Loyalty Marketing

Minneapolis – Caribou Coffee has launched its new loyalty program, Caribou Perks. Customers can register by text or online.

Spindle, a leading provider of mobile commerce solutions, has acquired Los Angeles-based Yowza!!, a leading provider of mobile couponing technology. As a result of the transaction, Spindle will integrate its MeNetwork mobile marketing services with the Yowza!! mobile couponing solution to deliver an end-to-end mobile commerce service.

The new mobile commerce offering will have an existing user base of nearly 2 million consumer downloads, and approximately 95,000 merchant locations.

A program Tyson Foods developed to encourage people to make healthy choices by eating more chicken has been extended to three months and involves Facebook as a key component.

Micro Center, a leading consumer electronics retailer, has entered into a multi-year agreement with the Warranty Group, a leading global provider of warranty solutions and underwriting services, which will allow the retailer to enhance its national Protection Plan program.

Under the new agreement, Micro Center customers will benefit from innovative warranty program solutions and customized services across a broad range of products.

Mountain View, Calif. — Coupons.com is reportedly going to acquire Yub, a provider of mobile rewards and offers that customers redeem at brick-and-mortar stores. According to the Wall Street Journal, Coupons.com will pay $30 million for Yub, and is also considering an IPO.

OnlyLeggings.com is borrowing a page from the playbook of Costco and Amazon to create a membership-based program to appeal to those who regularly purchase leg wear.

Omnichannel technology drives store experience evolution

The store experience isn’t what it used to be. Rapidly developing omnichannel technologies, such as mobile and social, are redefining the very definition of a “store” and what customers can accomplish within. 

In addition, retailers can glean more information about consumers using leading-edge technology. For example, indoor location analytics vendor iInside lets retailers track and analyze store traffic using customer mobile devices to provide a host of data on store operations and processes. 

Whole Foods Market’s Local Producer Loan Program has reached the initial goal of funding $10 million in low-interest loans to local and independent food businesses, and has now committed an additional $15 million for a total of $25 million in funding.

The Local Producer Loan Program (LPLP) has provided 184 loans to 155 companies since its inception in 2007.