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The Loyalty Newswire
January 12, 2026

  • By: Wise Marketer Staff
  • Posted on January 12, 2026

The Loyalty Newswire from The Wise Marketer

From the Editor

The US President proposes a cap on credit card interest rates, CCPA has many new updates that CMO’s should take into consideration for 2026 marketing strategy, and Kroger is testing Google AI Shopping tools, saying “Things are moving at a pace that if you’re not already deep into [AI agents], you’re probably creating a competitive barrier or disadvantage.”

Need any more reasons to dive into this week’s Newswire? Didn’t think so. Enjoy all the news and insights we have gathered for you.

Don’t forget that coming up later in January is the Wiser Retail Insights Forum™ 2026 in Nashville, TN on January 27. Please click here to apply to attend.

We are here to help you succeed. Let us know how we can help.

Bill Hanifin, Managing Editor, The Wise Marketer

Short Takes

US President Calls for Interest Rate Cap on Credit Cards

The US President requested a one-year cap on credit card interest rates at 10%, effective Jan. 20. “Please be informed that we will no longer let the American Public be “ripped off” by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30%, and even more,” Trump wrote.

His remarks drew immediate opposition from major banking groups. “If enacted, this cap would only drive consumers toward less regulated, more costly alternatives,” read a joint statement from the American Bankers Association, Bank Policy Institute, Consumer Bankers Association, Financial Services Forum, and Independent Community Bankers of America. Impacted companies to follow: Capital One Financial (COF), American Express (AXP), Synchrony Financial (SYF), Bread Financial Holdings (BFH). JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Citigroup (C), and Bank of America (BAC).

Wiser Retail Insights Forum™ 2026 Coming to Nashville, TN on January 27

Presented by Exchange Solutions, Ebbo and The Wise Marketer, Wiser Forums™ is a half-day event presenting findings from a 2025 consumer research study in convenience retail and home improvement retail, the inflection point in a longitudinal study exploring the connection between brand loyalty, customer experience and programmatic loyalty. Register Here.

This powerful event is an opportunity for business leaders, marketers and decision-makers who seek a better understanding of how consumers think about their loyalty to brands. This is an opportunity for retail business leaders that want to create insights-led engagement and experiences for their customers.

Kroger Testing Google AI Shopping Tools

Google unveiled a set of tools for retailers that helps them roll out AI agents, writes the WSJ Leadership Institute’s Belle Lin. Kroger is testing the technology with an agent that helps customers compare items, personalizes the shopping experience and manage purchase transactions.

The agent, available through Kroger’s mobile app, is capable of understanding context and intent, such as a shopper’s time constraints and meal plans, and combines that with customer data Kroger already has, including price sensitivity, flavor and brand affinity. Yael Cosset, chief digital office at Kroger, said “Things are moving at a pace that if you’re not already deep into [AI agents], you’re probably creating a competitive barrier or disadvantage,”

California’s New Data Privacy Laws: What CMOs Need to Know

This year, C-suite leaders will face the implications of a slate of new and enhanced California privacy laws. Many of the new requirements are related to updates to the CCPA. While these updates have already been established, their compliance deadlines vary.

All the details are here and CMOs are urged to think strategically about data practices because the new laws will impact data collection and usage for loyalty programs, ad campaigns, and personalization. says Dan Frank, a principal with Deloitte & Touche LLP’s cyber practice pointed out “Rethinking data management—with an emphasis on transparency and choice—can be an opportunity to differentiate the brand … companies can build trust by ensuring that customers understand what personal information an organization processes and by giving customers control over how their data is collected, used, and shared.”

Tech Trends from CES 2026 and Ideas for Experiential Activations

CES 2026 offered a glimpse into the future for new tech that will be applicable for experiential marketing. This article highlights four key tech trends from CES 2026 – Generative AI, AI-Powered Personalization, Immersive AR/VR, and Computer Vision in Interactive Play.

If you’re going to get your loyalty program “unstuck” and serve customers the way they expect in 2026, then you need to redefine “experiential marketing” beyond “exclusive previews” and “birthday specials”. Learn how new technology is catapulting brands beyond virtual reality and igniting visionary activations for brands.

While Navigating Generative AI Tools, Beware the Garbage Cycle

Shane Snow writes about The Garbage Cycle, an observable behavior pattern rooted in Thomas Edison’s invention of the kinetoscope. He says we are in the middle of this cycle now with gen-AI. Here’s why:

  • Phase 1: Technology enables a novel form of expression. No matter what gets made with it gets attention. (Even garbage.)
  • Phase 2: Creators make lots of garbage. (Anything gets attention, so lots of “anything” gets made.)
  • Phase 3: Audiences get sick of the garbage. (Novelty fades. Attention dips.)
  • Phase 4: Good storytellers figure out how to use the medium in high quality ways, and this becomes the only stuff that gets attention anymore. (Audiences become choosy, algorithms filter out garbage, etc.)

Back by Popular Demand - CLMP™ Certification in Dubai – 10 – 12 February 2026!

The response has been overwhelming! Due to incredible demand from loyalty professionals across the region, QBF Consulting is hosting the next Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional™ (CLMP™) program in Dubai, so save the dates 10-12 February 2026.

Register now and secure your passport to Lifelong Learning! With Loyalty Academy Lifetime Membership, you are not just learning—you are staying ahead, always. This isn’t just a course—it’s an investment in YOU.

New India CLMP™ Workshop on Feb 12-13, 2026

Certified education partner Strategic Caravan will be hosting the India CLMP™ Loyalty Academy workshop in Delhi February 12-13. Early bird pricing is available through 13th January 2026.

Register here. This is a workshop designed and delivered by practitioners for practitioners, so expect a high level of interactive conversation, exercises, and group work. Give yourself a gift to start the new year and accelerate your career in customer loyalty and digital marketing.

Why QSR Might Be Wise to Stick with Order Ahead and Delivery

Mobile order and delivery apps (DoorDash, Uber Eats, Skip) became popular during the pandemic for the most practical of reasons. Many QSR’s linked with these services to solve an immediate problem, only later to wrestle with a more effective long-term solution that protected client data and relationships.

Harvard professor Ashley Whillans says in this research paper that “time-saving purchases — like indulging in a delivery dinner — predicted greater relationship satisfaction.” That’s an even better reason for restaurants to optimize the way they execute on mobile order, pickup and delivery. And it provides more evidence that time, convenience and simplicity are the new currencies of customer loyalty.

Attention Copywriters and Brand Marketers: Fonts Matter

Last month the U.S. State Department announced it was returning to Times New Roman from the previously mandated Calibri. Times New Roman had been the State Department's official font for nearly two decades, from 2004 until 2023. That change created controversy, just as the introduction of Comic Sans did a decade earlier.

Why do fonts matter? We are a very visual species. We react badly to anything that we don’t think is attractive,” University of Virginia Communications Creative Director Meredith Michael Smith said. “People care about the aesthetics of the space that they are living in, in the space they put themselves in. Whether it’s right or wrong, we are going to have feelings about what we perceive as attractive or unattractive.”

International Loyalty Awards Update

Entries for the International Loyalty Awards officially closed on December 12, 2025, but the excitement is just beginning to build. This year saw an incredible range of submissions, showcasing loyalty programmes and initiatives from across every continent. Finalists will be announced on 30th January, so stay tuned to see who made it to the next stage!

Looking ahead, 2026 promises to be a landmark year for the loyalty community. Loyalty Connect Global expands to two flagship editions: Dubai and the United States, bringing the world’s loyalty leaders together at major global hubs.

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Stay. Loyal. Always.