E-commerce Strengthens Walmart
Walmart has reported strong sales growth during the holiday quarter. The retailer states that the growth was due to the expansion of its grocery pickup and delivery business, as well as a broadening of its online shopping selection. Increasingly, we’re seeing that traditional retailers are able to thrive in the present atmosphere if they reach out to the customers where they are and find creative ways to offer the convenience that today’s consumer has grown accustomed to.
Preferred Hotels Launches Loyalty Platform
Preferred Hotels & Resorts has launched a new loyalty platform, which it calls I Prefer Alliance. This platform enables hotel partners to offer the benefits of the I Prefer Hotel Rewards program to members of their own programs. Loyalty members will therefore have much greater access to rewards for the entire Preferred Hotels & Resorts portfolio. In keeping with hotel industry standards, the platform uses a points-based structure.
Takeaways from the 2018 Customer Experience Index
At Forbes, Dan Gingiss notes three “key takeaways” from the 2018 Customer Experience Index. The index is based on results from a 17-question survey of 1,200 US adults, who are asked questions about consumer experience, engagement, and loyalty.
Gingiss says, “US consumers want convenient and personalized customer experiences, and they will pay for it. Consumers say they have better experiences shopping online (55 percent) versus in-store (42 percent), primarily because it’s more convenient.”
Meet the Sleep Industry
Products and services designed to promote and maintain healthy sleeping habits have become a multi-billion dollar industry. Several innovations account for the surge, such as the mattress-in-a-box delivery service Caspar, which gives consumers 100 days to decide if they like the mattress or not. New tech, like sleep-tracking apps, have also risen in popularity.