Loyalty Marketing

UGG is driving a new level of engagement with loyal shoppers.   Starting today, shoppers nationwide are invited to join UGG Rewards, a loyalty program that awards shoppers with points for every purchase. The program, which was launched as a pilot among a limited customer base between September 2015 and June 2016, is now available to shoppers in-store and online throughout the United States.  

Kohl’s Corp. has joined the ranks of Walmart, Starbucks and other companies to offer its own mobile payments app.    The retailer launched Kohl’s Pay on Wednesday, hoping to speed up checkout in its stores. Using the app, shoppers can integrate their Kohl’s private label credit card and their Yes2You Rewards member number directly in the app’s mobile wallet. The technology also saves earned Kohl’s Cash and Yes2You Rewards.  

Walgreens on Tuesday enticed its shoppers with a new loyalty program tied to its beauty department with the launch of Beauty Enthusiast, a beauty club within its Balance Rewards loyalty program. Cardholders who register for Beauty Enthusiast gain additional rewards on beauty and personal care items, as well as other benefits.  

Consumers’ lack of enthusiasm around the value of chip card usage could impact the upcoming holiday season. This month marks the year anniversary of the introduction of mandated Europay, MasterCard, Visa (EMV) chip card payments at retail stores across the United States. However, high levels of consumer frustration and confusion remain widespread, according to new research published by Cayan, a payment technology provider.

From increased budgets to a desire for free shipping to gifts for pets, PwC’s “2016 Holiday Outlook” report predicts the following trends will drive the upcoming holiday season:    1. Bigger holiday budgets: Shoppers will likely spend 10% more this holiday season; an average of $1,121 each. And consumers with annual household incomes less than $50,000 will likely increase their percentage spending levels even more than consumers overall.  

Amazon Prime launched its newest set of benefits, but these are targeting gamers.   Bolstering its live streaming video platform Twitch, Amazon has intro-duced Twitch Prime. This membership-based service entitles members to exclusive discounts on pre-orders and newly released games; a rotating selection of free digital games and in-game loot, and a premium experi-ence on Twitch that includes a free monthly Twitch channel subscription.   

Retailers that can improve ordering, fulfillment, delivery, and customer service are on their way to a holly, jolly holiday.   This is the message being conveyed by 500 shoppers surveyed in the “Consumers’ 2016 Holiday Shopping Expectations,” a report from Radi-al. Their responses revealed that they are not willing to negotiate when it comes to inventory visibility, free shipping or customer service this holi-day season.  

Physical stores still play a crucial role in holiday shopping.    That’s one of the major themes of the International Council of Shopping Centers’ annual holiday forecast, which emphasizes that, more than ever before, shoppers will expect an omnichannel experience this season. The report predicts 3.3% year-over-year growth sales at physical stores this holiday season (compared to 2.2% increase in 2015). Including online sales for physical retailers, ICSC predicts sales will rise 3.5%.