Loyalty Marketing

While Whole Foods continues to work on the performance of its flagship stores, the company disclosed new locations and expressed confidence in its 365 format even though the first unit is scheduled to open until May.

A number of major retail chains are leveraging a mobile app that allows scanners to read barcodes on smartphones.

Shoppers at retailers including CVS, Walgreens, Kroger, Nectar, Rite Aid, Toys “R” Us, Best Buy, PetSmart, Staples, Safeway, and Giant Eagle are using the Mobeam 4.0 Beep’nGo app for Samsung Android mobile devices. The app, which can integrate with existing payment apps, allows customers to use barcode-based loyalty cards, gift cards and coupons on their smartphone at checkout scanners.

Online retail platform Jet is getting a better idea of how well its customer service efforts are working with a new tool from service measurement/optimization company StellaService.

Consumers know about Apple Pay, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are conducting mobile payments with it.

According to a December 2015 survey of 1,300 U.S. household financial decision-makers, including 580 iPhone 6 users, conducted by First Annapolis Consulting Inc. awareness of Apple Pay is quite high. Among all survey respondents, 73% have heard of Apple Pay, while awareness jumps up to 84% for the sub-group of iPhone 6 owners.

Beauty consumers are increasingly turning to mobile and social technology in their seamless shopping experiences.

According to a new study from Mintel, 45% of U.S. beauty consumers prefer to search for product information in-store rather than ask for assistance from a sales associate. Another 39% are interested in using or have used a store-provided tablet to research available beauty products.

Sixteen percent of in-store beauty customers go as far to purposely shop where sales associates will leave them alone.

Consumers are generally willing to use mobile apps to assist with grocery shopping, and there is one retailer whose app is the clear favorite.

According to a new study from Blackhawk Engagement Solutions,’ “How Grocery Shoppers Shop: Changing Trends in Grocery Shopping,” the top used grocery app among U.S. consumers by a wide margin is Amazon (71%). This is followed by grocery store apps (28%), Walmart (26%) and Target (25%). Third-party savings apps are not used much, with use in the low single digits for the grocery channel.

Sak Off 5th's first location in New York City will feature a pop-up shop that appeals to the retailer's target market.

Saks announced that Gilt will open its first ever in-store shop at the Saks Off 5th store in New York. The pairing of these two brands in a physical space marks Gilt's entry into brick-and-mortar retail and demonstrates the company's plans to bring an all-channel shopping experience to Gilt customers.

Stores that double as classrooms, sensory-rich environments and a rental versus a buy retail model. These are three of the five trends that shopping center developer Westfield believes will shape the future of retailing.

The trends are highlighted in a new report from Westfield, "How We Shop Now: What's Next?," for which the developer interviewed 13,000 shoppers across the United States and United Kingdom along with leading industry experts and trend-spotters.

The five key trends are: