14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is axing a program introduced with Live Search and continued with Bing, designed to offer online shoppers that used its search engine to find and buy products online cash incentives. The Redmond company announced that Bing Cashback would be killed off completely at the end of this month. Apparently, Cashback failed to gain the level of traction with customers and advertisers that Microsoft was looking for. With the feature retired, July 30, 2010 will be the last day when online retailers will be able to offer incentives, and also the last day when customers will be able to earn cashback.
“In lots of ways, this was a great feature – we had over a thousand merchant partners delivering great offers to customers and seeing great ROI on their campaigns, and we were taking some of the advertising revenue and giving it back to customers. But after a couple of years of trying, we did not see the broad adoption that we had hoped for,” Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president, Online Audience Business Group, revealed.
Mehdi made it perfectly clear that customers would be able to redeem cashback legitimate amounts even after July 30. At the same time, Microsoft remains committed to offering support to existing customers for the next year.
The promise from the Redmond company is that Bing Cashback will reverberate across the software giant’s search efforts related to online sales with new programs. Mehdi did not offer any indication as to what Microsoft had planned, but noted that online shops would be able to provide new experiences for customers, while advertisers would enjoy new opportunities.
“Well, until July 30th at 9:00 pm PST, it’s business as usual, with cashback offers still living within Bing. After that, Bing cashback will discontinue, though you will have a year to redeem any cashback you have earned through your cashback account consistent with the cashback Terms and Conditions. In addition, Microsoft will provide 12 months of customer support to ensure a smooth transition,” Mehdi stated.