Programs
Venmo Launches a Rewards Program Offering up to 5 Percent Back at Certain Stores
Venmo has announced “its first-ever rewards program, Venmo Rewards, which will allow users to earn automatic cash back on purchases when they pay with their Venmo card at select retailers. The company is kicking off the program with limited-time cash back deals, including 5 percent back at Target, 5 percent back at Sephora, 4 percent back at Dunkin’, 5 percent back at Wendy’s, and more.”
Customer Experience
Uber Eats Test Offers Cooking Classes and Dining Experiences
Uber Eats is testing an experiential service, Uber Moments, in the San Francisco area. “Moments exists as an option within the Eats app, and it focuses on dining and cooking experiences—two of the first available options are reportedly a $75 class on making Chinese dumplings and a $55 five-course Nigerian dinner.”
United Adding Bigger Overhead Bins to Avoid Storage War
The air carrier has announced that “it is installing larger overhead bins to its fleet planes, an effort to end the anxiety-provoking and time-consuming game of musical chairs that often ends with travelers having to check their luggage at the gate.”
Amazon Is Spending Billions on Shipping as It Makes Prime One-Day Delivery a Reality
The e-commerce giant “is now working to deliver more packages at higher frequencies. The company has spent almost 50 percent more on transportation and fulfillment over the last three months than it did a year ago and has spent up to $9.6 billion. This includes not only the cost of bringing the package to the customer’s door in various ways, but also the expansion from the logistics business to air, land, and sea.”
Walmart Wants Robots in Stores. Target Doesn’t
Walmart expects to add “self-driving robots that scrub floors to 1,860 of its more-than 4,700 US stores by February. It will also add robots that scan shelf inventory at 350 stores and bots at 1,700 stores that automatically scan boxes as they come off delivery trucks and sort them by department onto conveyer belts.”
Alternately, Target CEO Brian Cornell stated, “You won’t see robots in Target stores anytime soon. We really think, even in today’s environment, where people are talking about AI and robotics and different elements of technology, the human touch still really matters.”