Pardon that horrible pun, but I couldn’t help myself. I’ve been collecting a folder full of email promotions specific to the holiday season just to document how far people are going to get your share of wallet. So far, the company at the top of the “trying too hard” list is Bank of America.
I know we are still in a credit crisis. And the banks want you to use their cards when shopping. And this program isn’t new or even original. But Bank of America is promoting it’s Add It Up® program as a “holiday savings” opportunity like nothing I’ve ever seen. It’s in my email, it’s on the street, it’s in my face when I log onto online banking. And it’s great in theory, but has some definite weaknesses when it comes to the execution.
Here’s how it works:
Registration is free for Bank of America Online Banking customers with eligible Bank of America credit or debit cards and consumers can earn up to 20% cash back when shopping with one of the participating retailers.
- Sign in and select an offer on this website to begin shopping. For online purchases, always access the retailer’s website through the Add it Up® offer page.
- Use your registered Bank of America card to pay. On the retailer’s website or at the register for in-store offers, use a card registered in the Add It Up® program.
- Receive cash back. Cash back earnings are credited to the eligible checking or credit card account of your choice.
Here’s why it’s on the right track:
- People love to save. And considering the economic climate, most people need the break. If you’re using your debit card, then spend away – as long as you’ve paid your bills. But if you are using a credit card and don’t pay off the balance every month, then you aren’t earning anything. In fact, you are spending money to save money only to actually be losing money
- People really love to save double. Most of the rewards offered are on par with discounts offered by the same partners within other programs. But I haven’t seen a rewards program that matches the saving from the double rewards partners listed on the Add it Up® site. Of course, I’ll take 8% cash back on my purchases at Target.com!!!!
- There is a huge selection of fabulous participating partners. With over 100 participating companies to choose from both on and offline, there seems to be savings for everyone. Netflix, Saks, Nike, Oh my!
Here are the flaws:
- We interrupt the regularly scheduled shopping process. You need to access the retailer’s websites through the offer page which is inconsistent with how the majority of people shop. Why make them go through a portal page? Bank of America gets the transaction records from the participating partners and are obviously using these to track savings through the offline partners participating in the program. So why not do the same for the online partners? Make it easy for the consumers.
- It’s a horrible user experience. I mean really horrible. The site is sooo slow and often times out. The advertisements are so busy that you can’t focus on the task at hand. The search is horrible. The organization of the partners is very rigid. You should be able to filter the partners based on offer, subcategory, user based tags (if they allowed users to tag), etc. This site reminds me of sites launched in the late 90s.
- There is a huge selection of fabulous participating partners. I know I listed this above as a good thing, but the fact that there are over 100 participating companies is overwhelming considering how poorly the site is organized! And having to wade through them to find what you are looking for is a long and arduous task. Believe me, it took me over an hour to get get through them all only to realize half way through I could tag some of the partners as favorites.
Does the favorites link pop out at you?
Unfortunately, I don’t have access to the success metrics for this program. And I’m sure there are people willing to take the time to navigate the site just to get a deal. But are enough consumers will to do so to make it worth the effort for Bank of America?
The Future Of Retail Is Here 