Loyalty Marketing

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Winn-Dixie Stores announced it launched a smartphone application that will help customers find their closest Winn-Dixie, allow them to view the weekly circular and sales for that specific store, and create and manage shopping lists that both sync with computers and can be shared with other users. The app for Apple’s iPhone and Android smart phones is available as a free download through Apple Inc.’s iTunes, the Android Market or through links on Winn-Dixie’s website at http://www.winndixie.com/Mobile/apps.

While holiday sales overall were solid during the season just ended, a real bright spot was online where sales advanced 13% to a record level of nearly $31 billion, according to the online measurement firm comScore. For the 56-day period from Nov. 1 through Dec. 26, comScore data showed consumers turned to the Internet in record numbers, especially on such key days as Thanksgiving, Cyber Monday and the final day of free shipping on Dec.17 when online volumes surged 61% to $942 million.

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- While many e-retailers had a holiday to celebrate, customer satisfaction with the Top 40 online retailers overall has fallen since last year, according to the sixth annual ForeSee Results E-Retail Satisfaction Index (U.S. Holiday Edition).

Salisbury, N.C. -- Food Lion has unveiled a new mobile app that puts its stores right at customers' fingertips.

The new app, developed in partnership with Mercatus USA, gives customers the capability to create shopping lists, access weekly specials, download new recipes and locate stores. Also giving customers more bang for their buck is the opportunity to sign up for the Food Lion MVP loyalty program through the app.

The app can be accessed by visiting the iTunes library, and is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod devices.

QUINCY, Mass. - Stop & Shop Supermarket announced that it set a new record in 2010 with its annual Food for Friends campaign. More than $2 million -- a 40% increase from 2009 -- will be donated to more than 300 local food pantries and regional food banks throughout Stop & Shop's operating areas this year, the company reported.

The time to ponder that question is when everything is going right, which pretty much seems to be the case at Target these days. The company’s stable senior leadership team has articulated a clear strategy that is being well-executed and delivering expectation-exceeding results such as a 5.5% gain in November same-store sales and third quarter earnings per share that surged 28.5% to 74 cents.