This week's Customer Loyalty and Digital Marketing News
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The Global News Roundup
- [Europe] AzeriCard and Akurateco partner to integrate Apple Pay and Google Pay
- [Global] The simple answer to understanding customer journeys – just ask
- [Global] 10 Strategies For Building A Strong Online Community Around Your Brand
- [Global] Gen Z vs. Millennial Spending Habits: Does Parenting Affect Who’s Splurging More?
- [Global] Apple to open up NFC payments access to third parties
- [Global] Peloton fitness classes now available to Google Fitbit premium members
- [KSA] Market stat: only 2.5% of restaurants currently offer loyalty programs
- [US] Albertsons’ loyalty program sees growth spurt
- [US] Dream a little: The 10 best travel rewards redemptions of all time
- [US] The missing link of C-store Loyalty could be customer engagement & lifecycle management
- [US] Microsoft Rewards launching multiple sweepstakes
- [US] Nearly Two-Thirds of Gen Z Spend More When Using Digital Wallets
- [US] LINK! announces integration with PAR Brink and Clover POS
- [US] Mobivity Announces Second Quarter 2024 Financial Results
- [US] Springbig Announces Second Quarter 2024 Financial Results
- [US] Californians will soon be able to add their driver’s license to Apple or Google wallets
New York Mets introduce Mets Connect, a new fan loyalty program
The New York Mets unveiled Mets Connect, the team’s first-ever loyalty program, open to all Mets fans for the remainder of the 2024 season. The new program is designed to reward Mets fans with unique offerings and experiences while bringing them closer to the team that they love.
Fans can easily join the program via the MLB Ballpark app to immediately begin earning points by scanning their digital membership card while transacting at Citi Field or participating in digital games wherever they are located. Read the press release.
Marriott and Sonder reach a 20-year strategic licensing deal.
Marriott International and Sonder Holdings said they had signed a 20-year strategic licensing deal. The deal will expand the portfolio of places where members of the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program can earn and redeem points. Sonder offers about 9,000 units with hotel-style professional stays, although roughly half of the properties it manages are apartment buildings.
This is reported to be a licensing agreement similar to one Marriott arranged last year with MGM Resorts. The deal says Marriott will receive a royalty fee based on a percentage of Sonder’s gross room revenues. Full integration with Marriott’s digital platforms is expected next year.
Impact of Giant Eagle sale of GetGo Café and Markets to Couche-Tard on its loyalty program
US grocer Giant Eagle announced it is selling its GetGo Café + Market sites to Canadian-based convenience store company Alimentation Couche-Tard. The agreement to sell the GetGo locations is expected to close in 2025 after going through FTC approval process.
Giant Eagle just relaunched its myPerks loyalty program in January 2024. Following the final sale, Giant Eagle said they have agreed to partner with Couche-Tard to continue the myPerks loyalty program across Giant Eagle and GetGo locations. They also plan to explore "opportunities to expand the program. Read more here.
Chase leads in UK Digital Only Bank Competition, led by its Cashback Program.
As UK consumers have dealt with the closure of traditional bank branches in their local communities, a growing number have been forced to turn to digital-only banks. According to research by the comparison site Finder, as many as 16% of Britons have opened or plan to open a digital-only current account for this reason.
In the past 18 months, Chase Bank has quickly established itself as one of the top four banks in this new sector and is a challenger to neobanks Monzo and Starling. One of the factors driving its early success is a cashback program, which is announced to be changing. Read here.
Xtreme One Entertainment Launches Shareholder Perks Program in Partnership with TiiCKER
Xtreme One Entertainment, Inc. (OTCPink: XONI) announced a shareholder perks partnership with shareholder loyalty leader TiiCKER. Mixed martial arts fans and retail investors alike will benefit from a new agreement between Xtreme One Entertainment, Inc. (xtremeone.com) and TiiCKER, the world’s first and largest verified shareholder loyalty and engagement platform. (TiiCKER.com/XONI).
Xtreme One produces dynamic live entertainment and sports and, through its wholly owned subsidiary, XFC Global, holds the exclusive and perpetual license to the brands and intellectual property of Xtreme Fighting Championships (XFC) worldwide (XFCFight.com).
Twice Daily increases sales by 225% since adding order and delivery and mobile app
The Nashville-based convenience retail brand owned by Tri Star Energy, announced an increase in sales dollars by 225% since adding order and delivery and a custom mobile app to its pre-existing Paytronix-powered loyalty program.
Between January 23 and December 22, 2023, Twice Daily experienced:
- 225% Increase in Sales
- 55% Monthly Lift in Orders
- 95% Increase in Unique Customers
Adaverse invests in Restaurant Loyalty Provider Mithu (KSA)
Adaverse, a leading Web3 venture builder, has announced a $500,000 pre-seed investment in Mithu, an innovative loyalty platform aggregator for restaurants in Saudi Arabia. By aggregating loyalty programs into a single, gamified app, Mithu seeks to increase customer engagement and help businesses, particularly SMEs in the food and beverage industry, retain customers more effectively.
Founded earlier this year, Mithu has already signed agreements with approximately 200 restaurants in Riyadh. The announcement included market stats saying that KSA customers hold an average of 17 loyalty programs, with 68% churning within the first year. It also stated that about $100 billion worth of loyalty points expire annually.
Nuvei (Canada) announces collaboration with Mastercard
Canadian fintech firm Nuvei has pursued an expansive strategy marked by numerous partnerships and product launches. Now it announces its collaboration with Mastercard. Customers and partners will be able to make use of new services while using the Mastercard Send product. Send supports quick payments and is already available to Nuvei customers in Singapore.
According to a Nuvei press release, the technology will now also be accessible in Australia and Hong Kong SAR beginning later this year. “Nuvei customers will then be able to process payouts, including business to consumer disbursements, and funding transactions between over 1.5 billion debit, credit and prepaid Mastercard cards,” the release said.
Gartner Study Shows that Self-Service Solutions are Missing the Mark
Gartner has released a new report “Accelerate Self-Service Success by Diagnosing Customer Needs” which details findings showing how customers struggle to resolve even simple issues through self-serve customer service solutions alone. The report found that only 14% of customer service and support issues are fully resolved in self-service. Even for issues that customers describe as “very simple,” only 36% resolve fully in self-service.
“While 73% of customers use self-service at some point in their customer service journey, it’s concerning to see that so few fully resolve there,” said Eric Keller, Senior Director, Research in the Gartner Customer Service & Support Practice. “It’s imperative that customer service and support leaders work to resolve the issues customers face in order to fully realize the value of their self-service investments.”
TapClicks Introduces TapMap: Unlocking the Power of Location Data for Digital Marketing
TapClicks, a leader in Smart Marketing solutions, announced the launch of TapMap, an advanced geo-visualization feature that significantly enhances the platform’s current geographical charting capabilities.
TapMap empowers businesses to integrate and analyze highly detailed location-based data, driving more informed decisions and optimizing marketing strategies with precision.
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