Loyalty Programs

Walmart on Tuesday announced a new joint membership combining its namesake chain and its subsidiary Sam’s Club, as the retailer leans further into convenience and value to win over cash-strapped consumers. The membership, which combines Walmart+ and Sam’s Club Plus, will cost $120 per year, according to the company. That price is nearly $100 less…

Retailers tend to judge loyalty success by penetration, which measures the share of transactions tied to a member account. It’s an easy number to report and an easy one to feel good about. However, penetration mostly counts people who were already coming in. It doesn’t show whether the program created a new visit, held off…

In the modern retail era, loyalty is still a tool that works to reward the most frequent buyers and retain them as customers. But many retailers now take loyalty further, turning it into something much bigger: the customer data that powers the rest of the business. Steph Hoppe, vice pres­ident of omnichannel marketing at Casey's…

Every November retailers spend billions trying to seduce shoppers with bigger discounts and longer sales that start earlier and earlier. Then, unless you've planned how you're going to keep those shoppers engaged post-peak, the relationship is over a week later. The interesting thing, though, is that this experience isn't actually what modern shoppers want from…

Retailers have spent decades (and billions of dollars) building loyalty ecosystems designed to understand their customers, personalize experiences, and give people a reason to come back. But now, just as those programs are becoming more sophisticated, something new is inserting itself between retailers and their customers: artificial intelligence. Consumers are using AI assistants to discover…

Many convenience store operators walk into a strategy session with a promo calendar and call it a loyalty plan. A coffee BOGO this week. Two-for-one taquitos the next. A "we miss you" blast to anyone who hasn't scanned in a while. I've seen it a hundred times. That's not loyalty. That's a coupon schedule with…

Anyone who operates a loyalty program knows that they’re designed to influence buying behavior ...  human buying behavior. A customer remembers their points balance, activates an offer, and checks the app before checkout. That model is showing its age. Artificial intelligence agents are actively making real purchase decisions on behalf of consumers, both within the…

In the U.S., e-commerce sales are projected to reach $1.8 trillion by 2030, according to Forrester. Even then, online will account for just 29 percent of total retail sales, with the remaining 71 percent, around $4.4 trillion, still happening in physical stores. Yet so many loyalty programs are still built around earning points online. Our…

For decades, retailers have competed on points. Earn enough, get a free bag of chips. Swipe enough, unlock a discount on your next visit. The logic was sound: reward loyalty with loyalty. But something has shifted. Consumers are disengaged. Redemption rates are falling. And retailers are spending billions on programs that aren't meaningfully moving the…

Lowe's announced this week it was launching HomeCare+, a $99 in-home maintenance services subscription program exclusively for MyLowe's Rewards loyalty members. HomeCare+ will include seven in-home services for regular home upkeep: electric dryer vent cleaning; HVAC air filter replacement; refrigerator water filter replacement; electric water heater flush; garage door lubrication; smoke and carbon monoxide detector…