Here’s a Roundup of this week's Loyalty and Digital Marketing News
Happy Monday.
We continue to select the most interesting news items related to digital customer marketing, customer loyalty and payments for your use and enrichment.
We continue what we started last week by tagging the news regionally to make it easier to find what you need.
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Quick Global News Roundup
- [Africa] Nestle Ghana rewards loyal consumers in the IDEAL Yonko Pa Promotion
- [AsiaPac] 70% of Singaporeans expect businesses to be engaged with social issues
- [AsiaPac] - One in three customers in APAC join loyalty programs to build lasting connections.
- [EMEA] Etihad Guest welcomes 10 millionth member
- [EU] Daves Food Stores launches Malta’s first fully integrated mobile retail app
- [Global} Amazon adds Customer Loyalty Analytics dashboard
- [Global] 52% of CEOs expect generative AI to achieve efficiency and cost savings in 2025
- [Global] American Airlines announces additional benefits for Frequent Flyers
- [India] LazyPay partners with Blinkit to support seamless mobile payments
- [India] Fast Track Taxi “weathers the storm” thanks to customer loyalty
- [Latam] Mastercard’s adoption of palm payments shows biometrics are going mainstream
- [UK] What do TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat have to do with hotel loyalty programs?
- [US] EG America Appoints Whitney Johnson new VP of Loyalty and Digital Marketing
- [US] 5 Metrics to Elevate Your Loyalty Program
- [US] Here’s where to get a listing of the Top 100 Convenience Store Chains of 2024
Sephora UK rolls out ‘MySephora’ loyalty programme
Sephora UK has launched a new loyalty program, MySephora, which it states gifts the “sense of exclusivity" to its customers. The program is points based and include three tiers of membership growth based on annual spending.
Points can be earned through purchases and non-transactional means such as leaving a review on the website or attending an in-store event. The deferred rebate equates to approximately 5 percent. The program is accessible via desktop, mobile and the Sephora UK app.
M&S goes “even more” digital, eliminating a plastic loyalty card
Marks and Spencer Sparks is a fully complemented loyalty program that, like most, is becoming increasingly digital. You can read their full T&C here. In this article, Sparks stated “We relaunched Sparks as a digital first loyalty scheme in 2020 and, since then, it has more than doubled in size, reflecting how customers want to shop with us.”
Many loyalty marketers ask whether they should continue to include a plastic card in their plan. M&S still makes cards available they are only available “upon request,” raising concerns among older customers who prefer the comfortable plastic standard. M&S reassured concerns stating “Although most customers choose to access Sparks through their desktop or app, Sparks is available to everyone.”
Multi-brand loyalty app Kenz’up has reached 1 million users in first 6 months
Kenz’up is a multi-brand loyalty program, incubated by Morocco’s Akwa Group, Morocco’s largest oil and gas distributor. By leveraging Akwa’s network of gas stations, Kenz’up is reported to have reached more than 1 million users in less than six months.
According to this report from BCG, Akwa Group developed Kenz’up to overcome the waning value of its existing loyalty program and the hassle associated with points collection and redemptions. BCG states that loyalty programs can become the basis for data-led transformation well beyond customer engagement.
Combined with the launch of Tookeez in Morocco, this is an active market to watch.
Heating controls manufacturer Drayton has launched Drayton Rewards+
Drayton Rewards+ replaces 9º Network and is designed to give its client base of heating engineers and electricians more perks, points and opportunity to participate in a community of like-minded tradesman.
Installers can earn valuable points by registering products and by completing free in-platform online training courses, which can then be redeemed against a range of items from the rewards catalogue, including products, workwear, merchandise, and more. Exclusive points bonuses will be available throughout the year, which installers can hear about via emails from Clare at Drayton and Drayton’s social media channels, including The Drayton Community Facebook group.
NFC Multi-Purpose Tap is expected to revolutionize the contactless user experience
NFC Forum, the leading standards body for Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, has published its first overview of NFC Multi-Purpose Tap and the value this emerging concept will bring to businesses and consumers.
In the official press release, Mike McCamon, Executive Director of NFC Forum, stated “Consumers and retailers love the security, reliability, and convenience of contactless payments – imagine also logging loyalty points or getting your receipt over that same instantaneous tap. The potential to complete multiple functions and link services together is limitless.”
Apple Pay to incorporate Single Tap
Related to the news item above, Apple Pay, which enables simple, secure contactless payments with a single tap as one of its customer favorite features, is one of the prime candidates to offer Multi-Purpose Tap. The new feature is still in development.
The report issued by The NFC Forum describing the evolution of the NFC standard outlines how the new functionality will allow customers to potentially get a detailed purchase receipt transferred to Apple Wallet, get credit for the store’s loyalty program, and automatically apply any discounts or coupons to current purchases.
StarOil launches loyalty fuel card for customers
StarOil Ltd, one of Ghana’s leading Oil Marketing Companies, launched a loyalty fuel card called the Star Card at the end of June. According to the company, this card allows customers to purchase fuel at any StarOil branch with a prepaid card while saving tokens to redeem for groceries and other items.
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