Loyalty Marketing

Sears’ loyal shoppers will have the chance to preview holiday sales at an exclusive shopping event.  

Shopko, in partnership with First Bankcards, is launching its first private label credit card program.   The new Shopko Credit Card, which can be used at any Shopko throughout the United States, will offer discounts, periodic deferred interest promotional financing offers and automatic gift card rewards, in addition to in-store instant approval.   

Holiday retail sales should increase 2% to 4% over last year but retailers should not be expecting a similar profit boost.   That’s the view of Purdue University retail management expert Richard Feinberg who expects retailers will lose pricing power due to online competition.  

As Amazon continues to up the ante on convenient, fast shipping options, shoppers expect their favorite brands to follow suit.   Specifically, 42% of shoppers surveyed consider three- or four-day shipping "fast" – a significant drop from the 63% who said so last year. Instead, the majority (83%) of shoppers consider fast shipping to mean delivery within two days or less, according to the “2016 Deloitte Holiday Study,” a report based on responses from 5,038 consumers in the United States.  

The Trump campaign hired a British data firm that collects data gleamed from such sources retailers’ loyalty cards to help target potential voters.   

Pinterest is launching a new program designed to help brand partners present more relevant advertising messages to Pinners.   Through a partnership with Neustar, Pinterest’s marketing partners now have a solution that leverages the social media platform’s customer-specific information as well as Neustar’s proprietary audiences. The combination of data gives advertisers a standardized view of customer across every marketing channel, and an unprecedented reach among customers.   

Eager to keep early omnichannel holiday shoppers from “shopping around, Zappos.com unveiled introduced its “price promise” program.   The program, which launched on Oct. 31 and runs through Nov. 20, uses software to automatically price match the site’s most popular products with those found on qualifying online competitors’ sites.   

eBay is the latest retailer to get into the holiday spirit with a campaign that transcends television, online and its mobile app.