This Week's News
By the time you read this week’s Loyalty Newswire from The Wise Marketer, the solar eclipse will be passing over the earth. Many of you will have the opportunity to see this from the “zones of totality” and from what we have read, this is potentially a life changing experience. We invite our readers to send us notes on their experience if they have this opportunity.
We stop short of saying that this Newswire will be “life-changing,” but we do hope that it makes you feel more informed and prepared for the week ahead. We are continually amazed by how much news there is in the world of Customer Loyalty. We find these items firsthand and it's one of our differentiators from others who publish “news” that is just copied from other sources.
Thanks for being on this journey with us!
Stay. Loyal. Always.
- New CRMC Webinar - Revolutionizing Rewards: The Currency of Customer Loyalty
- Foot Locker is Piloting a New Loyalty Program in Canada
- Albertsons Streamlines “for U” Loyalty Program
- PetSmart Updates Treats Rewards
- Zephyrhills® lets The Rewards Drop
- Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons customers over certain age losing out at checkout
- Target Circle Week celebrates by bringing back SNL character played by Kristen Wiig
- US: Grubhub will acquire restaurant loyalty platform LevelUp
- 2024 Paytronix Online Ordering Report available
- DataCandy Unveils Exciting New Growth Features with a Bold Brand Refresh
- PAR Punchh® Announced Partnership with Attentive
- Skipify and Visa Partner to Extend Reach and Capabilities of Skipify's Connected Wallet
- Wendy’s Launches AI-Driven Loyalty Platform to Deliver Customized Rewards
- Australia - Ascott’s Global Loyalty Platform ‘Ascott Star Rewards’ announces achievements in FY 2023
- Air India Launches its Much-Awaited Flying Returns FFP
- Octopos and Nutmeg Marketplace Partnership Delivers on Customer Loyalty / Operational Excellence
New CRMC Webinar - Revolutionizing Rewards: The Currency of Customer Loyalty
There’s a new webinar coming on May 1, 2024, from the CRMC/Wise Marketer series. We are featuring Barbara Ann Hagen, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, ThriftBooks and Bill Schneider, Vice President of Product Marketing, SheerID as they discuss Revolutionizing Rewards: The Currency of Customer Loyalty.
In this webinar, we'll explore how ThriftBooks transformed its ReadingRewards program from discount-driven incentives to a rich, community-focused loyalty initiative. Barbara Ann and Bill will cover:
- Understanding the emotions impacting customer loyalty
- The power of marketing to communities for deep emotional connections
- Effective data attributes for personalization
- Crafting loyalty rewards to enhance your brand value and maintain customer engagement
Don’t miss this great conversation. You can register here.
Foot Locker is Piloting a New Loyalty Program in Canada
Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE: FL), the New York-based specialty athletic retailer, announced that Mary Dillon, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Mike Baughn, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, would present at the J.P. Morgan 10th Annual Retail Round Up Conference on Wednesday, April 3rd at 10:00 a.m. ET. A link to the audio can be found here and a replay of the call will be available on the same website for 30 days following the event.
During the call , the execs touted the company's new and improved loyalty program, which will launch in North America this year after a successful test in Canada.. Foot Locker is reported to be bullish that its new and improved loyalty program will drive demand and engagement.
Albertsons Streamlines “for U” Loyalty Program
Albertsons Companies operates 2,271 retail food and drug stores with 1,726 pharmacies, 401 associated fuel centers, 22 dedicated distribution centers and 19 manufacturing facilities. The Company operates stores across 34 states and the District of Columbia with 24 banners including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen, Carrs, Kings Food Markets, and Balducci's Food Lovers Market.
Albertsons announced upgrades to its "for U" shopper loyalty program, adding benefits and convenience to the program that now severs 38 million-members. In addition to the for U loyalty program, the retailer also offers an optional paid subscription program, FreshPass, available for $99 a year, or $12.99 per month, FreshPass offers unlimited free delivery on orders $30 or more, $5 monthly credit for annual subscribers, and 5% off select private brand items.
PetSmart Updates Treats Rewards
The pet supplies and services retailer announced a new Treats Rewards loyalty program, an upgrade of its previously existing loyalty offering with more than 67 million members. PetSmart says the upgraded program provides members with a more personalized and simplified shopping experience. PetSmart says 93% of its purchases are connected to a Treats Rewards account.
The updated, free to join program includes features such as new tiers, more personalized perks, Special service benefits, and Rewards for giving back.
Zephyrhills® lets The Rewards Drop
Zephyrhills is a brand of spring water sold regionally in the United States by BlueTriton Brands. It is sourced from Crystal Springs, located near Crystal Springs and Zephyrhills, Florida. The brand is offering customer rewards and incentives through its Rewards Drop program.
You can find the program Terms and Conditions here. We’ve had many requests about recommended best practices for T&C’s and so reading this might be useful to many of you.
Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons customers over certain age losing out at checkout
Major UK supermarket chains have been accused of cutting vulnerable people out of money-saving deals. Its reported that about 87 percent of UK adults owned a smartphone in 2023, but only 69 percent over age 65 use a smartphone. Charity Age UK says it found one in three people aged over 75 do not use the internet at all. This means 1.6 million people have no online access.
The Birmingham Mail reports that with thousands of older shoppers either without a smartphone or just not being internet savvy, they could be paying "disproportionately more" for their weekly shop. Stores such as Tesco, Lidl, Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Asda all operate loyalty schemes which need a smartphone or other device as a primary engagement channel.
Target Circle Week celebrates by bringing back SNL character played by Kristen Wiig
In promotion of Target Circle Week, actress Kristen Wiig is back in her beloved Saturday Night Live (SNL) role as the Target Lady to bring the laughs and her infectious enthusiasm directly to Target in the character’s first national advertising campaign.
From deals applied automatically at checkout and access to unlimited same-day delivery — plus savings on thousands of spring items — the series of 12 ad spots leaves no doubt that nobody’s more pumped for the new Target Circle and Target Circle Week deals than Target Lady. Watch the promo video here.
US: Grubhub will acquire restaurant loyalty platform LevelUp
Grubhub, an online food delivery service, announced on Monday, July 30, that it will acquire LevelUp for US$390 million, in cash. LevelUp is a mobile ordering and payments platform that restaurants can integrate into their business to offer rewards and discounts for loyal customers.
The announcement came in the company’s second quarter earnings release, which was first reported by TechCrunch. In the report, Grubhub’s CEO Matt Maloney said that this acquisition will serve an entirely different purpose from the ones the company has made before, focusing more on connecting customers and restaurants instead of expanding its current delivery reach.
2024 Paytronix Online Ordering Report available
Paytronix published the 2024 Paytronix Online Ordering Report which found that guests transacting directly with a brand order 35% more items per check compared to those who order via third-party marketplaces.
Online ordering represented 27% of all orders for restaurants and convenience stores in 2023, and operators in the top 25% of online ordering volume saw online orders jump to 62% of all their orders last year. You can read more results from the report here.
DataCandy Unveils Exciting New Growth Features with a Bold Brand Refresh
DataCandy, a prominent provider of loyalty and gift card solutions, announced the launch of new features designed to significantly benefit businesses' growth and introduced a refreshed brand with a new logo and visual identity. The company also renamed its former Enterprise package to DataCandy Pro dedicated to serving Enterprise customers with tailored solutions and unparalleled support.
PAR Punchh® Announced Partnership with Attentive
ParTech, Inc. (PAR) announced a new partnership between PAR Punchh® and Attentive, the AI marketing platform specializing in SMS marketing for leading brands. This integration will expand PAR Punchh’s capabilities to help restaurants turn anonymous guests into loyalty members, grow their loyalty membership and send engaging visuals and content with personalized offers to spark actions via SMS messaging.
The integration offers restaurants enhanced tools for customer acquisition and communication. These tools operate within a channel that 93% of customers express interest in for brand communication, according to data from Attentive’s Global Consumer Survey Report.
Skipify and Visa Partner to Extend Reach and Capabilities of Skipify's Connected Wallet
Skipify, a leading financial technology company redefining the checkout experience, announced its partnership with Visa (NYSE: V), a world leader in global payments technology, through the Visa Digital Commerce Program. Through this effort, Skipify aims to reinvent the way consumers transact, leveraging innovative technologies to simplify and accelerate the payment process.
By combining Visa's extensive digital payments expertise with Skipify's next-generation digital wallet, Skipify is poised to deliver unparalleled convenience and security to consumers at checkout.
Wendy’s Launches AI-Driven Loyalty Platform to Deliver Customized Rewards
Wendy’s Company has unveiled an AI-based loyalty platform that analyzes customer data, including purchase history and preferences, to create tailored offers and rewards. Kelli Hobbs, a loyalty and rewards expert at Valuedynamx, told PYMNTS “Customer loyalty programs must leverage AI to stay competitive. But the key to realizing the full benefits of AI in improving the customer journey lies in finding the right balance of personalization and automation, One-size-fits-all marketing doesn’t cut it, so it’s important to leverage data and AI to better understand your customers as individuals — using those insights to drive positive brand engagement on a regular basis.”
A recent study from PYMNTS Intelligence confirms personalized offers from merchants can have an enormous impact on how consumers shop, but failing to fully understand a customer’s needs can result in offers that fall flat. The survey found that nearly 83% of all consumers are interested in customized discounts and promotion offers, but only 44% said the offers they receive are relevant to their needs.
Australia - Ascott’s Global Loyalty Platform ‘Ascott Star Rewards’ announces achievements in FY 2023
The Ascott Limited (Ascott), the lodging business unit wholly owned by CapitaLand Investment (CLI), marked the 5th year of its global loyalty platform, Ascott Star Rewards (ASR), with record FY 23 results.
Sharing several metrics of achievement from FY 2023 operations, Ascott announced a record one million new ASR members in FY 2023 and said that more than 90% of Ascott’s direct web and mobile app bookings were made by ASR members. The average spending per transaction of ASR members was over 50% higher than non-members. More results can be found here.
Air India Launches its Much-Awaited Flying Returns FFP
Air India launched its transformed Flying Returns loyalty program featuring a simplified structure, customer friendly features, renamed tiers and updated brand identity. This was the first program update in over a decade and follows the airline’s revamp by TATA.
Speaking at the Skift India Summit, the airline’s CEO, Campbell Wilson, compared the overhaul of the 92-year-old carrier to a launching a start-up. New program features include a move to value-based earnings, points that never expire, new cash plus points feature, and a more simplified value award chart.
Octopos and Nutmeg Marketplace Partnership Delivers on Customer Loyalty / Operational Excellence
Nutmeg Marketplace, a leading online wholesale food and beverage supply chain company, and Octopos, a pioneer in point-of-sale (POS) technology, have joined forces to create a comprehensive solution that addresses key pain points for grocers including the need to maintain optimal inventory levels to ensuring a smooth and satisfying checkout experience for customers.
The partnership between Nutmeg Marketplace and Octopos represents a significant leap forward in resolving long standing operational challenges faced by grocery store owners. The Octopos POS system introduces an innovative way to streamline the checkout process, integrating scanner and scale technologies, supporting multiple payment methods, including SNAP and EBT, and implementing robust loyalty programs to enhance customer satisfaction.
