Loyalty Marketing

By Donna L. Wilson and Kirk D. Jensen

Illustrating the adage that no good deed goes unpunished, retailers offering financially-strapped or credit-challenged consumers the option of layaway are facing criticism and threats of litigation and regulatory scrutiny. 

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS/pharmacy today announced enhanced shopping and prescription refill functionality for its mobile site, located at m.CVS.com, as well as iPhone and Android apps, enabling shoppers to use mobile devices to manage their ExtraCare Rewards accounts, scan and send prescription refills, and order photo prints from CVS Photo Centers.

Customers accessing CVS/pharmacy's mobile website can now take advantage of several features of the ExtraCare Rewards Program. This new functionality lets shoppers:

New York City -- PwC US, in its report Experience Radar 2011: Retail Insights, found that retailers that design differentiated ‘experiences’ around their products and services can drive growth, profitability and lasting consumer loyalty, while also maintaining a price premium over competitors.

The study, based on PwC’s Experience Radar methodology, measured the experiences of more than 6,000 U.S. consumers across 11 industries.

New York City -- Excitement over unexpected in-store deals has diminished as discounted prices become an anticipated part of the consumer products shopping experience, according to the Deloitte/Harrison Group annual American Pantry Survey.

New York City -- Saks Fifth Avenue announced the availability of its shopping application for the iPad. The free app, available worldwide from the Apple App Store, is an entirely shoppable app, and customers can create wishlists that can be shared through email, Facebook, and/or Twitter.

Minneapolis -- Target Corp.’s profit increased a better-than-expected 3.7% in the third quarter to $555 million, up from $535 a year earlier. The retailer’s performance was helped by solid spending and improvement in its credit card business.

Revenue rose 5.4% to $16.05 billion. Same-store sales were up 4.3% in the quarter.

New York City -- Deloitte’s 26th annual holiday survey of consumer spending intentions and trends, released Thursday, found that nearly half (48%) of consumers say they most likely will shop for gifts online this holiday season – a 13% increase from last year. 

This makes the Internet the No.1 shopping destination, now tied with discount stores, for the first time since adding the channel to Deloitte’s annual study.

Menomonee Falls, Wis. -- Kohl’s Corp. reported Thursday that profit for the quarter ended Oct. 29 rose 20% to $211 million, compared with $176 million in the year-ago period.

The retailer cited cost cuts and strong demand for exclusive brands for the strong performance, which matched Wall Street expectations.