Loyalty Marketing

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens will be making a multichannel play for Black Friday customers through a mystery mobile coupon, the retailer announced Tuesday.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens will offer customers a mystery mobile coupon to draw them to the store on Black Friday.

“This promotion is an excellent example of how technology and innovation work together to provide customers with a great offer that increases engagement and enhances their shopping experience,” stated Sona Chawla, president of e-commerce for Walgreens. “At a time when shoppers are out looking for the best deals, we’re making it easy by sending real-time, relevant offers directly to them.”

PALO ALTO, Calif. — Sony Stores have joined shopkick, a real-world shopping app, to offer “kicks,” shopkick’s proprietary reward currency, to shoppers for visiting stores, browsing lookbooks or interacting with products.

By Al Beery, [email protected]

HUDSON, Ohio — Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores has launched a mobile-optimized version of Joann.com, m.joann.com, to facilitate shopping for smartphone users just in time for the holiday shopping season.

New York -- Deloitte reported Friday that its Consumer Spending Index rose sharply in October, primarily due to the significant increase in new home prices.

The Index tracks consumer cash flow as an indicator of future consumer spending.

Walmart has taken heat for violating some unwritten retail rule about not opening on Thanksgiving, but on Thursday it extended a benefit that many employees will find appealing.

Walmart has long offered employees a 10% discount on general merchandise, which is pretty hefty considering prices are already low. That discount is in place all year and then in December employees could also save 10% on food.

MATTHEWS, N.C. — Family Dollar is positioning itself as a one-stop shop for families this holiday season.

The company plans to have in stock hundreds of toys and gifts priced at $10 or less at its more than 7,000 nationwide locations. The single price point strategy is designed to appeal to the large segment of shoppers hard-hit by the economy and who need stretch their holiday budgets.