Simon Property Group and Starwood Retail Partners are among the latest malls to join mobile loyalty program Spring, enabling users to receive cash back from shopping at multiple retailers and stepping up competition with American Express’ Plenti.

The Spring mobile application allows users to track rewards accounts and receive push notifications in regards to cash back. The program has now expanded into mall brands including Simon Property Group, Starwood Retail Partners, Taubman Centers and Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, allowing shoppers to earn cash back with any credit card at all retailers within the mall.

“While the platform leverages transaction data to understand consumer shopping behavior, mobile is the channel that allows us to reach shoppers in real-time to present targeted content and incentives,” said Jonathan Dyke, cofounder of Spring .

Springing to mobile
Spring users can now use any major credit card to earn rewards at the newest mall brand additions. Shoppers can earn cash back at any retailer mall-wide, just by adding their credit card information to the program.

Members can control their accounts and add new credit cards through its mobile app. Users can search for retailers nearby that are a part of the program, which now extends to Simon Property Group, Starwood Retail Partners, Taubman Centers and PREIT locations.

App users can browse special offers at nearby locations. For instance, within the app offers will be featured such as $10 back with purchase of $75 or more at a footwear retailer, including the location of the store.

Shoppers will also be able to track their rewards progress and receive real-time push notifications for cash back rewards. For instance, when a user earns a certain amount of cash back such as $25, he or she will receive a notification that says “congratulations, you have earned a $25 reward, it will be applied automatically to your next purchase.”

Customers do not need to complete any action when receiving their discount at next purchase, the platform will automatically include the discount at checkout of the participating retailer.

Mobile rewards
The program competes with American Express’ new far-reaching coalition loyalty program featuring brands such as Macy’s and ExxonMobil, a prime example of how mobile is making loyalty bigger and better by making it easier for members to earn rewards from one merchant in real-time and then immediately apply them to a purchase from another (see more).

Similarly, restaurant chain Shake Shack saw a spike in new customers after joining the new Visa Commerce Network, a platform that connects consumers to multiple retailer discounts via mobile notifications (see more).

The Spring platform drives sales in two primary ways,” Mr. Dyke said. “Using real-time spend data we are able to target high-intent shoppers while they are in the mall and present them with relevant promotions based on past spend behavior.

“Leveraging historical transaction data, promotions can be targeted to consumers that fit a certain profile (e.g. – “90 days lapsed” or “VIP customer”) and can be structured by spend amount, time frame or specific store location,” he said. “This allows retailers to understand the full lifecycle from the presentation of a digital promotion to a sale at a brick-and-mortar store.

“Our data shows that the mall-wide loyalty programs are driving higher average spend and more frequent return visits. We’ve seen that shoppers participating in the program spend up to 96 percent more when redeeming an incentive and return to the mall 2.5 times faster.”