Programs
Banks May Force United, Others to Change Loyalty Programs
Airlines depend on banks for revenue. United, for instance, relies on Chase. However, there has been tension lately. “United has been increasingly bold in their frustration with JP Morgan Chase, the exclusive credit card vendor and, technically, their largest customer. Scott Kirby has called improving their agreement with Chase United’s ‘single biggest margin-growth opportunity.’”
Customer Experience
Gen Z Shoppers Buy Online, Pickup in Store
Package Concierge conducted a survey to illuminate Gen Z shopping habits. The survey found that Gen Z is taking advantage of a range of delivery/pickup options, but perhaps not the ones we may have expected. One finding: “While Generation Z shoppers may be using traditional shopping methods, they’re leveraging non-traditional retrieval methods—more than half (58 percent) have used buy-online-pickup-in-store, with nearly two-thirds using it within the last month.”
Partnerships
Tech Partnership Helps UK Grocery Chain Waitrose Drive Self-Checkout
Waitrose partners with tech-provider PCMS for self-checkout, which has strengthened the brand in the UK’s competitive supermarket space. “The use of scan-bag-and-go technology is expanding at a rapid pace in the United States with chains like Walmart and Kroger aggressively expanding its use, 7-Eleven piloting a new project and Amazon continuing to refine its cashierless Amazon Go concept, despite concerns among some observers that the technology could promote increased theft.”
Leadership
Jony Ive Leaving Apple to Start New Design Firm
Apple’s longtime Chief Designer is stepping out to try something new. “The company is called LoveFrom, and Ive will be joined by famed designer Marc Newson on the new venture. Despite stepping down from his executive position, Ive and Apple both claim he will still work ‘on a range of projects with Apple.’”
Walmart Turns to VR to Pick Middle Managers
Walmart has adopted VR to make its hiring process more efficient. “The country’s largest private employer is using a VR skills assessment as part of the selection process to find new middle managers, watching how workers respond in virtual reality to an angry shopper, a messy aisle, or an underperforming worker.”