Loyalty Marketing

By Shelley E. Kohan, VP, retail consulting, RetailNext; instructor, Fashion Institute of Technology

Consumer confidence is 10 points higher than this time last year. Spring weather forecasts show April will be warmer than average for many areas. So, how can retailers optimize sales during this season? Learning from last year’s data and trends is a great place to start.

After receiving more than 16,000 entries online and via Facebook, Staples has opened its “Make Your Idea Happen,” contest to the public to determine the $25,000 grand prize winner.

Jeffersonville, Ind. - The key to repeat customers is personalized communication from brands after purchases. According to a new survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers from multichannel customer engagement solutions provider Accent Marketing Services LLC, 86% of consumers say it’s important to have a positive experience after making a purchase.

Key findings in the report also include:

• Nearly half of consumers interact with brands after a purchase.

Run Jump Throw is the name of new youth activity initiative The Hershey Company will begin next year when its existing Hershey’s Track & Field Games program undergoes a transition.

When brand marketers and agency executives gathered in Chicago recently for the annual Shopper Marketing Summit there was plenty of talk about mobile, social and digital, but there was one thing no one talked about.

Mobile is the hottest thing going right now so hardly surprising there was plenty of discussion about myriad ways apps can be used to engage, influence and activate shoppers on the path to purchase. Mobile continues to transform the path to purchase, overlooked in discussions of the shoppers’ evolving journey was the role of packaging.

Paris -- Shopmium, the new brand discovery app, has officially launched in the U.S. on both iOS and Android platforms. Shopmium’s model enables advertisers to promote products through a targeted media approach that delivers mobile brand experiences and discount offers to users.
 

New York – Bergdorf Goodman is collaborating with Elad Group at the developer's newest luxury condominium project, 22 Central Park South. Under the partnership, the iconic Manhattan retailer has styled a model residence in the development with accessories, art work and bedding from its home floor.

Canton, Mass. --  Baskin-Robbins is launching a new online cake ordering system for customers nationwide, Online shoppers can browse through Baskin-Robbins' gallery of ice cream cakes and can create their own customizable cake by choosing their favorite ice cream and cake flavor combination.