Rakuten Rewards

Rakuten Rewards (/ˈrækətɪn/)[1], formerly known as Ebates,[2] is a cash-back and shopping rewards company[3] headquartered in San Mateo, in the San Francisco Bay Area[4] of California. Rakuten Rewards' revenue comes from affiliate network links.[5] Members of the site click through affiliate links before shopping at a retailer's site. Once the member makes a purchase, Rakuten Rewards receives an affiliate commission from the retailer which is then shared with the member. The company publishes links both on their website and through a browser extension as well as mobile app.[6]

Rakuten Rewards
IndustryCashback website, Coupons, Mobile applications, Browser extension
FoundedMay 3, 1998 (1998-05-03) in Menlo Park, CA, United States
FoundersAlessandro Isolani and Paul Wasserman
HeadquartersSan Mateo, California
Area served
United States, Canada, China, South Korea, Singapore, Japan
Key people
Amit Patel (CEO)
Number of employees
760 (Worldwide, 2019)
ParentRakuten
Websitewww.rakuten.com

Rakuten Rewards (as Ebates) frequently appears on lists of best cash-back sites.[7]

History

Rakuten Rewards was founded as Ebates in 1998 in Menlo Park, CA by two former deputy district attorneys, Alessandro Isolani and Paul Wasserman. Funded by venture capital firm Foundation Capital,[8] Ebates.com launched on May 3, 1999 offering up to 25% cash back from about 40 online retailers.[9]

In September 2014, Ebates was acquired by Rakuten, Inc. a Japanese based company for $1 Billion[10]. The company name was officially changed from Ebates to Rakuten Rewards in early 2019.[11] Following, it expanded its operations to Canada, where it is still known as Ebates,[12] competing with Great Canadian Rebates.[13]

Acquisitions
Number Date Company Business Country References
1 9/8/2011 FatWallet Comparison shopping site United States [14]
2 8/9/2012 BFAds Coupons site United States [15]
3 9/8/2012 AnyCoupons Coupons site United States [16]
4 6/22/2012 OneReceipt Receipt digitization service United States [17]
5 10/12/2012 PushPins Coupons mobile site United States [18]
6 6/25/2013,

sold 12/6/2017

 Extrabux Comparison shopping site United States [19]
7 3/7/2016 Shopular Product discovery mobile app United States [20]
8 1/23/2017 Cartera Commerce Rewards program provider United States [21]
9 4/3/2017 ShopStyle (and Cosmic Cart) Fashion discovery site United States [22]

Services/Tools
Name Description Website References
Mobile App Free application for Android and iOS allows users to shop and earn cash back on mobile devices https://www.rakuten.com/mobile.htm [23]
Hotels Users can book hotels to earn cash back. All hotels on this section of the site are eligible for 10% cash back https://www.rakuten.com/hotels [24]
Cash Back Button Browser extension for Google Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari. Alerts users to cash-back possibilities on store sites and highlights offers in Google and Bing search results https://www.rakuten.com/button.htm [25]
Marketplace Formerly located at Rakuten.com, the marketplace is an e-commerce site where users can buy goods from third-party sellers https://www.rakuten.com/shop/
In-Store Cash Back Users can earn cash back in stores by adding a credit or debit card to their accounts and using that card to pay in stores https://www.rakuten.com/in-store.htm

Logos
  • 2017
  • 2018
  • 2019 (US, before renaming)
  • 2019 (Canada, before renaming)
  • 2019 (US and Canada, after renaming)

References
  1. "Ebates is now Rakuten". Rakuten Rewards.
  2. "Ebates is Becoming Rakuten & Super Bowl Ad (How to Pronounce Rakuten)". travelwithgrant.boardingarea.com. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
  3. "Online shopping rewards", Wikipedia, 2018-09-01, retrieved 2019-03-01
  4. "Ebates". Crunchbase. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  5. "Rakuten to Acquire Ebates for $1 Billion". Business Wire (Press release). 9 September 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  6. "Rebates, Cash Back, Discount Coupons, Online Coupons". RakutenUS. Retrieved 2019-03-06.
  7. Broida, Rick. "The 5 cash-back services you need to try". CNET. Retrieved 2019-03-06.
  8. Kemp, Ted (17 May 1999). "ebates.com Pays Cash to Net Shoppers, Hopes to Lure Advertisers". Direct Marketing News. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  9. "Ebates.com launches discount rebate site". Advertising Age. Crain Communications Inc. 3 May 1999. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  10. Perez, Sarah (9 September 2014). "Rakuten Buys Ebates For $1 Billion". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  11. "Rakuten Review: Rakuten vs. Ebates - What is Changing". Dyer News. 2019-03-08. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
  12. Ebates.ca
  13. "Review: Great Canadian Rebates". Financefeat. 2019-03-20. Retrieved 2019-03-30.
  14. "Backed By VCs, Ebates Buys FatWallet.com And AnyCoupons.com, Starts New Company". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2019-03-06.
  15. "Ebates acquires BFAds | Startup Ranking". StartupRanking. Retrieved 2019-03-06.
  16. "AnyCoupons acquired by Ebates". Crunchbase. 2011-05-03. Retrieved 2019-03-06.
  17. "Performance Marketing Brands Announces Acquisition of OneReceipt". www.businesswire.com. 2012-09-06. Retrieved 2019-03-06.
  18. "Performance Marketing Brands Expands Into Grocery Retail Market with Acquisition of Pushpins". www.businesswire.com. 2013-01-22. Retrieved 2019-03-06.
  19. "Ebates Inc. Acquires Extrabux®". www.businesswire.com. 2014-03-17. Retrieved 2019-03-06.
  20. "Ebates Acquires Shopular". www.businesswire.com. 2016-03-24. Retrieved 2019-03-06.
  21. "Ebates Acquires Cartera Commerce". www.businesswire.com. 2017-01-27. Retrieved 2019-03-06.
  22. "Ebates Acquires ShopStyle From PopSugar Inc". www.businesswire.com. 2017-02-24. Retrieved 2019-03-06.
  23. "Rakuten Review: Rakuten vs. Ebates - What is Changing". Dyer News. 2019-03-08. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  24. "Ebates Hotels Review: Earn 10% Cash Back". Hustler Money Blog. 2018-02-22. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  25. "Rakuten Review: Rakuten vs. Ebates - What is Changing". Dyer News. 2019-03-08. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
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