,

Loyalty Newswire – August 23rd, 2021

WM Circle Logo

By: Wise Marketer Staff |

Posted on August 23, 2021

Welcome back to The Wise Marketer. Every Monday, our team of editors curate a list of the latest customer loyalty, marketing, and other relevant news. Our goal is to make it simple for busy professionals to quickly digest important news and trending topics. Show your support by joining our mailing list to gain access to exclusive content, events, and promotions. Or you could just follow us on social media!

  • Through a newly formed partnership, Air Canada Aeroplan members can earn points when shopping at LCBO stores
  • Dr. Pepper celebrates its new Pepper Perks rewards program with the launch of limited edition flavor
  • Major demin brands have revamped their customer loyalty programs to meet the demands of new shopping behaviors
  • Dickey's Restaurant Brands first cross brand loyalty promotion sees major success
  • GasBuddy and PDI release joint report to identify changes in c-store shopping habits from 2020 to 2021
  • Ahead of the holiday season, Target announces plans to add over 100 Disney shops inside its stores
  • PayPal expands its cryptocurrency operations to the UK, enabling consumers to buy, sell and hold bitcoin plus other cryptocurrencies
  • China has officially passed the Personal Information Protection Law, which will become effective on November 1st, 2021
  • Spirit Airlines announces plans to reduce flights through the end of September due to an influx of flight cancellations

LOYALTY PROGRAM NEWS:

Air Canada’s Aeroplan and LCBO Join Together to Launch New Loyalty Partnership

Highlight: Today the company unveiled three new innovations: the launch of the free Deals & Delivery app, their new “Albertsons for U” shopper loyalty program and FreshPass™, their exclusive unlimited grocery delivery service with member-only perks. “We have been working hard to revolutionize Albertsons Companies’ digital offerings and enhance all aspects of the food experience and journey,” said Chris Rupp, EVP and Chief Customer and Digital Officer. “We have been in lock-step with our customers and today’s launch of our new Deals & Delivery app, our “Albertsons for U” loyalty program and FreshPass™ subscription service exemplifies our commitment to innovation and customer service, meeting shoppers where they want to shop whether that be in store, curbside, or at home.”

Calling All Super Fans: Dr Pepper Reveals FANtastic Chocolate

Highlight: Dr Pepper FANtastic Chocolate is a celebration of fandom and marks the introduction of the new Dr Pepper "Pepper Perks" rewards program… Fans can also enter for a chance to win a trip to the College Football Playoff National Championship and redeem other Dr Pepper branded gear designed to enhance game day and cheer on our favorite college teams.

Denim Brands Bank on Customer Loyalty Programs

Highlight: Steve Morales, vice president of marketing of NYDJ, said the brand’s newly launched rewards program is already measurable after just five months. “We are currently seeing 10 percent higher average order value,” he said. “It also gives us another alternative for promotions rather than offering them sitewide or putting them out to our whole email list.” But it’s not all about increasing customer spend and frequency. For Nudie Jeans, it’s about promoting a closer relationship with customers who buy from the brand simply because of their love for denim. “We don’t want to build a relationship based on discounts or finding the best deal,” said Mathias Jonasson, Nudie Jeans retail and e-commerce director. “We want to build a mutual relationship based on shared interests and a passion for denim produced in a fair way. Our program doesn’t include sign-up vouchers or sales, but rather focuses on being part of a community of like-minded people.”

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit Sees Explosive Growth Through Their Summer of Gold Loyalty Program

Highlight: Dickey’s Barbecue Pit launched its first ever cross brand loyalty promotion and knocked it out of the park! The trio of Dickey’s Restaurant Brands including Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, Wing Boss and Big Deal Burger joined forces to help celebrate its loyalty program members. Each time an American athlete won a gold medal the Dickey Restaurant Brands emailed its loyalty members with a coupon good for either a complimentary item or a buy one, get one free coupon (BOGO). The online only program had over 17,000 people redeeming the offer of free pulled pork sandwiches, burgers, and chicken wings. “We saw an over 40% increase in online transactions and were so happy to cross promote our brands and offer our loyalty members a delicious sandwich or wings while celebrating America’s athletes” says Laura Rea Dickey, CEO of Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, Inc.

RETAIL NEWS:

GasBuddy joins forces with PDI to issue quarterly C-Store Shopper Insights Report

Highlight: The "Buddy Up: C-Store Shopper Insights" report combines GasBuddy consumer survey data from more than 15,000 convenience retail consumers across all key U.S. geographic locations and PDI consumer-buying data from 5,500 mid to large-size convenience retail sites across all key U.S. geographic locations from its Insight Cloud solution. The inaugural report's focus, The New Pandemic Consumer, utilizes this data to identify changes in C-store shopping habits from 2020 to 2021. "By integrating GasBuddy's vast consumer data insights with PDI's already robust capabilities, it provides a more comprehensive view of the fuel and convenience retail industry," said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy.

Target to add more than 100 Disney shops to stores as holiday season approaches

Highlight: The national retailer, which has about 1,900 stores in the U.S., began opening Disney shops in select locations in 2019. With the expansion, more than 160 Target stores will sell Disney-themed merchandise, from toys to costumes, by the end of year... The retailer’s expansion of Disney shops comes ahead of the holiday season — a key time for toy sales. Macy’s announced recently that it will expand its toy offering, too. It struck a deal with Toys R Us to open shops inside of more than 400 of the department store chain’s locations and online. A larger assortment of Toys R Us merchandise is now available on Macy’s website.

PAYMENTS NEWS:

PayPal launches crypto buying and selling in the UK

Highlight: PayPal Holdings Inc (PYPL.O) will allow customers in the UK to buy, sell and hold bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies starting this week, the company said on Monday. The roll-out, which marks the first international expansion of PayPal's cryptocurrencies services outside of the United States, could inspire further mainstream adoption of the new asset class... "We are committed to continue working closely with regulators in the UK, and around the world, to offer our support— and meaningfully contribute to shaping the role digital currencies will play in the future of global finance and commerce," Jose Fernandez da Ponte, vice president and general manager for blockchain, crypto and digital currencies at PayPal, said in a statement.

DATA & PRIVACY NEWS:

China passes sweeping data privacy law, to go into effect Nov. 1

Highlight: Chinese lawmakers passed new data privacy legislation Friday that places restrictions on how personal information can be collected and used, according to state-run news agency Xinhua. The personal data law, reportedly one of the toughest in the world, goes into effect Nov. 1. The law could make it significantly harder for tech companies to access and use the information of consumers in China, according to the South China Morning Post. It'll reportedly let people turn off targeted advertising and give them a way to reject "excessive data collection."

TRAVEL & HOSPITALITY NEWS:

Spirit Airlines cuts flights to cope with COVID-19 and scheduling turmoil

Highlight: Spirit Airlines says it expects to operate on reduced schedules through the end of September after waves of flight cancellations in early August disrupted the travels of thousands of customers... Spirit reported it ultimately canceled 2,826 flights between July 30 and Aug. 9 as a result of what it called at the time a “perfect storm” of staffing difficulties, technical problems and bad weather. “The company is also experiencing increased close-in guest cancellations and softer-than-expected booking trends for the quarter, which are believed to be related to rising case counts of COVID-19,” the SEC filing said, “and some amount of short-term brand impact from the irregular operations.” Recently, Southwest Airlines and Frontier Airlines made similar statements about customers cancelling due to the spread of COVID-19.

Did you miss last week's newswire? Stay informed: Loyalty Newswire – August 16th, 2021

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