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Loyalty Newswire – May 3rd, 2021

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By: Wise Marketer Staff |

Posted on May 3, 2021

Welcome back to the Wise Marketer. Every Monday we compile a list of the latest customer loyalty and marketing news to make it easy for busy professionals to quickly digest important topics. Additionally, we cover payments and data privacy news, if that's your thing. If you enjoy our content and want to show your support, subscribe to our newsletter for exclusive content, events and more! Don't forget to follow us on social media!

  • After nearly 20 years, Aveda has decided to update its loyalty program
  • Beverage brand Sparkling Ice announced the launch of its new rewards program with a focus on charitable giving
  • Barclays View Mastercard will replace its existing Barclaycard with Apple Rewards, however, it won't be available for new applicants
  • As part of its commitment to making women's health care more convenient and accessible, CVS Health has launched a new initiative to focus on women's health and wellness in May
  • Convenience store chain, Dash In, has selected Hathway to develop a unified mobile experience
  • After three years, a union representing Macy's employees has secured a victory as an independent arbitrator ruled that Macy's must exclude departments, such as cosmetics and men's suits, from using self-checkout
  • Splitit has unveiled Splitit Plus, a new service enabling merchants to offer installment payments
  • Rectangle Health recently revamped its website to create a seamless, user-friendly environment that's capable of accepting digital payments
  • Experts believe that both NFC and QR codes have a future in the mobile payments industry
  • Mayo Clinic expands their existing partnership with TripleBlind as they participate in its recent funding round
  • China's latest revisions to its Personal Information Protection Law and Data Security Law would impose stricter requirements and prevent Chinese firms from providing data to foreign agencies
  • President Joe Biden is calling upon Congress to invest $80 million in Amtrak's rail network

LOYALTY PROGRAM NEWS:

Aveda updates its loyalty program after nearly 20 years

Highlight: Aveda’s loyalty program, previously called Aveda Pure Privilege, is a central pillar of its business and has been operational for two decades. It has 1 million members across the U.S., the U.K. and Canada. The new program, called Aveda Plus Rewards, offers more benefits to its members, including new personalized reward options and the ability to redeem rewards more frequently. Signing up for both the previous and current program costs $10. The previous program included an annual birthday gift worth $23 and free or discounted services as redemption rewards; these are still available within Pure Privilege.

Sparkling Ice Launches New “Purposeful Prizing” Rewards Program

Highlight: “We’re excited to offer a new opportunity for consumers to give back to those in need and to help make a difference for families and children across the country,” said Sarah Gustat, Executive Vice President of Marketing at Talking Rain, the maker of Sparkling Ice. “Our team is committed to spreading a message of positivity and togetherness, and we’re thrilled to be able to support these four charity partners through our new interactive rewards program.” 

Barclays is adding a new rewards card to its lineup — but it won’t be available to new cardholders

Highlight: If you’re a current cardholder of the Barclaycard Visa with Apple Rewards, you’re in luck. The new Barclays View Mastercard is an upgrade from the existing card, thanks to its improved rewards rate. The new View card offers a better rewards rate for restaurant purchases and adds new bonus categories, including internet, select streaming, phone and TV services and grocery store purchases. The downside is that there’s no longer a bonus for Apple purchases, as this new card does not offer a rewards program tied to Apple. While you can apply for the Apple Card, you’ll also likely be able to lock in bonus rewards by purchasing Apple products through a shopping portal.

RETAIL NEWS:

CVS Health Announces New Initiatives to Support Women's Health and Wellness in May

Highlight: In addition to the free heart health screenings, CVS Pharmacy will provide accessible solutions and special offers to support women's physical and mental wellbeing. From now through May 22, ExtraCare Rewards program members will receive deals on women's wellness items in-store, including weekly promotions for products in a variety of categories such as vitamins, skin care as well as feminine care and beauty products to help women feel their best.

Hathway Selected to Unify Customer Experience for Convenience Store Chain Dash In

Highlight: “Hathway was specifically built to partner with industry-innovating restaurants and convenience stores, with proven expertise delivering results at the intersection of data, human behavior and technology,” shared Kevin Rice, CMO, Hathway. “We’re honored to partner with beloved brand Dash In that truly does aim to put the customer first across all experiences and are eager to start delivering results through our custom solution.” Hathway’s digital transformation work is expected to launch in Fall 2021, helping to connect customers from Dash In’s 55 convenience stores and Splash In’s 47 car wash locations.

As more retailers turn to tech, Macy’s store employees score victory in challenging self-checkout in mobile app

Highlight: When Macy’s rolled out a new self-checkout feature in its mobile app in 2018, the department store touted how customers could browse stores but skip the hassle of the checkout line. For some store associates, however, that set off alarm bells — and concerns that it would jeopardize their jobs or dock their pay. Three years later, a union that represents Macy’s employees has scored a victory in challenging the tech-based approach and how it cuts them out of commissions. An independent arbitrator ruled last week that Macy’s violated its bargaining agreement and said the company must exclude departments, such as men’s suits and cosmetics, that have commission-based pay from self-checkout.

PAYMENTS NEWS:

Splitit introduces payment gateway for installment payments

Highlight: Merchants can now begin accepting installment payments faster than ever before. They can sign up directly through the Splitit Plus gateway or via one of the 90-plus integrated gateway partners currently supported by Splitit worldwide. Approval is quick, meaning merchants can offer interest and fee-free payment installments to customers in minutes. “We created Splitit Plus with a customer-first approach to provide an exceptional merchant experience with Splitit. This innovation of a payment gateway built exclusively for installments makes it a fast, simple solution for merchants of any size to begin accepting installment payments in minutes,” noted Splitit CEO Brad Paterson.

Rectangle Health Refreshes Website to Expand Access to Payment Technology

Highlight: "We aim to make the digital payment process a seamless patient experience that's also compliant and transparent, and we wanted our website to reflect this," said Dominick Colabella, Chief Executive Officer of Rectangle Health. "Innovation is at the core of our business, and as our website is truly our digital front door, it was necessary for it to embody our purpose-driven, future-built vision. With this website refresh, we hope to make it more accessible and easier for practitioners to self-direct their own customer journey toward integrating digital payment solutions into their systems."

NFC or QR codes? Both have a path forward in mobile payments

Highlight: Experts worried that NFC and QR would be the next Betamax and VHS, with only one winner. Today, the technologies are more like Coke and Pepsi, with each appealing to different tastes. In time, the market niches for NFC or QR codes have become much clearer in the U.S. and other markets. A trend toward contactless payments and contactless card issuance, beginning even before the global pandemic made cash less desirable, was clearly steering payments toward an NFC chip in cards and phones. NFC has overcome earlier cost concerns and moved to the forefront as potentially the best option for an open-loop transportation ticket and payment network, as well as being a more secure and easier option at the retail POS. But QR codes remain strong, particularly for international payment options where consumer technology is less consistent.

DATA & PRIVACY NEWS:

Mayo Clinic invests in data privacy startup TripleBlind

Highlight: Researchers at Mayo Clinic are using TripleBlind’s tools to validate interoperability of algorithms on encrypted data, and train new algorithms on private data. TripleBlind’s API-driven virtual exchange solution is based on breakthroughs in advanced mathematics, which the Mayo Clinic team is validating. The data and intellectual property in the algorithm is kept secure and addresses the issue of healthcare systems having to either transfer data or algorithms outside their institution for experts to train or conduct research. The encryption conduit Mayo Clinic is evaluating will eliminate the need to transfer data externally or share algorithms.

China Consults on Revisions to Data Privacy, Data Security Laws

Highlight: Last week (26 April), draft revisions to the Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) and the Data Security Law were submitted to the NPC (National People’s Congress) Standing Committee for review. China solicited public opinions on a draft of the PIPL in October 2020, seeking to establish a set of rules for the handling of personal information with informed consent as its core principle, and to impose more stringent restrictions on the handling of sensitive personal information. Under the draft, which is based on the EU’s GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), violators would face a fine of up to CNY 50 million, or 5 percent of the previous year’s turnover.

TRAVEL & HOSPITALITY NEWS:

America's Amtrak moment could finally be here

Highlight: Subject to the whims of politicians in Washington D.C. and constantly under pressure from the well-funded and hugely influential oil, automotive and airline industry lobbies, the national passenger rail operator has been threatened with oblivion on several occasions. But as it celebrates a 50th anniversary that few would have been brave enough to predict, there are signs that Amtrak's moment may finally have arrived... President Joe Biden, a long-time rail commuter rejoicing in the nickname "Amtrak Joe," is calling on Congress to invest $80 billion in the rail network.

Check out last week's newswire: Loyalty Newswire – April 26th, 2021

The Loyalty Newswire is compiled and edited by the staff at The Wise Marketer.