Content about Loyalty program

Drug stores, especially chain drug stores, brand themselves differently. But once customers step through the doors, they tend to only see slight variations of the same thing: the same shelves, too tall for mere humans to reach the top without a ladder; the same product categories every other drug store carries; the same pharmacy counter in the back of the store; and the same cash registers in the front. Some stores have carpets, others have tile floors.


DENVER — Ibotta on Friday officially launched its free mobile application for iPhone users that gives consumers a new way to earn as much as $40 in cash each time they shop. With Ibotta, consumers earn cash rewards for answering a trivia question, watching videos and/or providing feedback on their favorite products, then buying the products in major national retailers, such as Walmart, Target and Walgreens.  

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — Coming off a strong third quarter, CVS Caremark executives expressed confidence that the company’s integrated retail/pharmacy benefit manager model and the unique programs and services it is able to deliver customers and clients are “making the difference,” president and CEO Larry Merlo told analysts during a Tuesday morning earnings call.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears and Kmart are offering more than a quarter-million dollars in rewards for members of their loyalty program and sending emergency equipment from 42 distribution centers in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, parent company Sears Holdings said.

PLEASANTON, Calif. — The Vons division of Safeway on Wednesday announced a new program with Chevron to offer a joint Reward Points loyalty program. Customers who earn gas rewards by shopping with their VonsClub Card at Vons stores and their ValuePlus Card at Pavilions stores will now be able to use their Rewards for up to 20 cents off per gallon when filling up at participating Chevron and Texaco branded locations in southern and central California. 

PLEASANTON, Calif. — Safeway's approach to multichannel retailing — a shopping app fielding personalized, targeted promotions to members of its growing Just for U loyalty program — represents the foundation for future growth, executives noted during a conference call with analysts Thursday morning.  

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — 2012 was a tough year for Walgreens. The Chicagoland retailer took a stand against a major PBM and took it on the chin. But that entire time, while the company did what it thought was right to protect the value of the services it provides today, Walgreens continued to focus on developing a better retail pharmacy experience with many new product offerings and services that is setting the stage for tomorrow. Well Experience and flagship stores. Pharmacists practicing at the top of their license. Health ambassadors in the aisle. Fresh.

The predictability of the chain store shopping experience has long been both a strength and weakness. The quality and experience may be predictably good, but can a shopper have a warm relationship with a store that treats everyone the same? 


Walgreens gets that. So it is transforming its relationship with its customers by getting to know their needs more closely. 


SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Regional supermarket chain Big Y is catering to customers' bundles of joy with the launch of a new loyalty program.

While traditional circulars still have their place within retail — especially when it comes to reaching older shoppers — there’s no doubt that the tides are changing as loyalty cards take a greater share of the 
promotional spotlight. 


A recent study by market research firm Polaris Marketing Research, for example, found that Americans are participating in loyalty card programs more now than ever before, and many are participating in five or more 
loyalty programs.


WOONSOCKET, R.I. — The CVS/pharmacy ExtraCare program, which boasts more than 70 million active members, now gives shoppers the ability to earn bigger rewards on most purchases during the peak fall and winter shopping season.

From Sept. 16 through Dec. 15, ExtraCare members can double their quarterly ExtraBucks Rewards by choosing to participate.

TORONTO — Royal Bank of Canada and Canadian pharmacy retailer Shoppers Drug Mart have introduced a new cobranded RBC Shoppers Optimum MasterCard. In conjunction with the launch, RBC announced its intention to acquire the existing Shoppers Optimum MasterCard credit card portfolio.