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Hello reader,
Back in university, I used to rely on a small allowance and earnings from part-time work to pay for my monthly expenses. I was never a big spender, but I still had to budget wisely to make it through the month with enough to eat.
It got to the point where I was measuring the opportunity cost of buying certain things in terms of the number of plates of chicken rice it would cost me. That’s because chicken rice was one of the cheaper food options that was still nourishing and somewhat healthy.
For example, getting new slippers for S$10 (US$7.20) might have cost roughly the same as three plates of chicken rice. If that meant I had to scrimp on too many meals, then I would just put off the purchase.
As you can probably guess, I wasn’t much of a shopper so companies like ShopBack were a little unfamiliar to me. I would see its logo on advertisements and on little cards displayed at the store cashier, but I didn’t give it much thought.
Its recent financial report, however, features numbers that are hard to ignore. For instance, ShopBack has more than doubled its group revenue for the financial year ending March 31, 2021. That alone is enough to make me sit up and take notice, and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one.
Today we look at:
- What ShopBack was up to in FY 2021
- A blockchain startup that scored partnerships with FIFA and the football global union
- Other newsy highlights such as Stockbit’s new crypto trading app and the launch of Carousell Media Group’s digital ad service
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No turning back now
Image credit: Timmy Loen
Remember the old Wrigley’s slogan “Double the pleasure, double the fun?” Hopefully ShopBack’s in for the same after more than doubling its revenue from FY 2020 to FY 2021. Its group revenue reached US$40.1 million in FY2021 while operating losses narrowed, according to its ACRA filings, the company.
- New streams of income: Major revenue contributors in the year include the sale of digital vouchers as well as commission income it earns from partner merchants. The impact of financial services including ShopBack PayLater, a recent venture for the firm, is expected to be reflected in the coming financial year.
- Outflow: The company’s biggest expense was employee benefits, which rose by 37.2% from the same period in 2020. This may increase, however, as ShopBackhas been ramping up hiring, adding over 300 employees since the first six months of 2022.
- Going up Down Under: Australia is a fast-growing market for ShopBack, accounting for almost a quarter of the company’s overall revenue in FY 2021 compared to just 5.9% in FY 2020. The country’s “large addressable population” and “robust consumer landscape” makes it a core strategic market, a company spokesperson said.
Read more: ShopBack doubles revenue in FY 2021, trims operating losses
Olé, olé, olé
Chart the right path to growth
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