Capgemini report finds modern loyalty programs insufficient and ineffective

by Bradley Cooper — Editor, Connect Media

March 26, 2015

A report by Capgemini Group, consulting and technology company, has found that most loyalty programs do not meet the needs of customers nor do they actively…

Building loyalty with mobile: Where to start?

Eric Buckner, Senior Product Manager - Mobile for Sears Holdings, discusses where to start when considering a mobile loyalty program.

San Francisco Soup Company executive discusses the restaurant's use of BLE beacons

Clayton Chan, COO for San Francisco Soup Company, discusses the restaurant chain's use of BLE beacons.

Retail ISAC launches cyber sharing portal supported by FS-ISAC

March 26, 2015

The Retail Cyber Intelligence Sharing Center (R-CISC) announced it has reached another key milestone and expanded the capabilities of its Retail Information…

How to turn angry customers into customer evangelists

by Shep Hyken — CAO, Shepard Presentations

Like most brilliant ideas, the premise is simple, but the results are excellent. It not only resolves the customer's complaint and restores confidence in the…

US retailers struggling to meet consumer expectations around mobile, in-store experience

March 25, 2015

Only 42 percent of shoppers found it easy to complete a purchase using a mobile device, and when asked which aspect of the shopping experience is most in need…

Retail of the future: Five insights from SXSW Interactive

by Jeannie Walters — Chief Customer Experience Investigator, 360Connext

In the case of retail tech, the biggest question wasn’t around the technology itself, but how to use it.

Starbucks suspends 'Race Together' campaign amid criticism

by Josh Fischer — Editor, NetWorld

Hoping to encourage a dialogue around race-related issues, the Seattle-based coffee giant devised the now partially dismantled "Race Together" campaign where…

Goorin Bros. achieves PCI compliance with fingerprint readers

March 24, 2015

Employees log on with their unique biometric credential and are automatically logged off after each transaction.

Zumigo launches validation service for online retailers

March 24, 2015

Identity verification company Zumigo Corp. has introduced what it says is the industry's first merchant payments validation service based on the real-time…

Study finds 330 million payment cards 'in the clear'

March 24, 2015

More than 6 in 10 businesses store unencrypted cardholder data, SecurityMetrics says.

The weak link in Apple Pay's security chain

Crooks have been using a surprisingly low-tech tactic to worm their way around Apple Pay's tokenization and biometric safeguards.

Survey says nearly half of product manufacturers implementing item-level RFID

March 23, 2015

For retailers, RFID provides greater than 95-percent inventory accuracy, improved sales, decreased out-of-stocks, increased margins and expedited returns…

Making a 'lovemark': How Coke and Burberry derive devotion digitally

by Bryan Pearson — President, LoyaltyOne

If colas and coats can claim one thing in common it is this: Two of the best-known makers of each are trying to transform the historic into meteoric through…

Amex pushes forward major retail rewards initiative

March 20, 2015

AT&T, ExxonMobil, Macy's, Nationwide, Rite Aid, Direct Energy and Hulu will be initial partners.

Intel lists job opening for cryptocurrency researcher

by Bradley Cooper — Editor, Connect Media

March 19, 2015

International developer Intel appears to be engaging the world of cryptocurrency with a job listing for a cryptocurrency researcher. According to the job…

Amazon offering one-hour delivery in Baltimore, Miami

March 19, 2015

According to the company, the Prime Now service will be available to Baltimore and Miami subscribers from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week.

Target adds one-year return policy

March 18, 2015

The retailer also rolled out a one-year return guarantee for guests using Target's baby, college or wedding Gift Registry.

Your employees are your brand

by Ron Zamir — President and CEO, Allen Communication

There is a direct tie to loyalty and retention between how companies treat their employees and how they treat their customers.

PetSmart and Amazon.com earn top customer experience ratings

March 16, 2015

PetSmart and Amazon.com deliver the best customer experience in the retail industry, according to the 2015 Temkin Experience Ratings, an annual ranking of…