Consumers have options, and retailers increasingly have to think creatively to make their store the easy choice. To date, they’ve tried adding loyalty perks, value-based pricing options, and various strategic partnerships to make shopping at their business as worthwhile as possible. 

Over the years, it’s become standard practice for retailers to add consumer value by aligning their brands with partners in adjacent categories. The most common example occurs in the grocery and fuel categories. Shoppers can earn rewards for their grocery loyalty program, for example, by visiting a partner fuel station. The grocery and fuel retailer both benefit from this relationship — the grocer makes their rewards program more valuable for customers, and the station owner sees more gallons sold.  

Upside pursues strategic partnerships for the same reason: to expand our retailers’ reach and get them in front of more customers. What sets Upside’s partnership efforts apart from retailers' own efforts is our ecosystem, which provides access to a vast network of partners in one fell swoop. This ecosystem helps retailers meet potential customers in the apps those customers already use, a benefit that makes our marketplace even more valuable.

By joining Upside, retailers are tapping into a turnkey customer acquisition solution. On our mobile app and our network of partner apps, Upside now reaches 35 million consumers — three times more than our industry peers, and a figure that represents more than one out of every 10 Americans.

Why companies partner with Upside

Upside forms partnerships with various types of companies. What motivates each of them to  work together with us?

Gig economy apps

Brands that contract gig workers, including rideshare companies and delivery companies, partner with Upside in order to provide those workers with more value and to reward their loyalty. Given the nature of their work, these drivers, couriers, and shoppers often find themselves on the road looking to refuel or grab a quick meal — and as such, these individuals claim Upside offers up to 2-3x more often than the average user. Partnering with Upside not only boosts gig workers’ purchasing power (helping them buy the food and fuel they need to do their jobs) but it also allows these brands to position Upside offers as additional incentives to complete more trips.

Instacart has been an Upside partner since 2020, and together we work to provide the company’s shoppers with bespoke cash back bonuses on Upside. As part of its Cart Star program, Instacart also offers Upside as a partner perk with extra cash back boosts available to their top shoppers. In fact, for the month of September, Instacart doubled those boosts and increased shoppers’ incremental transactions at Upside retailers by 25%.

Upside’s long-standing partnerships with Uber and Lyft also offer cash back bonuses to drivers, but they go a step further — Upside’s Partner API allows cash back offers to appear directly inside each brand’s app for drivers. When it comes time to refuel, drivers can claim personalized Upside offers from nearby gas stations, convenience stores, and restaurants directly in each company’s app.

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Banking apps

A rapidly growing portion of American consumers are adopting mobile banking apps as their primary banking relationship. Earlier this year, Upside announced a new partnership with leading consumer financial technology company Chime⁺. Millions of Chime members can access Upside’s personalized cash-back promotions directly in the Chime app. Earned cash back is automatically credited to Chime members' checking accounts as part of the Chime Deals™ offering.

Established banks innovating on their products and mobile experiences also turn to Upside to create compelling cash back offers for their cardholders. Our latest Partner API integration with Triple, a card-linked offer provider for financial institutions, brings Upside offers directly into their client banks’ digital rewards experiences — which includes one of the top 10 consumer banks in the country — to boost engagement and attract more account holders. Upside’s selection of retailers with high-value promotions has driven that desired engagement; our API partners see a 60% lift in user sessions per month and a 40% boost in monthly retention.   

Why Upside’s partnerships matter for retailers

Channel blurring, delivery, and increased competition are converging to give shoppers more options than ever. Judging by the rise in cross-shopping across all retail categories, they’re clearly taking advantage of those choices and spreading around their spend. Retailers pursue strategic partnerships in part to win more trips and more spend from these “uncommitted customers.”  

The uncommitted customer primarily thinks about their own life before loyalty to any particular retailer or brand. They’re marked by a willingness to spread their shopping trips across multiple stores or formats to provide for their households most effectively. 

Upside’s strategic partnerships help retailers win more trips and more spend from uncommitted customers by reaching those customers:

• In the right places: Uncommitted customers are digital — they’re always connected, and make buying decisions on the go. Retailers looking to win their transactions need to meet them in digital spaces where they already frequently transact.
• At the right times: There’s a relevancy component to meeting these shoppers, as well. Since they often compare prices online and decide where to shop in real-time, retailers have to meet them at that critical juncture — well before they get to the register — in order to secure their business.
• With the right promotion: Every customer needs something different to be motivated enough to change their behavior. Retailers can influence uncommitted customers with the right incentive, but it’s also important for the retailer to protect its profit margin. Personalization ensures that shoppers get the promotion they need to change their behavior, while preventing cannibalization of expected sales.

For retailers, this translates to bottom line impact, not just impressions or brand recognition.  

Take Sun Holdings for example. Headquartered in Texas, Sun Holdings is the third-largest restaurant franchisee in the United States. Our relationship with Sun Holdings began in September 2023 with a 10-site pilot, and it has since expanded to include over 1,000 restaurants across nine brands: Arby’s, Papa John’s, Applebee’s, Burger King, and more.

Upside’s partnerships keep Sun Holdings’ restaurants top-of-mind with on-the-go customers. Of the incremental, net-new volume that Upside has driven to its locations in 2024, 12% of that volume comes from our strategic partners.

Meeting customers where they are

Each of Upside’s consumer partnerships puts retailers in front of consumers in the apps and digital spaces where they already spend their time. And when retailers work with Upside, they unlock all of the partnerships in our ecosystem, all at once. 

Not part of our marketplace yet? Get in touch with our team of retail experts to learn more about how Upside can impact your business.

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⁺Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services and debit card provided by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A.; Members FDIC.