Born out of its parent company CashKaro in 2019, EarnKaro enables users to earn a commission every time someone buys something from the user’s Earnkaro links.
Founded by Swati Bhargava and Rohan Bhargava, EarnKaro lets users generate a “profit link” from a product deal from any e-commerce sites — Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, etc. The users can share this link with their friends and family. Every time someone buys that deal using this ‘profit’ link, the user gets a small commission.
Cashbacks encourage consumers to make more transactions with participating businesses. The cashback industry has significantly benefited micro-entrepreneurs in small cities.
Swati Bhargava, the CEO and co-founder of EarnKaro, says that micro-entrepreneurs in small cities often face challenges in attracting customers and increasing sales because of limited resources and competition from larger enterprises.“Cashback programmes have provided them with a cost-effective and efficient marketing tool to attract new customers and retain existing ones. EarnKaro has many micro-entrepreneurs who come in the form of students, micro-influencers, housewives and freelancers. Many of them earn over Rs 30,000 per month in additional income, and EarnKaro has paid over Rs 50 crore in real cash by sharing deals with their networks,” she says.At one point, affiliate marketing was only for people with a very large following, she says, referring to bloggers, influencers, and YouTubers. Today, housewives in tier-2 cities, students and job seekers across India are embracing financial independence with this.Notably, over 65% of EarnKaro’s users come from tier-2 cities and beyond.
Even for small businesses and D2C brands, cashback rewards on purchases can attract and retain customers, foster loyalty, and drive repeat purchases.
“Cashback promotions create a positive association with the brand, encouraging word-of-mouth referrals and enhancing brand visibility. Moreover, the perceived monetary gain from cashback reinforces the value proposition of the products or services, ultimately leading to increased sales and improved brand reputation,” Bhargava says.
Both EarnKaro and CashKaro have a network of over 1,500 brands, which include over 300 D2C brands. These include Mamaearth, WOW Skin Science, Boat, Juicy Chemistry, The Man Company, Mcaffeine, Ustraa and Beardo. It also has a community of 3 million registered users.
According to a 2021 report by Bain & Company, social commerce as a sector in India has the potential to grow to $20 billion by FY25 and $70 billion by 2030 from $1.5 billion in 2020. The report stated that India’s e-commerce sector traditionally has been dominated by a few large players, but social commerce was paving the way for a more distributed model that’s built on community, connection and trust. “While traditional e-commerce will continue to grow, social-led models will help redefine the landscape over the next 5 to 10 years,” it read.
In the meantime, Bhargava says that EarnKaro is also working on a new profit-share programme. This will enable users to share profits with their customers.
