Welcome to our Loyalty Newswire. Each week, our team compiles a list of the latest customer loyalty and marketing news to make it convenient for busy marketing professionals to stay up to date with the latest topics. If you enjoy our content, please take a few moments to subscribe to our newsletter for exclusive offers and more! Stay safe!
- Claire's debuts new cashback rewards program to offer more options and personalized rewards
- Giant Eagle supermarkets have unveiled their new multi-tier loyalty program, myPerks
- After just one year, Target Circle has accumulated over 80 million loyalty members
- Qatar Airways has launched Student Club, a subset of the airline's loyalty program aimed at making student travel more affordable
- Walmart is selling most of its shares in Japanese retailer Seiyu as it backs out of Japanese retail market
- Chipotle launched its first digital kitchen last weekend to handle the massive increase in online ordering
- Despite the ongoing pandemic, Thom Browne plans to expand its retail footprint globally
- CVS Pharmacy becomes first major retailer to integrate Venmo and Paypal QR code technology in its point-of-sale
- California's revision to the CCPA, known as the CPRA, was recently passed, but wasn't embraced by many privacy and data rights activists
- Korea Air to become Asiana's Airlines largest shareholder in deal worth an estimated 1.8 trillion won ($1.62 billion usd)
LOYALTY PROGRAM NEWS:
Claire’s Debuts New Loyalty Program
Quotable: “The more Claire’s Stores know about their customer’s spending habits, the more the company can offer personalized rewards as well as personalize their products and services to their customer’s needs. With Claire’s Rewards, the company can collect detailed information, such as transactional data, demographics, preferences, interests, and location. Generating customer insight from the loyalty program positions Claire’s Stores to not just keep customers coming back but to coax them to spend more and more often and even move to higher-margin products”
Giant Eagle introduces myPerks, bringing its loyalty program to a new level
Quotable: “Giant Eagle’s new myPerks loyalty program is also the first multi-tier loyalty program introduced by a major U.S. supermarket, according to the company. Canton customers who earn 2,500 qualifying perks within a six-month earning period unlock the myPerks Pro tier, enabling them to earn 50% more perks on groceries, retailer gift cards, gasoline, prescriptions and more.”
Target Circle Celebrates One-Year Anniversary, Unlocks Holiday Deals for Nearly 80 Million Members
Quotable: “"In just one year, it's been amazing to see how our guests have embraced Target Circle, saving millions of dollars and helping give back to their local communities," said Rick Gomez, executive vice president and chief marketing, digital and strategy officer, Target. "Heading into the holidays, our nearly 80 million members – and growing – will have access to even more great deals. Combined with the safety and ease of our contactless same-day services, it's an unparalleled offer – with no membership fee required."”
Qatar Airways Creates Student Loyalty Program
Quotable: “This new program is part of the airline’s wider rejuvenation of its Privilege Club, the airline’s loyalty program, in the effort to give loyal customers better deals and exclusive benefits. The Student Club is open to full and part-time students from 18 to 30 years of age. The club supports students by getting better savings, special fares, extra baggage allowances, flexible changes, complimentary Super Wi-Fi and more. Members will also earn Qmiles as they fly, which they can then redeem for flights, upgrades and more.”
RETAIL NEWS:
Walmart is retreating from its effort to crack Japan’s retail market
Quotable: “Walmart Inc. is selling most of Japanese retailer Seiyu to KKR & Co. and Rakuten Inc. in a deal that values the supermarket chain at 172.5 billion yen ($1.6 billion), as the U.S. giant retreats from its two-decade attempt to crack Japan’s retail market. Under the agreement, private equity fund KKR will become the majority owner with a 65% stake, while Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten takes 20%, the companies said in a statement Monday.”
Is Chipotle’s Digital Restaurant the New Look of Retail?
Quotable: “The location does not include a dining room or front service line and customers must order in advance via Chipotle.com, the Chipotle app or third-party delivery partners. Orders are then picked up from a lobby that is designed to include all of the sounds, smells and kitchen views of a traditional Chipotle restaurant. The Digital Kitchen will also service large catering orders available for pickup in a separate lobby with its own dedicated entry.”
Thom Browne Expanding Retail Footprint Significantly
Quotable: “By the end of this year, the luxury brand will operate 60 stores globally and the plan is to up that number to 75 by the end of 2021. This is a substantial increase from the 16 stores the company operated in 2016 when Rodrigo Bazan joined as chief executive officer — two years before the Ermenegildo Zegna Group acquired a majority stake in the business.”
PAYMENTS NEWS:
CVS Pharmacy is First National Retailer to Offer Touch-Free Payments Through PayPal And Venmo
Quotable: “The partnership, which was first announced in July, makes CVS Pharmacy the first national retailer to integrate PayPal and Venmo QR code technology in its point-of-sale experience at all standalone locations across the country. The touch-free experience will be available to existing PayPal and Venmo customers, while new customers can sign up and link their preferred payment method usually within minutes.”
DATA & PRIVACY NEWS:
California’s CPRA Approved at the Ballot Box; Changes (Already) Coming To State Privacy Rights
Quotable: “Though CPRA is not without its controversial elements, it does provide several concrete changes to the CCPA that bring California law closer to parity with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), widely considered to be the world’s premier privacy rights bill. For example, CPRA will expand consumer control over the use of personal information classed in categories considered to be sensitive: biometrics, health information, race, location data, religion and sexual orientation. Data subjects will be able to opt out of the sharing and sale of any or all of these categories.”
AIRLINE NEWS:
Korean Air to spend $1.6 billion to become Asiana Airlines' top shareholder
Quotable: “Korean Air Lines Co Ltd plans to spend 1.8 trillion won ($1.62 billion) to become the top shareholder of indebted Asiana Airlines Inc in aviation's first major consolidation since COVID-19 brought the industry to its knees. It will also be the biggest shake-up in South Korean air travel since Asiana’s founding ahead of the 1988 Seoul Olympics, with the airline eventually integrated into Korean Air to create a national carrier commanding about 60% of international routes.”
Read last week's newswire if you missed it: Loyalty Newswire – November 9th, 2020
The Loyalty Newswire is compiled and edited by the staff at The Wise Marketer.
