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The Loyalty Newswire September 29, 2025

The Loyalty Newswire from The Wise Marketer

From the Editor

Happy Monday!

The Loyalty Academy team is in Austin, Texas this week hosting a Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional™ Workshop on September 30 – October 1. The CLMP™ workshop delivering the latest in trends, best practices, and case studies in this certification program.

Our event sponsors are Bond Brand Loyalty and Loyalty Methods, and we appreciate their support of professional education in customer loyalty.

Jimmy John’s, Lancome and Norwegian Cruise Lines are all in the news with new loyalty program or feature launches. Eagle has a big product announcement, and we have a new Wise Marketer Strategy Brief created in conjunction with thought partner Kobie that solves the marketing attribution riddle in loyalty marketing.

We are here to help you succeed. Let us know how we can help.

Bill Hanifin, Managing Editor, The Wise Marketer

Short Takes

THIS WEEK” Loyalty Academy CLMP™ Workshop – Austin, Texas September 30 -October 1

Loyalty Academy™ and Wise Marketer Group are hosting an in-person Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional™ Workshop in Austin, Texas on Sept. 30 – Oct. 1. The event is designed for Managers, directors, and executive leaders in the loyalty industry, as well as those in data-driven marketing and technology disciplines.

The workshop offers fully updated core and elective modules from the Loyalty Academy’s curriculum through presentations, interactive exercises, and a group case study. Participants who pass a final exam will be granted CLMP™ Certification. We are proud to have BOND as the principal event sponsor.

Learn more and register here. Do it Today! Yee Haw! See you in Texas!

Eagle Eye Unveils Smart Rewards, A Real-Time Omnichannel Loyalty Solution for Retailers

Eagle Eye, a leading SaaS and AI technology company that delivers loyalty, personalized promotions and omnichannel marketing solutions for retail, travel and hospitality brands, announced the launch of Smart Rewards, a real-time loyalty, incentive and customer engagement solution that forms a core component of the company’s Smart Checkout product suite.

The new solution allows retailers to deliver and execute precisely targeted rewards and incentives to members at the exact moment of purchase, processing complex loyalty calculations faster than a Google search.

Jimmy John’s Moves to Points-based Rewards

Jimmy John’s replaced its surprise-and-delight rewards program on Monday with a points-based loyalty program called JJ Rewards, according to press release. JJ Rewards gives consumers 10 points for every dollar spent, and points can be redeemed for a variety of menu items including sandwiches, sides, desserts, drinks and sauces, Darin Dugan, chief brand marketing officer for Jimmy John’s, wrote in an email to Restaurant Dive.

As consumer price-sensitivity has weighed on traffic at many brands, rewards programs have become more important as tools to incentivize consumer frequency, control the scale and precision of discounting, and compete with other chains on price.

Lancôme Launches Updated Loyalty Website

Lancôme has launched a redesigned loyalty website for its “My Lancôme Rewards” program in the U.S. to coincide with the brand’s 90th anniversary in September 2025. The update focuses on a mobile-first design and a more intuitive, personalized experience for members.

With the rollout of its revamped site, Lancôme is placing greater emphasis on its loyalty program to encourage more sign-ups and keep customers coming back. 

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. Launches Three-Brand Loyalty Status Match Program

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., the parent company of Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, is introducing a new Loyalty Status Honoring Program, which acknowledges the loyalty status guests have earned across all three cruise brands on a per-cruise basis.

Beginning with sailings departing Oct. 15, 2025, members of NCL’s Latitudes Rewards, Oceania’s Oceania Club, and Regent’s Seven Seas Society, will be able to have their loyalty tier honored at the closest corresponding tier across all three brands on a per-cruise basis.

New Strategy Brief: Solving the Loyalty Marketing Attribution Riddle

In the latest of our Wise Marketer Strategy Brief series, From Vision to Reality – How Loyalty Data Powers the AI Marketing Revolution, explores how loyalty programs can be the ultimate drivers to transform competitive advantages into salient returns and evolve into an enterprise-wide asset.

Our valued thought partner in the creation of this eBook is Kobie – the perfect fit for The Wise Marketer to address this heady topic. Here are some excerpts that will make you want to download this resource as fast as possible:

  • “In many organizations, loyalty programs still live in a shadow. This shadow is called the “cost center.” And it can blind even the best of intentions.”
  • “Attribution is often the Achilles’ heel of loyalty marketing.”
  • “AI turns loyalty from a fabled story into a verifiable dataset – one that improves with every swipe, click, or scan.”2X

New 2024 Credit & Debit Card Swipe Fee Totals Higher Than Previous Estimates

CMSPI released its second annual State of the Industry Report in collaboration with the client-led Insights Advisory Council (IAC). The Council – formed in 2023 – consists of global business thought leaders from Amazon, Best Buy, Etsy, Google, iHerb, lululemon, Kroger, McDonald’s, Shell, Sony, Target and Walmart aligned with the purpose of shaping a more optimal paying experience for both merchants and consumers.

“In our engagements with the world’s largest merchants, CMSPI has observed huge variations in payments patterns across the globe,” notes Callum Godwin CMSPI Chief Economist and Chair of the Council “We hope our scoring methodology invites constructive conversations across key industry stakeholders, and together we can move closer towards the perfect payment method.”

How Marketers Can Reach Gen Z Holiday Shoppers

Though Gen Zers may be a prime target for marketers, data shows the younger generation is poised to take a cost-conscious approach to holiday shopping this year. Gen Zers, as they face life transitions and early careers in a turbulent economy, expect to cut their holiday spending by 23%, more than any other generation, according to a September report from PwC.

This article from eMarketer shows how this finding is a marked reversal from the previous year, when Gen Z’s holiday budgets leapt 37% YoY, per PwC. As advertisers set their strategies for the Black Friday through Cyber Monday (BFCM) stretch, here’s what they need to know about Gen Z’s holiday shopping expectations.

Grocery Retail Media Networks: Read this new report in the Loyalty Academy VAULT

Retail media networks (RMNs) have matured and evolved rapidly these past few years, and their growth shows no signs of relenting: eMarketer projects that U.S. retail media ad spend will jump from $51.9 billion in 2024 to $97.9 billion by 2028.

Learn from this report as leaders from top companies weigh in on retail media’s evolution, ongoing priorities for both retailers and CPG brands, and what’s holding the industry back. You can access this as a CLMP or Wiser Marketer.

The 2025 Ancillary Revenue Yearbook released by IdeaWorks (Jay Sorensen)

The new 100-page 2025 Yearbook of Ancillary Revenue from IdeaWorksCompany delivers the definitive analysis of how 61 airlines are driving growth through a la carte pricing, loyalty, and branded fares.

For 18 years, this yearbook has been the industry’s singular source for ancillary revenue insights. This is a paid report, but worthwhile if you are interested in this airline industry segment. Find it here.

Co-Brand & Travel Rewards 2025 is in NYC 28-29 October 2025

Loyalty revenues have grown significantly important to airlines, hotels and travel companies and the biggest part of that comes from co-brands. Travel continues to grow – with some domestic weaknesses in some markets – but there are other headwinds emerging. Whether it’s the tax man, regulators or increasing competition from non-card payments there is plenty to learn and prepare for.

The Co-Brand and Travel Rewards event, presented by AI Connect, is a one stop shop, whether you are a loyalty program, an issuer or one of the many other players in a complex ecosystem, to connect with top presenters and industry peers. Register here.

Jobs in Loyalty

There are many talented people looking for full-time and contract positions in loyalty marketing. Fortunately, there are opportunities available from both brands and providers. We list a sampling of what we are aware of here.

Please click through the links if provided or contact us here to learn more and apply for these positions.

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Stay. Loyal. Always.