Telstra Plus Market – which will open for registrations in March – aims to connect Telstra Plus customers and Australian small businesses.

"We know how tough the last couple of years has been for Australian small business, and that's why want to make it even more rewarding to support businesses across the country," said Telstra group executive, consumer and small business Michael Ackland.

"Telstra Plus Market is a new and exciting online marketplace to help small businesses tap into a wider pool of potential customers."

The Telstra Plus loyalty program already has four million members, and Telstra's ambition is to reach more than six million by the end of 2025.

Telstra Plus Market offers will be created by participating small businesses and made available exclusively to Telstra Plus members.

Members will be able to earn bonus points from Telstra Plus Market transactions, and then redeem those points in the Telstra Plus Rewards store.

"We know from our own research that COVID lockdowns placed significant financial pressure on small business with almost 60% reporting a decline in revenue. We want to help the many thousands of small business owners across the country get back on their feet," said Ackland.

"Whether you're a florist, bookseller, café owner, bicycle repair store or local greengrocer, you will be able to boost your online presence and e-commerce opportunities in an affordable and accessible way, by creating and managing your own Telstra Plus points-based offers."

He added "At the end of last year, we piloted the launch of Telstra Plus Market with over 40 retailers and these businesses were able to use the platform to reach new customers and grow revenue."

One of those retailers was Muscle Mat. Founder Hunter Stark said "As a small business we are willing to try whatever we can to reach new customers.

"Telstra Plus Market gave us access to a new cohort of customers that we wouldn't normally reach with our own marketing efforts. It's a really accessible platform and was so easy to set up.

"You'd be pretty silly to turn down an opportunity to tap into this market for your business – we absolutely plan to use Telstra Plus Market when it launches."

In related news, Telstra is again running its Big Plugs for Small Business promotion.

Small businesses that join or sign in to Telstra Plus and enter the promotion before midnight on 21 March are in the running to win Telstra's ad space during Round 8 of the 2022 Toyota AFL Premiership Season or Round 9 of the 2022 NRL Telstra Premiership.

There are also 17 prizes of four million Telstra Plus points and 100 prizes of 40,000 points.

Image: Devo Vagabond via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.