Ten years ago, in 2008, TGI Fridays blazed a rewards and loyalty trail that countless restaurants have followed since. This month, the chain announced it will be taking that customer experience to the next level through a partnership with customer data and engagement platform SessionM....
The coalition rewards programs have had some success gaining traction in Europe, as American Express’ experiment with launching one stateside seems to have come to an end. Plenti, the Amex frequent shopper program, brought a lot of high-profile merchants like Macy’s, Rite Aid and ExxonMobil...
Every brick-and-mortar retailer has three kinds of customers. Anonymous guests may be regular, but the merchant hasn’t collected any data on them yet. Known consumers have provided some information such as a phone number, email address, or credit card number. Then there are the loyalists....
Merchants can capitalize on word-of-mouth marketing through cash back platforms such as DOSH that encourage social media sharing. These platforms reach consumers by reinforcing a behavior that consumers already exhibit — shopping with their credit and debit cards — while giving merchants valuable data. “Uber...
Loyalty is a fickle thing in commerce and coveted by merchants regardless of market. Because, of course, loyalty is the gift that keeps on giving, that keeps dollars coming into registers, virtual ones (and the real ones), and represents a return on investment that can...
There’s an old saying in politics: “If you want a friend, get a dog.” Extend that to commerce, sans canine, and you get this: “If you want loyalty, get some points.” It’s best to get the right points, though — the ubiquitous kind. Loyalty programs may...
What makes a consumer loyal? There really is no magic formula, and brands are spending serious money on strategies before truly answering this question. Rewards programs are one big category attracting a lot of attention and dollars, yet they don’t always deliver a payoff. Rewards...
Just before the 20th century, two entrepreneurs found a new use for stamps — other than postage on a letter. Thomas Sperry of New Jersey and Shelley Byron Hutchinson of Michigan came together to form the Sperry and Hutchison Co. They sold stamps and redemption...
Though there has been no official announcement yet, it seems American Express’ stab at a coalition loyalty program are quickly falling apart. Launched in 2015, Plenti captured a lot of attention by offering customers the ability to collect loyalty points at a variety of retailers under...