing to do with this program. Don’t believe the hype!!! SCAMMMM!!!