Loyalty Marketing

New York - Across the country, there was strong support for local businesses on Small Business Saturday, with shopping up 14.9% from last year, according to the results from the Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey, released today by American Express and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).    

By Kosha Gada  

New York - Despite some of the most promotional activity and extended operating hours the retail industry has ever seen, total spending for the four-day Black Friday weekend came in below projections, down a surprising 11.3% from last year.  According to the National Retail Federation's preliminary figures,  weekend spending dropped to  $50.9 billion from $57.4 billion last year.   

Arlington, Va. - An estimated 51.2 million American adults (45% of all shoppers) bought or planned to buy consumer technology products during the 2014 Thanksgiving shopping weekend. According to a new survey released by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), while overall shopping traffic was down slightly this holiday weekend compared to the prior year, several areas saw notable growth, including reported spending per person and tech purchases.  

Move over pumpkin pie: Black Friday fervor seemed to stir up more conversations on social media than the Thanksgiving holiday itself.

According to Salesforce.com, social media posts about Black Friday shopping numbered 2.7 million. Roughly 278,000 posts were stamped with the hashtag "#blackfriday" and another 8,000 were labeled "#deals," vs. just 85,000 with "#Thanksgiving."

There were also about 1.84 million holiday shopping posts on Thanksgiving Day, and about 719,000 posts the day before Thanksgiving.

To celebrate the busiest monogramming season of the year, Lands’ End is launching #MonogramMonday.

Grand Rapids, Mich. — Meijer is offering a 20% coupon on Monday, Dec. 1, which it is calling “Digital Monday,” through its mPerks digital loyalty program. The mPerks Monday promotion includes a 20% coupon through mPerks that can be used on one electronics, apparel or general merchandise item.

Meijer credit card customers who have a 15% reward coupon can use it in addition to the mPerks Monday. The coupon will be available for mPerks subscribers to clip Nov. 30 through Dec. 1 and will only be available for use on Dec. 1.

New York — More consumers (40%) say they plan to shop on Cyber Monday than Black Friday (36%). According to a new survey of 1,000 consumers from Verizon Wireless and KRC Research, people in the West (39%) are most likely to go shopping on Cyber Monday compared to other regions (33% Northeast, 36% South, 36% Midwest).

High expectations are the key to everything. Take mobile for example. Apps from Starbucks, Uber, Netflix, and Apple have all made outstanding digital experiences expected and commonplace. Finally, customers have a taste of products and services that work the way they should, effectively reprogramming consumer expectations for all digital experiences.