Loyalty Marketing

Atlanta -- A Wednesday report by First Data found that April sales were negatively impacted by a March Easter, but that there has been an earlier start to the spring spending season.

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Amazon continues to set the bar higher, achieving the highest rating on the annual Top 100 E-Retail Satisfaction Index by customer experience analytics firm ForeSee. Amazon outdid its 2011 score, climbing three points to 89, and four points higher than the second highest scoring websites, Apple.com (85) and QVC.com (85). (Scores of 80 or higher on ForeSee's 100-point scale are considered superior customer satisfaction performances.)

MONTVALE, N.J. — A&P president and CEO Sam Martin, will be the star of the retailer's new integrated marketing campaign highlighting the company’s vision to be the best neighborhood food and drug store by offering high-quality, localized products, enhanced services and greater value, the company announced Wednesday.

SALT LAKE CITY — Walmart and Sam's Club is offering customers and members the opportunity support the Children's Miracle Network. Now through June 15, Walmart customers and Sam's Club members can make a donation of any amount at the retailers' registers to support the Children's Miracle Network Hospital in their community.

Chicago -- Forty-two percent of Americans are using social media to shop – this equates to nearly 95 million consumers – and that number continues to rise, according to a study by Leo Burnett/Arc Worldwide. When asked how often social media is used to shop today versus a year ago, almost 73% of people confirmed they are using it more.

New York -- Shoppers in the United States earning at least $150,000 annually rank Nordstrom highest among luxury retailers, according to a survey by the Luxury Institute.

According to the 2012 Luxury Consumer Experience Index, which ranks retailers based on customers' evaluations of a brand's store personnel, shopping environment and degree of satisfaction with the total experience, Nordstrom earns the top overall score of 8.41 out of 10.

Bergdorf Goodman ranked second (8.37), and Barneys New York third (8.23).

WAYNE, N.J. — Babies“R”Us is offering customers a new way to support military moms-to-be through a partnership with Operation Shower, an organization that hosts baby showers for military wives to ease the stress of their husbands’ deployment. The retailer has launched Babiesrus.com/OperationShower, which will serve as an online information portal, where visitors can learn how they can support this charitable program and ensure that military moms-to-be, who are often far away from friends and family, receive basic essentials for their newborns.

CINCINNATI — Kroger announced that it has kicked off a sales event during May that will support the broad range of programs and services the United Service Organizations provides to service members, their families and veterans.