Loyalty Marketing

It’s a commonly held belief among retailers that their most valuable customer is the one that is a brand advocate, has the loyalty card, and makes purchases on a regular basis. But there is a problem with that assumption.

While the patterns of behavior from your most loyal customer can show you what is working, they can’t tell you anything about what isn’t working -- or how to fix it. In truth, a retailer’s most valuable customer is the one that comes into your store, browses, but then leaves before buying.

Kohl’s is looking to get a leg up on the competition this holiday season with an early lineup of the hottest toys this December.

The retailer’s top toys for the holiday season include an exclusive assortment from Star Wars and trusted national brands, including Barbie, Fisher-Price and Melissa & Doug.

Toronto – Consumers are willing share their personal data with brands — even though they feel they aren’t getting much value in return.

According to a new study from marketing loyalty and analytics provider Aimia, 80% of consumers around the world are willing to share key pieces of personal information with brands.  

Yet only 8% of consumers around the world feel as though they are actually receiving better offers from companies as a result of sharing their details.

From American Idol winner a decade ago to one of the biggest names in entertainment, Carrie Underwood will add extra star power to the 14th annual Belk Bowl football game slated for December 30.

Back in September 2013, I wrote a TechBytes column about how millennials aren’t that different from prior young generations in their interests and needs. I have since realized there are a few unique millennial social trends which reflect specific generational consumer attributes. Using leading-edge technology, retailers can effectively meet the generational needs of this increasingly important customer demographic.

Rock is Dead

As many of us grasp at the last moments of summer, those in the retail industry have one eye on the end of the year -- the time between November and December. It makes sense: holiday shoppers spent over $616 billion dollars just last year between Black Friday and Christmas. And while the ample time and resources spent on these two annual marketing priorities is certainly deserved, it is easy to put all of our eggs in this basket, accidentally neglecting the major retailing opportunity just around the corner -- the first quarter.

Austin, Texas – Labor Day is supposed to be a day of rest, but consumers are planning to work at shopping for the upcoming Labor Day holiday Sept. 7.

According to a recent RetailMeNot-Kelton survey, two in three (67%) people planning to spend money this Labor Day will spend an average of $144.

In addition, 13% anticipate their Labor Day spend will exceed $200. While 67% of consumers do actually plan to relax at home, one in three intend to visit the mall.

PetSmart is throwing a celebration at its stores that aims to appeal to pet owners and people who want to be pet owners.

For the first time, PetSmart will throw a “Happy Gotcha Day” celebration to help find homes for about 15,000 homeless pets during the next PetSmart Charities National Adoption Weekend, Sept. 11-13, when more than 1,400 PetSmart stores will host the event in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. The thousands of pets with unknown birthdays that are expected to be adopted will now have a day to call their own.