Capital One has partnered with mobile application ShopSavvy on an initiative that rewards cardmembers with tailored deals when they shop.

Cardmembers can link their account numbers to the ShopSavvy app to receive deals. The initiative is being rolled out across ShopSavvy’s iPhone, Android and Windows Phone apps.

“Capital One is looking for opportunities to provide a convenient service and an exciting opportunity for our customers to fully experience the power of mobile and electronic commerce,” said Julie Rakes, spokeswoman for Capital One, Mclean, VA.

“For Capital One, the ShopSavvy relationship is about establishing a foothold in the emerging mobile commerce ecosystem,” she said.

“It’s a big step in making our deals more convenient for our customers, reminding them of their deals when and where they’re shopping.”

How it works
To participate, Capital One cardmembers can synch their cards with the Wallet feature found inside the ShopSavvy app.

When consumers search for items, deals are highlighted for consumers. From there, consumers can click through to buy the item using their Capital One card.

Additionally, the Capital One deals are targeted based on a consumer’s spending patterns and behavior.

As an incentive to use the program, Capital One is offering consumers a one-time credit for using the app. Shoppers who spend $40 or more from the app will receive a $20 credit statement.

Capital One has been building up its mobile presence in the past year.

For example, last year Capital One integrated deals from brands including Starbucks and Whole Foods into its mobile app to let consumers find and redeem offers (see story).

Additionally, the brand updated its mobile app with a Purchase Eraser feature that lets consumers redeem rewards from travel-related purchases (see story).

“Our API allows integration of our deals program with any digital commerce platform, and we hope to be able to bring deals to customers through a range of mobile experiences in the future,” Ms. Rakes said.

“Ultimately, it’s the customer who chooses the apps they use to shop, and we’d like to meet them in the app of their choice,” she said.

All-in-one shopping
The Capital One initiative also points to the growing need for third-party apps to create an end-to-end shopping experience.

Nowadays, there are a plethora of shopping apps available to consumers. To stick out, apps need to guide consumers through all of the steps in the shopping journey.

ShopSavvy has steadily been revamping and updating its app in the past year.

For example, ShopSavvy recently updated its app to include more information to help with price checking (see story).

With this move, ShopSavvy is building up its mobile wallet repertoire instead of focusing on solely being used for price checking.

“The strategy behind our intent pair offers is highly targeted offers based on intent, location and buying interest,” said John Boyd, cofounder/CEO of ShopSavvy, New York.

“With ShopSavvy, we want deals and offers to be targeted as closely as possible to the user’s specific product search, with the deals available on the product page itself,” he said.

“Ultimately, we are trying to create a next-generation marketplace that uses technology to keep the user in control, while delivering a shopping experience that is not only valuable for the user but makes shopping fun again, too.”

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York