Loyalty Marketing

Loyalty programs may be commonplace across the retail industry, but few are capable of rewarding members on a personal level. Société de transport de Montréal (STM) may not be a retailer, but retail chains can learn a valuable lesson from how the transportation company rewards individual consumers for their loyalty.

Abysmal sales at J.C. Penney haven’t deterred the company from pursuing a series of unique cause marketing activities around a potential new holiday tradition focused on giving back.

New York -- Cyber Monday continues its importance, driving a nearly 22% increase in year-over-year online sales, Chase reported Tuesday as part of its latest Holiday Pulse report. Monday sales beat Sunday, the next highest day, by a margin of 26.7%.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Mars will receive the 2012 NASCAR Marketing Achievement Award at the NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers Awards held at Encore at Wynn Las Vegas Thursday, Nov. 29.

MT. ARLINGTON, N.J. — Looking to capitalize on the trend of personalization in time for the holiday season, M&M’s is offering customers who personalize their M&M’s new packaging options and product formats that they can order online.

Customers can go to Mymms.com, and get creative with their personalized chocolate gift-giving by choosing from iconic "m" acrylic containers, re-sealable stand-up bags with keepsake scoops, holiday stockings, teddy bear gift sets and an upscale gift box with a magnetic closure.

Westlake Village, Calif. -- LLBean.com ranks highest among online apparel retailers with a score of 830 (on a 1,000-point scale), followed by LandsEnd.com (829) and Forever21.com (824), according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Online Apparel Retailer Satisfaction Report. The study finds that satisfaction with online apparel retailers is significantly lower among online shoppers between the ages of 18 and 24 than among those 55 years of age and older.

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens will be making a multichannel play for Black Friday customers through a mystery mobile coupon, the retailer announced Tuesday.

Whiting, Ind. -- Survey results released Tuesday by CouponCabin.com revealed that that 47% of Cyber Monday shoppers will spend more money online that day than they will in-store the during the rest of the holiday season. The holiday has gone mobile as well. More than one-quarter (29%) of smartphone and tablet owners plan to shop online on Cyber Monday on their devices.