This Week's News
The weekly Loyalty Newswire from The Wise Marketer delivers a curated list of the latest news and announcements from around the globe on all topics related to customer loyalty. We share news on a spectrum of topics, all with the intention of giving you an “info boost” to start your week.
The Loyalty Newswire makes it simple for busy professionals (that means YOU) to quickly digest important industry news and to *maybe even* enable you to star in your next big meeting.
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- Global Hotel Alliance Reports Record 2023 With Further Growth Expected
- Engage People Reports Substantial Growth In Pay With Points Transactions, New Members In 2023
- Loyalty Academy CLMP™ Certification Workshop In Dubai Is Next Week. Don’t Miss It.
- Loyalty Fraud Takes Many Forms. How Prepared Are You?
- Abans Group (Sri Lanka) Launches New Loyalty Program
- The Loyalty Academy Joins Let’s Talk Loyalty In New Wiser Marketer Series
- New Mckinsey Report Shows Subtle Shifts In US Consumer Behavior With Consequences For CPG Brands
- Zenith Marketing, Backers Of The Irish Loyalty Awards, Brings You Loyalty Global Connect Dubai
- Short Takes, Big News
Global Hotel Alliance Reports Record 2023 With Further Growth Expected
UAE headquartered Global Hotel Alliance, the world’s largest alliance of 40 independent hotel brands, reported its highest ever loyalty revenue of US$2.3 billion, up 68% versus 2022. Among many stats shared in the press release, GHA reported that the US was the top feeder market for GHA hotels contributing $268 million, over 10% of revenue, while international stays contributed 60% of revenue, with Maldives, Thailand, and Portugal as most popular destinations. Further growth is expected in 2024, as GHA celebrates its 20th anniversary, with January already trending at 15% over 2023.
Engage People Reports Substantial Growth In Pay With Points Transactions, New Members In 2023
Engage People, the only loyalty network that enables program members to pay with points (PwP) directly at checkout, reported a 68% increase in transactions from 2022, with more than 23.3 billion points redeemed in 2023 across its Access Plus network. Engage People saw year-over-year growth of more than 48% in total sales in 2023. Additionally, the company continued to secure new retail and financial institution partners, bringing its network to more than 53 million members. Read the entire press release here.
Jonathan Silver, CEO of Engage People, commented "Consumers are showing a growing preference for flexibility in using their rewards points, which has helped us establish new partnerships with retailers and financial institutions interested in revamping their loyalty programs. We look forward to the continued growth of Access Plus and the chance to offer more consumers the convenience of paying with points at checkout."
Loyalty Academy CLMP™ Certification Workshop In Dubai Is Next Week. Don’t Miss It.
The Loyalty Academy™ and QBF Consulting are presenting a public Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional™ Workshop to be held in Dubai 27-29 February. The workshop will be led by Chayya and Manav Fernandez, principles of QBF Consulting. For those who wish to achieve the distinction of Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional™ (CLMP), this workshop is for you! More information can be found here.
Loyalty Fraud Takes Many Forms. How Prepared Are You?
PC Optimum is one of the stalwart loyalty programs in Canada that offers customers value across multiple brands including Loblaws, Shoppers Drug Mart and Superstore. A recent theft of $1,000 worth of Optimum points from a member account was documented in this article. The tale sheds light on the darker facets of loyalty programs. There is no doubt that loyalty currency is recognized as valuable and a worthy target of fraudsters.
The importance of building a skillset in protecting all forms of loyalty data cannot be understated. Fraudsters are applying different approaches, so there is no just one answer in lining up a defense for your brand. In the PC Optimum case, the “bad guys” subscribed the account holder to numerous mailing lists and inundated the member with emails to hide notification of fraudulent transactions. By the time the person discovered the problem, the value was gone. Airline Information group covers this topic well and this post from Michael Smith, Chief Guide and Connecter, gives insights into the case of PC Optimum.
Abans Group (Sri Lanka) Launches New Loyalty Program
Abans Group is a conglomerate based in Sri Lanka that has been trusted for over 50 years by millions of customers. The group operates in the retail, real estate development, environmental management and logistics sectors and includes brands spanning several product categories that range from appliances, electronics, furniture to apparel, real estate and vehicles.
Abans just launched an all-new loyalty program, My Abans Lifetime Rewards. The new and improved program is a tier-based rewards program that allows customers to earn and redeem from all Abans showrooms and through purchase at BuyAbans.com.
The Loyalty Academy Joins Let’s Talk Loyalty In New Wiser Marketer Series
Senior faculty from the Loyalty Academy™, Bill Hanifin and Aaron Dauphinee, are back to host the latest episode of the “Wiser Loyalty” podcast series. This week they bring with them insights that dive deeper into this month’s focus on the Psychology of Human Behavior. #499:Endowed Progress Effect: Perception [of progress] is Reality.
Learn about the Endowed Progress Effect and why creating momentum through incentives or benefits for your members, when onboarding or after they’ve set a redemption goal can influence continued behaviors. Bill and Aaron provide their thoughts on its application to Loyalty using both sector and brand specific examples.
The constructs discussed each month are taken from the Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional™ (CLMP™) curriculum and elements from different courses will be covered as a theme each month.
New Mckinsey Report Shows Subtle Shifts In US Consumer Behavior With Consequences For CPG Brands
McKinsey published a new report documenting that US consumers are purchasing fewer items across categories, reflecting subtle shifts in shopping behavior with meaningful consequences for consumer-packaged-goods players. Despite a strong economy and low unemployment, consumers are buying fewer items—and spending more to do so.
The report shares that volume declines in consumer-packaged goods (CPG) are dramatic, especially considering the growth that occurred in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The article covers specifics elements of recent CPG volume declines, with insights into why consumer behaviors are shifting. Find out what this means for US CPG businesses in 2024.
Zenith Marketing, Backers Of The Irish Loyalty Awards, Brings You Loyalty Global Connect Dubai
Loyalty Connect Dubai 2024 is a new event brought to the market by a highly experienced group based in Ireland, Zenith Marketing. The event will be held in the World Trade Centre Dubai 23-24, April 2024. Brands can register free using this link.
Eileen McGuinness CLMP™ and Marian Kelly are organizing this massive expo in the “crossroads of the world”, Dubai. The conference and expo will also be the site of the International Loyalty Awards which will be held outside of London for the first time in its 13-year history. Zenith Marketing has been managing the ILA over the past two years and the Gala Awards Evening will be held in a new collaborative partnership with the Loyalty Connect Global conference on 24 April. The theme for this year’s event is ‘Unity in Shaping Tomorrow Together.’
Media partners for both events include Australian Loyalty Association Let’s Talk Loyalty, Loyalty Magazine, and The Wise Marketer.
Short Takes, Big News
- Is a cashless society around the corner?
- Supermarket loyalty program summary for Northern Ireland
- Top 20 Most Valuable Fintech Companies in the US
- IHG One Rewards Iberostar Beachfront Resorts Up To 80,000 Bonus Points
- Geek Retreat launches new loyalty app to reward customers
- Will “Shockvertising” be the next big thing in marketing?
New Job Opps in Customer Loyalty
Antavo has two new job openings you may want to explore:
- Customer Director – London (Remote)
- Solution Consultant - London (Remote)
