The Loyalty NewswireOctober 24, 2024

This week’s Customer Loyalty and Digital Marketing News

From the Editor

We are back in the office after an extended period on the road, soaking in all the good content and networking at The BIG Handshake in Amsterdam, and working with a strong group of professionals in The Loyalty Academy™ CLMP™ workshop in London. QBF Consulting has just wrapped up its workshop in Dubai today, capping off a busy stretch for our group.

Meanwhile, news from the world of customer loyalty, engagement and CRM continues. This week’s Newswire has coverage of many top brands including Amazon Prime, bp, Jacksons, Jollibee, RaceTrac, RipCurl, Vitamin Shoppe, and Yesway.

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The Global News Roundup

Marigold Unveils Expanded Roadmap for AI

Marigold unveiled its expanded roadmap for AI with a focus on applying ML/AI technologies to the outcomes that matter most to marketers. Marigold AI (MAI) and pronounced “May”, is dedicated to helping marketers create meaningful, human-centered experiences that foster genuine connections and strengthen customer loyalty.

According to a 2024 report from the Marketing AI Institute, 51% of marketers say they’re either piloting or scaling AI, compared to 42% last year. This rapid acceleration underscores the critical need for AI solutions prioritizing trust, brand integrity, and genuine customer relationships. Read the full press release.

Amazon Prime Members Can Now Save on Gas at BP stations

Amazon Prime members are getting a new perk: extra savings at the pump. The Amazon Prime website says “As a Prime member in the U.S., you save 10¢ a gallon at bp, Amoco, and participating ampm stations when you link your Amazon and earnify™ accounts. Amazon and earnify™ each offer 5¢ a gallon to total 10¢ a gallon savings for Prime members, inclusive of all fuel grades with no minimum or maximum number of gallons required.”

The earnify™ app from bp provides station locations, facilitates checkout at the pump, and awards points on earnify™ that can be used for fuel and convenience store discounts.

Ascenda (UK) transforms economics for financial institutions with new loyalty-as-a-service offering

Ascenda, the “world’s most connective rewards ecosystem”, announced the launch of its new loyalty-as-a-service offering. The model challenges established industry norms and maximizes business outcomes for financial institutions through effortless access to scalable, aspirational rewards propositions that deliver outsized returns.

As the press release says, “for decades, companies who provide rewards technology and content have operated on a vendor model that leaves them uninvested in their clients’ success. The onus has been squarely on financial institutions to procure the right loyalty marketing ingredients and put them to use in a way that generates ROI – often with mixed results.” The new loyalty-as-a-service offering is said to transform marketing economics for financial institutions with an outcome-centric partnership model.

Jollibee Announces First-Ever Loyalty Program, Jollibee Rewards

Global restaurant brand, Jollibee, announced the launch of its first-ever loyalty program, Jollibee Rewards. Recently hailed “the best fast-food fried chicken” in America by USA TODAY, Jollibee is continuing to gain swarms of new fans from coast to coast by serving great-tasting food at a good value that is always served with joy.

“It’s no secret that we have the most loyal fans in the world — so much so, that we truly see them as our friends, not just customers. Our Jollibee Rewards program is tailor-made to amplify the special sense of community that we share with them and thoughtfully reward them for their steadfast support and passion for our brand,” Luis Velasco, SVP and marketing head, Jollibee North America, said in the official press release.

Rip Curl is rewarding loyalty points for going surfing

Australian surfwear brand Rip Curl’s loyalty program seems typical on the surface. For every dollar Members spend, they earn 100 points towards future purchases. But this loyalty program has gone “totally rad” as Club Rip Curl Members also earn points when they go surfing, collecting 200 points for every wave they catch, provided they’re wearing a Rip Curl Search GPS Watch, which logs waves ridden.

Zsuzsa Kecsmar, co-founder and chief strategy officer of Antavo Loyalty Cloud, the London-based loyalty platform that partnered with Rip Curl on a new loyalty program in 2022, told Retail Brew that she’s advocating for brands to expand beyond “old school, more transactional loyalty” (which Antavo also calls “rational loyalty”), namely giving points only for purchases.

Vitamin Shoppe Selects POS Provider Jumpmind to Upgrade Customer Experience

Nearly 75% of consumers say the way they shop in stores has changed significantly over the past three years, according to Retail Systems Research (RSR). Consumers increasingly see stores as destinations for high-quality service, immersive experiences and activations, even digital order fulfillment.

Seeking to transform the customer shopping experience in its physical stores, Vitamin Shoppe has partnered with Jumpmind. All Vitamin Shoppe stores will soon be equipped with one fixed POS station and two iPads. The fixed POS runs Jumpmind Commerce, a cloud-native, mobile-first POS for associates. Tablet-toting health enthusiasts can use the POS to check out customers anywhere in the store and use a clienteling app, called “V-book,” to offer more detailed, personalized service in store aisles. Press Release here.

Yesway Adds Rewards Members After Listening to Customers

Yesway found that actively listening to its customers resulted in an increase of 115% in new rewards members, said Darrin Samaha, vice president of marketing at Yesway, at a 2024 NACS Show education session. Yesway recently eliminated its points structure and offers “Smiles” as its rewards currency when a customer makes a purchase. Rewards members receive 10 Smiles for every $1 spent in store and five Smiles for each gallon of gas purchased.

“We’re in the business of convenience and speed, and if you don’t on those requests, chances are, your brand is going to fall by the wayside,” Samaha said. “It seems simple, but it actually had a tremendous impact on customers, where now they have the chance to try other things they couldn’t before.”

Just 38% Of Aussie Consumers Stay Loyal to Regular Brands During Black Friday

This figure comes from new research conducted by SAP Emarsys Customer Engagement, revealing how brands that prioritize personalised, mobile-first omnichannel strategies are best positioned to foster lasting customer loyalty.

The figures vary by segment, as the study showed 54% feel most loyal to clothing and fashion brands, 38% maintain loyalty to health, beauty, and skincare brands, and 38% stay loyal to consumer-packaged goods (CPG) brands.

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