Every Monday, the editors at The Wise Marketer curate a list of the latest customer loyalty and marketing news to make it simple for busy professionals to quickly digest important, trending topics. Additionally, we cover the retail, travel, hospitality, payments, and data privacy sectors. Show your support by joining our mailing list to gain access to exclusive content, events, and promotions. Don't forget to follow us on social media!
- McDonald's continues to expand its new loyalty program, My McDonald's Rewards, as the company prepares for a nationwide rollout later this year
- CVS Pharmacy has announced a major overhaul of its ExtraCare Rewards program, which marks the first changes to the program's core 2% back offer in 20 years
- For the first time in the brand's history, Popeyes has launched a loyalty program
- The state of New York has unveiled a new "Camper Loyalty and Reward Program", designed specifically for overnight stays at NY State campgrounds
- Home Chef expands its partnership with Points as Frontier Airlines becomes its newest loyalty partner
- DoorDash and Albertsons have collaborated to offer consumers access to a one-hour on-demand delivery service
- PayPal has reduced U.S. payment rates in response to the increasing competition in the online/digital payments space
- Colorado has officially become the third state in the U.S. to pass data privacy legislation
- WhatsApp has filed a lawsuit against the Indian government's new data privacy rules which require messages to be stored in a traceable database
- New Wyndham Rewards and Bakkt partnership provides Wyndham members access to Bakkt's digital platform
LOYALTY PROGRAM NEWS:
McDonald's Is Quietly Expanding Its Loyalty Program—Here Are the Freebies You Can Get
Highlight: Free food from McDonald's is finally within reach. My McDonald's Rewards, the new loyalty program that the chain has been testing since last year, is continuing to expand pending a nationwide rollout later this year... The new loyalty program will replace My McCafe Rewards, the previous, more limited one the chain had in place. Customers will be able to keep all their My McCafe Rewards points when making the switch.
CVS Pharmacy Announces Major Update to ExtraCare Rewards Program, Delivering Simpler, Faster and Recurring Rewards
Highlight: Beginning in July, the 2% back in ExtraBucks® Rewards that ExtraCare members love to earn on most purchases will show up in the CVS App, on CVS.com, and on digital and paper receipts, moments after a purchase. The program is also adding a new birthday benefit for its 74 million members. These are the first changes to the program's core 2% back benefit in its 20-year history... "Our customers are at the heart of everything we do. We've evolved our ExtraCare program following an in-depth assessment that revealed what members love most about the program," said Michele Driscoll, VP Customer Engagement, Loyalty and Personalization, CVS Health. "They appreciate the value their membership provides, and they told us they want more flexibility in how they access and use their rewards."
Popeyes Launches First Loyalty Program in Brand History
Highlight: As a brand rooted in Southern hospitality and culture, the Popeyes brand wants every guest to feel like family, and the new Popeyes Rewards program allows the beloved fried chicken brand to return the love with exclusive access to deals, celebrations, member experiences, swag, the chance to earn and redeem points for some of their favorite menu items, and more... “We have been humbled to see our fans express their loyalty for our brand time and time again,” says Bruno Cardinali, Popeyes Chief Marketing Officer. “Our goal has been to create a perfect loyalty program that matches and rewards their unparalleled enthusiasm.”
NY announces state campground loyalty and reward program
Highlight: On Friday, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation Commissioner Erik Kulleseid and Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos announced the first-ever Camper Loyalty and Reward Program. This program is specifically for overnight stays at all New York State campgrounds. “We know there are many outdoor destinations and lodging options available across New York, and this new Loyalty/Reward program is a way of saying thanks to those visitors who enjoy our state campgrounds and return with their families and friends time and time again,” said Kulleseid.
Home Chef Expands Partnership with Points; Adds Frontier Airlines as a New Loyalty Partner
Highlight: Launched today, members of the ultra low-cost carrier’s loyalty program, FRONTIER Miles, will earn 700 miles when they make an order with Home Chef*... Rob MacLean, CEO of Points, also commented: “We are delighted to be strengthening our collaboration with Home Chef once more and to be connecting them with our longstanding partner, Frontier Airlines. Providing members with multiple ways to earn points/miles is a priority among many travel brands. We have been working with Frontier for 17 years and are excited to be extending the services we deliver to them to include this new opportunity that helps members get more value from their program even without traveling.”
RETAIL NEWS:
DoorDash and Albertsons Companies Partner to Launch Unprecedented Access to On-Demand Grocery Delivery
Highlight: As expectations for convenience, speed and ease continue to grow, consumers can now order groceries and essentials on-demand for delivery within an hour through DoorDash's top-rated marketplace with no time slot, queues or minimum order size required. Albertsons will offer more than 40,000 grocery items from stores for delivery via DoorDash, including fresh and prepared food, core grocery, floral and convenience items at select stores... "We are committed to expanding our delivery experience in order to meet our customers' needs whenever, wherever and however they want," said Chris Rupp, Chief Customer and Digital Officer, Albertsons Companies.
PAYMENTS NEWS:
PayPal overhauls U.S. rates as payments rivalry heats up
Highlight: PayPal Holdings Inc will lift merchant costs for its branded payment products while cutting those for behind-the-scenes processing of some Visa and Mastercard transactions, a bold move in an increasingly competitive digital payments sector. The strategic shift reflects PayPal's growing power in online transactions, which surged during the COVID-19 pandemic. As consumers and businesses flocked to the company, a market leader, during lockdown, its active accounts mounted to 377 million, more than twice as many as in 2015. "We are changing prices to help our customers understand even more clearly where we provide value," Dan Leberman, PayPal's senior vice president for small and medium business and partners, said in an interview.
DATA & PRIVACY NEWS:
Colorado third in the nation to pass sweeping data privacy legislation
Highlight: With Senate Bill 21-190, Colorado would become the third state in the country to pass a law regulating how companies are allowed to use consumers’ personal information. The two other states are California and Virginia, according to Greg Szewczyk, a Denver-based privacy and cybersecurity attorney at Ballard Spahr... “Under the CCPA, which only applies to California residents, you have the right to access your personal information and to delete personal information and to opt out of the sale of personal information,” he explained. “The Colorado law has all of those things as well, but it also gives consumers the right to correct personal information, the right to data portability — so the right to receive your data in some sort of portable form.”
WhatsApp’s Fight With The Indian Government Over Its Data Privacy Rules May Have Global Reverberations
Highlight: In September of 2015, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sat down with Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg for a town hall at its Menlo Park headquarters, employees cheered. Zuckerberg praised the Indian Prime Minister for his social media savvy, and Modi complimented the CEO’s Internet.org initiative bringing connectivity to the rural areas of India... The relationship has frayed since then. Facebook-owned WhatsApp is suing the Modi-led Indian government over new Internet laws which it says “severely undermine” the privacy of its user, requiring messaging platforms to store messages in a traceable database.
TRAVEL & HOSPITALITY NEWS:
Bakkt Partners with Wyndham Rewards to Expand Travel Offerings
Highlight: Named the number one hotel rewards program by readers of USA TODAY, Wyndham Rewards will integrate with the Bakkt® platform, which allows users to easily convert loyalty currencies like points to cash, bitcoin, or discounted gift cards. In addition, Bakkt users also have the ability to pay with points directly with a growing ecosystem of merchants. Integration of Wyndham Rewards with the Bakkt platform is expected to be completed later this year, with a number of Bakkt features becoming available to Wyndham Rewards members at that time. “More than ever, we want to make digital assets as liquid as any fiat currency, so that they become more accessible and easier to use,” said Sheela Zemlin, Chief Revenue Officer at Bakkt.
Did you miss last week's newswire? Stay informed: Loyalty Newswire – June 14th, 2021
The Loyalty Newswire is compiled and edited by the staff at The Wise Marketer.