Loyalty Marketing

Calgary, Canada – Shell Canada has signed a multi-year renewal with LoyaltyOne, the Canadian coalition loyalty business of Alliance Data Systems Corp., as a national sponsor of its Air Miles Reward Program. Shell Canada issues Air Miles reward miles for automotive fuel purchases made at its Shell-branded retail service locations across Canada.

By Jim Crawford

In the 1990s, when the Internet and e-commerce created a tangible link between modes of shopping that had previously been isolated (stores and catalogs), retailers struggled with how to understand, measure, and connect with shoppers in multiple ways.

It was out of this confusion that the concept of “multichannel” was heralded as retail’s saving grace, and soon, retailers were all abuzz with cross-channel shoppers.

Irvine, Calif. – Custom window covering retailer 3 Day Blinds is taking customization to a new level. The company has selected the engagement marketing platform from Marketo Inc. to create and deliver personalized content to new and existing customers, drive revenue increases and streamline marketing activities.

Luxury beauty retailer Bluemercury was acquired by Macy’s and the retailer announced another round of extensive personnel changes, including a new head merchant, that are designed to bolster its omnichannel, international and alternative format growth prospects.

Macy’s said it signed an agreement to acquire the 60 store specialty retailer Bluemercury for $210 million and would continue to operate the company as a standalone business while infusing existing Macy’s stores with the specialty retailer’s high end brands.

Woonsocket, R.I. - CVS/pharmacy today is transforming its mobile app with new features and an improved look and feel. With the goal of enhancing the customer experience, the CVS/pharmacy mobile app updates include:

• A home screen that is more personalized and user-friendly.

• An updated toolbar that makes features more readily accessible.

Seattle – Amazon.com is reportedly piloting co-branded e-commerce sites with three universities. According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon is partnering with Purdue University, the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of California Davis to operate the sites, which sell textbooks and T-shirts as well as other items available on Amazon.com.

Carle Place, N.Y. – The September 2014 closing of its acquisition of the Harry & David brand helped produce extremely strong performance during the second quarter of fiscal 2015 at 1-800-Flowers.com Inc. The retailer reported net income of $45.54 million, more than double the $17.99 million reported in the same quarter a year earlier.

Like many buzzwords in the industry, from cloud to big data, the term “digital” is evolving. Coining something as “digital” has always implied that it’s better or more advanced than the status quo. Remember when we moved from vinyl to compact discs? CDs had logos on them with the words "Compact disc DIGITAL AUDIO." Digital in this sense was the byword for ease of use, reliability and interference free music.