TataNeu: Tata group super app loyalty play awaits April 7 launch

TataNeu will offer multi-category loyalty programme

TataNeu, the super app from the Tata group, is to be launched on April 7, said sources in the know, although it will be invitation-only to begin with.

“A few weeks back, the super app was opened to non-Tata employees for the first time. Every Tata employee was allowed to invite five people they know to access the app and the response has been phenomenal,” said one source in the know.

The biggest novelty for consumers is that they will enjoy, for the first time, a multi-category loyalty programme that will work across the categories that TataNeu has on its platform.

The rewards, called ‘NeuCoins’, allow users to shop for different products and services so, for example, if they buy an electronic item and win points, they can redeem them to buy anything from a stay at any of the group’s hotels to medicines from 1MG and groceries from BigBasket.

“So far, no other e-commerce players allow such a multi-category loyalty programme,” said another source. “Moreover, these reward points will have almost perpetual validity.
 

With the users having the option to either use the NeuCoins in one go, or use them in parts. Since the app has been opened for pilots, one in every two people has redeemed their points.”

The other aspect of this loyalty programme is that it is easy to use. A user earns 5 per cent NeuCoins with every rupee spent or, put simply, five NeuCoins for every Rs 100 spent. Though the validity of redeeming the NeuCoins is for a year, a user can redeem some coins while the rest are rolled over to next year.

An email sent to Tata Digital did not elicit any response till the time of going to print.

As of now, TataNeu’s categories are electronics, groceries, entertainment, fashion, travel and hospitality, luxury, health and F&B. All these categories will give access to brands such as BigBasket, Croma, Indian Hotels Company, Air Asia, Cliq, Westside,1MG, Cummins and Starbucks, among others.

TataNeu will also provide a platform for utility payments and offer financial services such as personal loans. Media reports have said that the group is in talks with the National Payments Corporation of India for clearance to become a third party payments services provider.

If TataNeu manages to get its loyalty programme formula right, it will be the first in the Indian e-commerce space. Globally, multi-brand loyalty has been gaining ground as retailers see the potential of locking in a user to a platform/brand.

According to a FIS report, almost 81 per cent of consumers around the world said it is helpful to have the ability to earn and redeem points at multiple types of retailers.

It’s Rewarding 

• Loyalty rewards, called NeuCoins, will allow users to shop for products and services from different categories
• TataNeu will also provide a platform for all utility payments
• It will provide financial services like EMIs and personal loans
• IPL will be the biggest platform ever used for a super app launch