Top Retailers

The battle to capture and retain customers in a world where price, convenience and even customer service have become commoditized is in full swing. “The risk is you end up in a loyalty war [where] companies begin to use the loyalty scheme or the loyalty component of [the card] as another form of price escalation,” warned Bryon Pearson, president of LoyaltyOne and contributing editor to Colloquy, a magazine that has covered the loyalty marketing industry since 1990. “The intelligence that sits behind these programs is where the real value is,” he said.

Nielsen’s SVP consumer and shopper insights Todd Hale points to Kroger’s loyalty card as one of the best examples of consumer data aggregation. “Not only do you save money when you use their loyalty card, but you [also] save money no matter where you shop,” he said of Kroger’s 1-2-3 Rewards Visa Card, which is linked to its loyalty program.

That catapults actionable shopper data to an entirely new level — Kroger knows what its best customers are buying from other retailers.

WEST BRIDGEWATER, Mass. — Shaw's Supermarkets, a subsidiary of Supervalu, on Friday announced plans to reduce its store-level workforce by an estimated 700 positions. These reductions, which will occur across 169 Shaw's and Star Market stores in New England, and will be finalized by Nov. 3, the grocer stated. 

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid is renewing its diabetes extension for Wellness+ and offering free screenings at all of its Wellness stores to mark American Diabetes Month, the retail pharmacy chain said Monday.

Fall 2012 makeup was confident and sultry as lipstick made a comeback, at the expense of lip gloss, and eyes shouted sex appeal with dramatic eyeliner and bold brows. That’s the look that graced fashion runways, and judging by the numbers, consumers followed suit in the mass market.


DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens on Monday launched Ology, a nationally accessible and affordable brand formulated to be free of harmful chemicals. Exclusive to Walgreens' family of companies, the Ology brand features a line of baby and personal care products as well as household cleaners, the company stated.

CVS/pharmacy certainly is the leader in terms of how to translate reams of shopper data into programs that drive profitable results. It’s been at it for almost 15 years, and its 70 million active cardholders makes for the largest loyalty program in retail pharmacy.

In a major nod to the program’s success, 67% of CVS transactions and 82% of all front-store sales are tied to ExtraCare, and card members buy 85% more items per trip versus nonmembers.

Walmart in September partnered with HumanaVitality on a program that incentivizes healthier behavior, offering 5% savings on select healthier-for-you products. The program has about 1 million members.

“With [HumanaVitality’s] large population, we’ve got a lot of opportunities to collect data and to understand how this is … changing behaviors of individual shopping experiences,” said Joe Woods, HumanaVitality CEO.