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Loyalty Newswire – September 7th, 2021

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By: Wise Marketer Staff |

Posted on September 7, 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!

  • Chipotle officially rolls out Extras, an exclusive feature that gamifies Chipotle Rewards with personalized challenges
  • After a pilot phase in February, Burger King plans to release its new Royal Perks loyalty program in September
  • Banana Republic seeks to reinvigorate its brand identity to attract modern consumers
  • Asda announces plans to open over 200 convenience stores inside gas stations
  • Buy now, pay later company Affirm stock soars after revealing new partnership with Amazon
  • BP Ventures invests $11.9 million in Ryd, a German in-car digital payments provider
  • Irish regulators increase WhatsApp fine to $225 million euros after pressure from European Data Protection Board
  • Canada reopens its borders to vaccinated travelers for the first time since last year

LOYALTY PROGRAM NEWS:

Chipotle Continues To Evolve Its Loyalty Program And App Experience With Record Digital Sales

Highlight: Extras gamifies Chipotle Rewards with personalized challenges to earn extra points and collect achievement badges. Chipotle is the first national restaurant brand to launch badges as part of its loyalty program. To celebrate the launch of Extras, Chipotle Rewards members can get double points on a purchase through September 3*… “Offering new ways to engage with Chipotle is essential to the ongoing evolution of our digital business,” said Chris Brandt, Chief Marketing Officer. “The new Extras feature gamifies Chipotle Rewards through special challenges and allows Rewards members to celebrate their achievements with special badges.”

Burger King is launching its ‘Royal Perks’ loyalty program nationwide

Highlight: After seeing success from February’s beta test runs across three markets, Burger King announced Thursday the launch of its new Royal Perks loyalty program nationwide, with plans to roll it out to two-thirds of restaurants by the end of the month. The “dollars for crowns” structure (10 crowns for every dollar spent) offers rewards, everyday perks and personalized experiences based on customer data. “Customers are looking forward to getting items and menus that are personal to them and more useful to them,” Ellie Doty, chief marketing officer of Burger King, told Nation’s Restaurant News. “They expect to be rewarded today for their loyalty to the brand and frequency of use.

RETAIL NEWS:

Banana Republic rejuvenates its brand identity in new campaigns

Highlight: The 43 year old brand will be remodeling its customer experience, through updated apparel design, digital transformations and in-store upgrades. Its first move comes with two autumn 2021 campaigns ‘Imagined Worlds’ and ‘The New Look’, centred around the brand’s origins in global exploration and inspiration. Alongside a new collection, the ‘Imagined Worlds’ campaign is inspired by travelling and fictional folklore worlds, such as Middle Earth and Westeros. The fresh identity and positioning aim to highlight the brand’s new direction, as it looks to target the modern-day consumer. “We started with a very clear vision of what this iconic American company can be and what we need to do in terms of our product quality and design, packaging and service, our digital experiences, and experiences in our stores to bring this vision to life in a way that excites culture and moves our business,” said Sandra Stangl, brand president and CEO, in a statement.

Asda launches big expansion into convenience stores

Highlight: The company said in a trading update that it will open 28 more Asda On the Move stores this year at petrol stations run by the EG group, with 200 more next year and further stores planned for 2023. This expansion follows the trial of five of the stores over the last year. The latest openings will begin with sites in Knowsley, Crewe, Skelmersdale and Holtspur. Asda will supply products to the EG group, which will own and operate each site. The stores will be up to 3,000sq ft and stock up to 2,500 products, including Asda’s Extra Special range, fresh produce and chilled lines. The stores will also stock partner brands, including Greggs and Subway.

PAYMENTS NEWS:

Affirm stock skyrockets 40% on news Amazon to partner with buy now, pay later fintech company

Highlight: Affirm Holdings Inc. shares jumped 40% in the after-hours session Friday after the fintech company said it has partnered with Amazon.com Inc. to allow a pay-over-time option at Amazon’s checkout. “Select” Amazon customers will have the option to split the total cost of purchases of $50 or more, and Amazon plans to make Affirm available to more customers “in the coming months,” Affirm said. Amazon “is always looking to add flexible payment options, and Affirm does just that” with no late or hidden fees, an Amazon.com spokesperson said Friday.

BP Ventures invests $11.9M in in-car payments provider Ryd to support expansion

Highlight: BP Ventures, the investing arm of oil and gas giant BP, has announced a €10 million (~$11.9 million) investment in Ryd, a German in-car digital payments provider. The fresh funds will help Ryd expand its service into international markets and build out its offering, according to a statement. Ryd’s service allows users to lump together online payments for services like fuel purchases, EV charging and car washing via the startup’s app or integration with smart car systems… “In-car digital payments are an integral part of the seamless and convenient experience that customers increasingly expect at our retail sites,” Alex Jensen, bp’s senior vice president mobility and convenience, Europe and Southern Africa, said in a statement. “Ryd’s technology can help deliver just that, and for an increasing range of services.”

DATA & PRIVACY NEWS:

WhatsApp fined a record 225 million euro by Ireland over privacy

Highlight: Facebook's WhatsApp was fined a record 225 million euro ($266 million) by the Irish data protection regulator on Thursday after the EU privacy watchdog pressured Ireland to raise the penalty for the company's privacy breaches. WhatsApp said the fine was “entirely disproportionate” and that it would appeal. Still, the Irish fine is significantly less than the record $886.6 million euro fine meted out to Amazon by the Luxembourg privacy agency in July... A WhatsApp spokesperson said in a statement the issues in question related to policies in place in 2018 and the company had provided comprehensive information. “We disagree with the decision today regarding the transparency we provided to people in 2018 and the penalties are entirely disproportionate,” the spokesperson said.

TRAVEL & HOSPITALITY NEWS:

Canada reopens borders to double jabbed Brits with no quarantine

Highlight: Canada has reopened its borders to vaccinated travelers for the first time since March last year. Brits, who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, can now visit the country without needing an essential reason. They will also be exempt from quarantine measures. Canada was recently added to the green list meaning no quarantine will be required on returning to the UK. A statement from the country’s Public Health Agency explained: “On September 7, 2021, provided that the domestic epidemiologic situation remains favourable, the Government intends to open Canada’s borders to any fully vaccinated travellers who have completed the full course of vaccination with a Government of Canada-accepted vaccine at least 14 days prior to entering Canada and who meet specific entry requirements.”

Did you miss last week's newswire? Stay informed: Loyalty Newswire – August 30th, 2021

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