The Loyalty Newswire from The Wise Marketer
This edition covers: 7-Eleven, Albertsons Media Collective, AI & Copyright, AI & Loyalty, Club Wingstop, CNN vs. Perplexity, Converge BizFriends, Florida vs. OpenAI, Gas Station Brands, Gen Z & Millennials, Mobile Payments, Mobile Wallets, Pricer/Sobeys, Restaurant Loyalty, Retail Media Networks, Sam’s Club, Stater Bros., TELUS Rewards, TUI Smiles, Uber Travel
FROM THE EDITOR
A packed week at the intersection of loyalty, retail media, and AI:
◆ Club Wingstop launches with a cultural-currency spin on loyalty — Members Eat First — partnering with pop culture icon Maura Higgins to make rewards feel like belonging.
◆ Uber expands into hotel bookings via Expedia Group, adding another node to its fast-growing travel and loyalty ecosystem.
◆ 7-Eleven’s Gulp Media Network goes audio, rolling out Gulp Radio through a partnership with QSIC — the latest evolution of the largest coast-to-coast immediate-consumption retail media network in the U.S.
◆ Sam’s Club reframes its MAP platform as the first Retail Experience Network™, positioning 40 years of first-party member data as a joy engine, not just an ad platform.
◆ CNN files the first AI copyright lawsuit by a television network, suing Perplexity for allegedly reproducing its content at scale.
◆ Florida Attorney General sues OpenAI and Sam Altman, accusing the company of prioritizing profit over safety in a sweeping legal action covering harm, addiction, and negligence.
Also this week: Restaurant Loyalty Specialists releases its Loyalty Frontier Research report, TUI launches a global loyalty program, and TELUS Rewards picks up global award recognition. Short Takes cover mobile wallets, Gen Z & Millennial trends in Spain, and more.
Bill Hanifin, Managing Editor — The Wise Marketer
SHORT TAKES
● [Global] 10 Factors Driving Consumption Habits of Gen Z and Millennials in Spain
● [Global] How Mobile Payments Are Reshaping Leisure Across the African Continent
● [Global] Hyatt Investor Day Message: Point Devaluation Will Double EBITDA
● [Global] Mastercard Retailer Cloud Unites AI-Driven Fraud, Authentication and Payment Optimization
● [Global] Why Mobile Wallets Are Becoming the New Bank Branch
● [CA] TELUS Rewards Earns Global Loyalty Award Recognition
● [Global] TUI Launches TUI Smiles Rewards, a Global Loyalty Program
● [US] Zeta Global CEO Backs AI Platform as Loyalty Data Gaps Emerge
FEATURED STORIES
Wingstop Turns Loyalty into Cultural Currency with the Launch of Club Wingstop
Built on the belief that Members Eat First, Club Wingstop is the brand’s next-generation loyalty program — equal parts rewards engine and cultural experience. To launch it, Wingstop tapped reality star and pop culture icon Maura Higgins, whose fan credibility amplifies the program’s core message: loyalty actually pays off. The move signals a deliberate shift from transactional points to community and identity, positioning Club Wingstop as a platform that earns belonging, not just repeat purchases.
Uber Expands Partnership Network with Hotel Bookings and New In-App Features
Uber’s loyalty ecosystem keeps expanding. Building on existing integrations with Marriott Bonvoy, Delta Air Lines, and major rental car brands, Uber has now partnered with Expedia Group to enable hotel bookings directly in the Uber app. With over 1.5 million merchant and restaurant partners globally through Uber Eats, the company is assembling a points-and-perks network that rivals traditional travel loyalty programs. For loyalty strategists, Uber is a masterclass in value-accretive partnership architecture.
7-Eleven Gulp Media Network Adds Radio Rollout
7-Eleven’s Gulp Media Network — built on purchase and behavioral data from 100 million rewards members and 12 million daily shoppers across 13,000+ locations — has added an audio channel. Through a partnership with QSIC, Gulp Radio extends the network’s reach into in-store sound. The Brainfreeze Collective, a 229,000-member research panel, sharpens qualitative insights. As retail media matures, 7-Eleven’s multi-format approach sets a high bar for what an immediate-consumption RMN can become.
▶ Read the full story on CSNews
Stater Bros. Partners with In-Store Marketplace to Launch In-Store Retail Media Network
In-Store Marketplace (ISM), the industry’s first centralized platform for digital in-store media integration, has partnered with Stater Bros. Markets — the largest privately owned grocery chain in Southern California — to launch a new retail media network. The partnership gives advertisers programmatic access to 2.5 million weekly shoppers across 165 stores via audio and digital screens. For regional grocers, this signals a compelling path to monetizing shopper data without building infrastructure from scratch.
Pricer and JRTech Solutions Sign Digital Store Transformation Deal with Sobeys in Canada
Pricer AB and its Canadian partner JRTech Solutions have signed a $51M USD agreement with Sobeys to deploy multicolor electronic shelf labels across 300–350 stores over 18 months. For loyalty and data practitioners, the significance goes beyond signage: dynamic shelf-edge pricing enables real-time personalization and promotional agility at scale. As Canadian grocers compete on value, intelligent shelf infrastructure becomes a key loyalty-adjacent capability.
Converge Launches BizFriends Rewards, a Loyalty Program for MSMEs
Philippine telco Converge has launched BizFriends Rewards, a loyalty and engagement program tailored to micro, small, and medium enterprises. Built around three pillars — Choice, Chill, and Circle — the program bundles contract renewal perks, lifestyle benefits, and community development opportunities alongside connectivity services. It’s a rare example of B2B loyalty done with genuine empathy for the customer segment: small business owners who need both operational value and a sense of belonging to a larger network.
Want an In-Depth Look at the State of Restaurant Loyalty Today?
Restaurant Loyalty Specialists (RLS) has released its latest Loyalty Frontier Research report, drawing on in-depth interviews with more than 50 industry professionals to map how loyalty strategies are evolving. The report is designed to give operators an objective, data-grounded view of what’s working, what’s changing, and how to navigate the road ahead. Required reading for anyone building or managing a restaurant loyalty program in 2026.
Forget Retail Media Networks; Sam’s Club Operates the First Retail Experience Platform
Sam’s Club is rebranding its Member Access Platform (MAP) as the first Retail Experience Network™ — a deliberate repositioning from ad platform to member experience engine. With four decades of first-party data on purchases, searches, and club visits, MAP transforms advertising into personalized moments that “spark joy.” No cookies required. For loyalty professionals watching retail media’s evolution, Sam’s Club is making the case that member-first data architecture is both a competitive moat and a brand differentiator.
▶ Learn more about Sam’s Club MAP
Albertsons Media Collective Leads Effort to Standardize Performance Metrics for Retail Media
Albertsons’ Liz Roche is calling for the retail media industry to mature its measurement standards, with incremental return on ad spend (iROAS) as the anchor metric. Her argument: retail media sits at the intersection of media, merchandising, data, and commerce — and measurement must reflect that complexity. Albertsons has introduced onsite incrementality measurement to help advertisers understand what revenue actually resulted from their spend. It’s a governance push as much as a metrics one, and the industry needs it.
▶ Read the full perspective from Albertsons
Who Are the “Ten Best” Gas Stations in the US?
USA Today’s 10Best panel has named the top gas station brands in the U.S., combining expert nominations with reader votes. Kwik Trip, Royal Farms, QuikTrip, Allsup’s/Yesway, and RaceTrac led the list. For loyalty practitioners in the convenience and fuel sector, rankings like this offer a useful signal: the brands that win on experience, not just price, are the ones earning the top spots. Click through to see what made each brand stand out.
▶ See the full USA Today 10Best list
CNN Sues Perplexity Over Alleged AI Copyright Infringement
CNN has filed suit against Perplexity AI, alleging the company unlawfully copies and distributes CNN’s journalism to power its AI-generated responses. The lawsuit marks CNN’s first AI copyright action and the first by any television network — joining a growing wave of publisher litigation against generative AI companies. The core issue is one the entire media and content industry is watching: how to ensure fair compensation when AI tools route audiences away from original sources.
Florida Sues OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, Accusing Them of Putting Profit Over Safety
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has filed a sweeping civil lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman, alleging the company knowingly put profit ahead of user safety. The suit claims ChatGPT has facilitated violence and poses addiction and suicide risks, particularly to younger users. Legal claims span unfair trade practices, product liability, public nuisance, and negligence. Whether or not it succeeds, the lawsuit foreshadows the regulatory and liability environment AI companies will navigate as their products become mainstream consumer tools.
▶ Read the full story on Politico
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