Loyalty Marketing

For the 2015 holiday shopping season, the dollar figure forecast on consumer spend is less relevant for retailers, according to PwC's 2015 Holiday Outlook. Rather, a deeper understanding of the complex retail landscape and the focus on building long-term shopper relationships is how retailers will define success this year.

PwC outlines 10 big trends that are expected to drive the 2015 holiday shopping season:

Lowe's is coming to the aid of the communities it serves with a donation to help provide relief in the wake of massive flooding in the Southeast.

The retailer plans to donate $500,000 to American Red Cross Disaster Relief and work to provide both immediate and long-term support to local communities in the Southeast.

By now, you’ve probably heard that Facebook will be testing a “dislike” button. Unconfirmed reports say the button will be designed to let users express empathy for posts about negative events, such as the death of a loved one.

Assuming Facebook does introduce a dislike button, retailers will need to decide whether to enable it on their Facebook pages. Here are two pros and one con a dislike button would pose to retailers.

Pro #1: Instant Sentiment

Naturalizer is looking to engage with its core shopper on an emotional level by launching a digital marketing campaign that focuses on how style transcends generations.

The Naturalizer brand plans to feature the special bond between mother and daughter in this omnichannel campaign, as seen through the Durso, Sambucini and Baker families. Each family has styled a different Naturalizer shoe – with mother and daughter adding their own twist.

October is National Pizza Month, and two pizza chains are using mobile and social technology to heat up their loyalty programs as the weather cools.

The Los Angeles-based, 200-plus-unit California Pizza Kitchen will leverage a Paytronix-powered mobile rewards program.

Leveraging geofencing to identify members of its Pizza Dough loyalty program when they are near stores, California Pizza Kitchen will send push/pull mobile messages with a special October promotion offering 25% savings.

Although they are young, Generation Z has considerable buying power and influence. Gen Z will account for 40% of all consumers by the year 2020. Tweens today wield $43 billion in annual spending and influence another $150 billion.

The Container Store attracts a lot of loyal customers, and soon those shoppers will have another reason to buy more closet organizers and kitchen jars, thanks to a partnership with Synchrony Financial.

The retailer announced a new, multi-year agreement with Synchrony Financial to offer a private label credit card program for customers. The card will be available for use in the retailer’s stores and online and is scheduled to launch in the spring of 2016.

The Container Store attracts a lot of loyal customers, and soon those shoppers will have another reason to buy more closet organizers and kitchen jars, thanks to a partnership with Synchrony Financial.

The retailer announced a new, multi-year agreement with Synchrony Financial to offer a private label credit card program for customers. The card will be available for use in the retailer’s stores and online and is scheduled to launch in the spring of 2016.