When you’re running a retail business, the customers who spend the most in your store are valuable and magical creatures. Loyalty cards let you return that love to your customers. Sort of. Some companies are taking rewards cards a step further, rewarding their most loyal customers (probably the ones with the most money) with special perks. [More]
loyalty cards
When I Finally Earned A Free Haircut, Supercuts Pulled Their Loyalty Card
By 7.30.13
It was only a few short months ago that John went to Supercuts for a haircut and presented his loyalty card. They happily signed it for him. He finally had enough signatures to get a free haircut after carrying around the card for years! When he showed up to redeem the card, though, he learned that the program had ended just in time for him to lose out. Why? [More]
Giant Eagle Says It’s Doing Customers A Favor By Requiring Loyalty Cards At Self-Checkout
By 4.3.13
Many consumers have a love-it or hate-it feeling about self-checkout, but regardless of one’s personal feelings about the system, if a store makes it available, it should be open to all customers. Not according to the folks at Giant Eagle supermarkets. [More]
Are You Overdosing On Supermarket Loyalty Cards?
By 8.6.12
Just about anyone who has been into a chain grocery store in the last decade is familiar with loyalty programs — and the little barcode cards that can quickly clog up your wallet and/or key chain. But one Consumerist reader thinks it’s time for supermarkets to rethink these programs and just pass the savings on to everyone. [More]
CDC Used Shopper Loyalty Cards To Solve Mysterious Salmonella Outbreak
By 3.14.10
The shopper loyalty cards that your grocery store provides can have a higher purpose than giving you discounts, profiling your shopping habits, and racking up points for rewards programs. Loyalty card data can also help track down the source of foodborne pathogens, retaining records of specific brands and items that customers probably won’t remember. Trying to find the source of a mysterious salmonella outbreak, the CDC mined grocery loyalty card data to narrow the source down to specific brands of Italian cured meat. [More]
2-Foot-Long CVS Receipt Doubles As Party Streamer
By 5.11.09
Matt sent Consumerist an e-mail with the subject line, “Why is my receipt two feet long?” See, he shopped at CVS, purchased one item, used the self-checkout machine, and walked away with a receipt longer than my dog. This is a massive waste of paper, especially when you multiply it by the number of CVS stores and the number of purchases at each one, but it isn’t completely pointless.
Big Brother Is Watching You Grocery Shop
By 5.8.09
Star fruit distributed by Melissa’s Produce between April 21 and May 5 is being recalled due to chemical residues. Mmmm. I’m having a hard time finding coverage of the recall itself, but one grocery store’s handling of the situation got my attention.
A More Helpful Big Brother: Grocery Store Loyalty Programs Used To Notify Customers Of Salmonella Recall
By 2.9.09
According to Consumer Reports, some grocery stores are using their loyalty card registrations to get in touch with customers who bought recalled peanut butter products.
Survey Says 73% Of Shoppers Don't Care For Their Grocery Stores
By 11.20.07
Earlier this month, IBM released some interesting findings about grocery shoppers from its new study “Why Advocacy Matters to Grocers,” including:
- 73% of shoppers “feel either antagonistic towards or have no loyalty to their local supermarket”
Should You Be Swapping Loyalty Cards?
By 8.7.07
Consumerist reader Eyebrows McGee (probably not her real name) suggests a clever and subversive technique for sticking it to the Loyalty Program Man: swap your loyalty cards with other shoppers. The cardexchange.org website is a one-stop destination for finding someone out there you can exchange with. But before you visit it, you should consider the consequences and risks.
