Date published: 01.09.08 - not release date

Competition entries up 14% as people value money more than time

The number of people entering online competitions to win cash has increased by 14 per cent in the last three months.

And more people are referring friends to get cash rewards, as they become more willing to sacrifice time in return for money.

The credit crunch and downturn in the economy is being blamed for the new habits spotted among the half a million consumers on the froggybank.co.uk cashback network.

It compared habits of its 500,000 UK members in April to June 2008 to the same period in 2007.

froggybank.co.uk’s marketing manager Nadeem Azam said: “This is all down to the credit crunch and the rising cost of living.

“This time last year people were cash rich and time poor. Now they are feeling the pinch they are more likely to spend valuable time online to earn a few pounds.”

Nadeem added: “With no sign that the economy is going to improve soon, we expect this trend to continue over the next six months.”

The network consists of 180 websites led by froggybank.co.uk, the UK’s first and only green 100% cashback site.

It is estimated there are more than 20 million online shoppers in the UK who are yet to discover cashback and get back up to 100% of the middleman’s fee on all their online shopping.

Shoppers log onto a cashback site before making online purchases from major retailers as normal. The referral fee paid by the retailer to the cashback site is returned to the shopper.

froggybank.co.uk has committed to work with PURE the Clean Planet Trust, to offset one million tons of carbon by 2012.

That’s equivalent to the annual emissions of 180,000 average UK homes.

100% of the cashback paid by retailers can be turned into charitable donations that will support PURE. Shoppers can alternatively give the money to another charity, or keep some or all of it for themselves.

To help consumers even more, froggybank.co.uk recently released 101 tips to beat the credit crunch. You can see them here.


NOTES TO EDITORS
• For any further information or interviews please contact Paul Green at Publicity Heaven PR agency on 08452 303049, or e-mail press@publicityheaven.com

• You can find more information at www.froggybank.co.uk/press

• froggybank’s carbon offsets are provided by certified and verified carbon credit providers including PURE the Clean Planet Trust

• froggybank.co.uk is owned by eDeals UK Ltd, the biggest operator of consumer loyalty websites in the UK. The company operates 180 websites supported by 44 staff.