Since 2015, Nico Winkelhaus has been responsible for various digitalisation initiatives at PAYBACK as Head of Digital Marketing. His primary focus is on expanding and monetising the digital reach. His team of approximately sixty people covers areas such as performance marketing, retail media, marketing technology, and business development.
Prior to this, he spent over a decade in the digital publishing industry, working for companies like ProSiebenSat.1 and Condé Nast. In his earlier days, he founded online magazines for computer games, back when the World Wide Web was still a niche for geeks.
In your own words, what’s your role in the app business right now?
My role is to grow and monetise PAYBACK’s digital reach. I focus on scaling our mobile user base and ensuring the app delivers high-value performance for our partners. It’s about using data-driven insights to make the app not just a loyalty tool, but the most relevant marketing platform in the user’s pocket.
How did you end up working in apps?
I spend way too much time staring at my PC or my phone anyway. I figured if I made it my job, I could at least tell my family I’m ‘doing market research’ instead of admitting I’m just addicted to my screen. 😁
What are you most excited about in apps right now?
I love that apps are bringing people back into physical stores. For a while, digital was seen as the enemy of brick-and-mortar retail, but now it’s the bridge. Seeing how a digital push notification can drive immediate foot traffic into a local partner store is still magic to me. It’s the perfect blend of tech and real-world action. Plus, gamification elements are finally getting smart, making shopping actually fun instead of just a chore.
Is there anyone you’d like to shout out to who has influenced your journey in the app industry?
I have to shout out to the entire PAYBACK team across all functions. The app is just the visible tip of the iceberg; what keeps it running is the massive effort below the surface. From partner management and sales negotiating the deals, to tech, product, data, legal, marketing, finance, customer service, etc. — it takes the entire team to make a loyalty program of this scale work smoothly for our users.
What’s in your app tech stack?
Our stack is largely ‘Made in Munich’. To handle millions of real-time interactions daily, we found that building in-house beats buying external tools. It keeps us independent and ensures our technology grows exactly as fast as our business does.
What do you like most about working in apps?
It’s the fact that the playbook gets rewritten every 12-24 months. What worked perfectly last year might be obsolete today. This constant pressure to adapt and innovate forces you to stay curious and agile. I find navigating these shifting market dynamics much more motivating than managing a static product.
What one thing would you change about the app industry?
I would level the playing field between the platform gatekeepers and app developers. My wish is for a truly open ecosystem where the best product wins based on user value, not based on who owns the operating system. We need fair competition to drive real innovation in Europe.
If you weren’t working in apps what would you be doing?
I see myself running a small Espresso bar. It would be a place with strict opening hours: coffee until noon, and strictly white wine thereafter. I’d call it the ultimate work-life balance.
iOS or Android?
Android, of course.
What apps have been most useful to you over the last year?
Gemini.
What’s on your Spotify playlist?
It’s a wild mix. If I’m driving the kids, it’s 100% ‘mini disco’ on repeat. If I’m in charge of the aux cord for a dinner party, we switch to trance, house, and pop classics. I like to think I have the best of both worlds — high energy in both cases.
Any TV show recommendations?
The Last of Us.
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