Loyalty Marketing

Jeff Zoss and Scott Simerlein have joined The Grocery Shopping Network, Inc., a provider of digital shopper planning and marketing tools for grocery retailers, consumer packaged goods companies and shoppers.

As we transition into fall, let’s bid a fond farewell to summer 2013 by looking at how Benson’s Homemade Ice Cream, an independent seasonal ice cream parlor in the idyllic community of Boxford, Mass., uses Facebook in ways that larger retailers may want to emulate.

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The world’s largest digital coupon marketplace, RetailMeNot.com, has introduced new functionality and platform integration capabilities to its popular service with the launch of version 3.0 of its iOS and Android coupons app.

Retailers will be promoting early and often during the upcoming holiday season, especially with six fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and mobile is sure to play an even greater role this year than it did in 2012.

Regional department store chain Gordmans gave shareholders a huge gift this week when the private equity controlled company’s board said it had borrowed $45 million to fund a $3.61 special dividend after reporting lackluster second quarter results.

When it comes to buying online, customers have more choice than ever. The crowded space means that shoppers are being offered countless new ways to buy and utilizing new technology to make their purchases. More important, customers are altering how they shop and taking a closer look at who they’re buying from. Shopping experiences are less a cold cash transaction and more of a way to participate in an ethos or at the very least, to support a company that understands exactly what and how you like to purchase your items.

Woonsocket, R.I. -- CVS Caremark plans to shorten the length of in-store receipts members of its ExtraCare loyalty program receive by about 25%. In a recent Facebook posting, CVS announced that in response to customer complaints it had found a way to shorten the length of receipts without reducing the amount of ExtraCare rewards and savings offered on them.

In addition, next year CVS will allow ExtraCare members to receive all rewards and savings directly to their card. Currently only select offers can be stored paperlessly on ExtraCare cards.

Whatever happened to the customer? It’s a question I’ve been asking myself more and more lately, and one that more than a few national brands should be working harder to answer. At a time when retail is evolving in exciting ways, one of the most disappointing trends over the last several years is a conspicuous (and costly) lack of focus on the customer.