Loyalty Marketing

By Catherine Tabor, CEO, Sparkfly

Beacons provide retailers with an opportunity to increase engagement and help direct the in-store experience, and they indicate a shift in many brands’ digital and in-store marketing and merchandising strategies. However, they need to be connected to other consumer touchpoints to deliver their full potential value to retailers.

Merging the Physical and Digital

Amazon customers in the U.S., U.K. and Germany can now buy, spend and earn Amazon Coins on their Android phones and tablets. Previously available for use exclusively on Kindle Fire tablets, Amazon Coins can now be used to buy the latest apps, purchase extra lives within Candy Crush or unlock Red’s amazing Super Roaster in Angry Birds GO directly from their Android devices.

Duluth, Ga. - More than 77% of Americans would be less likely to return to a store if they experienced long checkout lines. According to a new study from Omnico Group, after eight minutes, Americans are likely to abandon the checkout line and leave the store with no purchase.

Chantilly, Va. -- Hispanic consumers are outpacing non-Hispanics in their adoption of mobile, social and online sources for local shopping. According to BIA/Kelsey's Consumer Commerce Monitor study, nearly a quarter (23.6%) of Hispanic consumers reported they use tablets for local shopping, compared with 15.5% of non-Hispanics. And nearly half (48.5%) of Hispanic consumers use mobile devices for local shopping, compared with 32% of non-Hispanics.

New York – An overwhelming majority (79%) of shoppers say they shop at their favorite retailers/brands because they trust the brand, according to a survey of 15,000 online shoppers by the PwC US Retail & Consumer practice.  In other survey findings, 37% of U.S. shoppers do not use their smartphone for shopping because of security concerns, and 61% noted deals and promotions as the reason for following a brand’s social media site.

Recent news that Starbucks will soon start offering a feature on its Square payment app that automatically prompts customers to leave a tip for appropriate purchases and also calculates “basic,” “better” and “best” tip amounts serves as a reminder of the three rules of modern CRM. Automate, automate, automate.

Ebates, the owner and operator of the world's most rewarding shopping programs, has appointed Yen Lee as SVP of corporate development.

By Hedgie Bartol, Business Development Manager Retail, Axis Communications