Loyalty360 Reads: June 16 | Smoothie King Donates $1 Million in Smoothies, What’s App Brings Digital Payments to Brazil, and More

New Retail Habits from Coronavirus ‘Ingrained’ in Shoppers, Tractor Supply CEO Says
 
While the pandemic has caused customers to change their buying habits, an article in CNBC reports that one CEO doesn’t see these habits changing even with in-store shopping reopening. This includes shopping online, using curbside pickup, and contactless payment.
 
“A lot of these new behaviors are going to be ingrained in customers’ minds,” Hal Lawton, CEO of Tractor Supply Company told Matthew Shay, CEO of industry trade group the National Retail Federation, in a conversation streamed live on Zoom.
 
Panasonic, PopID Partner to Bring Facial Recognition to Retailers
 
Panasonic and PopID have announced a partnership that will bring facial recognition ordering and payment processes to retail and restaurant industries.
 
According to the article in Retailer Customer Experience, “Under the terms of the agreement between the parties, PopID and PopPay will be fully integrated into the Panasonic ClearConnect Kiosk application, and Panasonic will have preferential rights in the kiosk market. Additionally, Panasonic will jointly integrate PopID's PopPay solution into drive-thru systems and payment terminals.”
 
Walmart Strikes Ad Pact to Place Goods in HGTV’s New Quarantine Home Fix-It Show
 
Walmart has announced an advertising campaign with Discovery. Its products will be featured on a new HGTV series where homeowners will work to redesign their homes with designers stationed remotely. This show is titled “Design At Your Door.”
 
“Normally, we’d have 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 weeks, but not here,” says Greg Regis, executive vice president of advertising sales and partnerships at Discovery, in an interview in the above Variety article. “This was all by the seat of our pants.”
 
Bringing Payments to WhatsApp for People and Small Businesses in Brazil
 
WhatsApp has announced in a blog post that it is bringing digital payments to the app in Brazil. Sending money or purchasing the app is free for individuals but businesses will pay a processing fee to receive customer payments.
 
According to WhatsApp in a blog post, “We have built payments with security in mind and a special six-digit PIN or fingerprint will be required to prevent unauthorized transactions. To start, we will support debit or credit cards from Banco do Brasil, Nubank, and Sicredi on the Visa and Mastercard networks -and we are working with Cielo, the leading payments processor in Brazil. We have built an open model to welcome more partners in the future.”
 
Smoothie King Donates Over $1 Million in Smoothies to Essential Workers
 
Smoothie King has announced it has donated over $1 million in smoothies to essential workers during the pandemic.
 
“This pandemic is like nothing we’ve ever seen before, yet essential workers everywhere are still expected to show up to work and put their health and safety at risk. By donating $1,000,000 in smoothies, we wanted to help these heroes on their health and wellness journeys while they helped others do the same,” says CEO Wan Kim in the above QSR Magazine article. “Our goal was to give back to the heroes keeping all of us safe, and we’re thrilled to have reached that goal.”
 
The brand also let guests donate smoothies to these essential workers as well.
 
“I couldn’t be prouder of how our entire company responded,” Kim adds in the same article. “It wouldn’t have been possible without our franchisees, partners, and team members. Smoothie King is also thankful to those guests who participated and helped achieve the donation goal. Together, we helped provide thousands of healthier, on-the-goal meals to people that really needed it.”

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