All you need to know this week about loyalty & CX: World Travel Market (London, Nov 6) • Attached CEO interview • Air France - SAS • Delta • Emirates • Southwest • United• SkyUp• IBS Software • Lufthansa • Vietjet • Accor • Choice Hotels • Orient Express • McKinsey • Marriott • Hyatt • Expedia • Trip.com • Virgin Voyages • Holland America • Domino's • Microsoft • Mastercard • Starbucks • Taco Bell • Walmart • Plusgrade • Uber • Sia Partners • Marigold • Gartner report, etc.
GLOFeatured:
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Eveline shares insights on: How important is language in delivering the best possible CX? For which countries or cultures would you say local language campaigns are commercially important? Do you see any loyalty-specific features or trends in lingual support? How to integrate AI and machine learning into your language intelligence services? What would be your advice for large global players from a commercial point of view of language support, etc. |
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Join GLO at the World Travel Market in London, 6-8 November 2023 Join our panel discussion on 6 November at 11.50am to listen to our expert panel on the power of gamification in revolutionising the future of customer loyalty programs. Learn about the changing landscape of loyalty models and why integrating gamification should be used to captivate customers, enhance engagement, and encourage long-term loyalty and retention. |
Airlines & Alliances News:
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Air France-KLM will team up with Swedish airline SAS through equity and commercial cooperation The primary objective for Air France-KLM in this venture is to expand its presence in the Scandinavian markets by fostering commercial cooperation between its own airlines and SAS. |
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Delta answers to critics and will modify its frequent-flier program after negative feedback In response to this feedback, Delta’s CEO acknowledged the airline’s missteps and pledged to make modifications to address travelers’ concerns. |
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Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) report robust growth in August Traffic figures released by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) showed further recovery in international passenger markets, underpinned by robust travel demand and expansion in city-pair connections from both outside and within the region. |
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Evaluated through a comprehensive audit of quality of service, safety, and health control initiatives, Emirates is one of just eight airlines globally to achieve this accolade. Emirates also received a 2024 IFSA award for ‘Best Onboard Amenity,’ in recognition of Emirates Sustainable Economy Class amenity kit – filled with useful amenities to enhance passenger comfort whilst being composed of more sustainable materials designed for reusability. |
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Cricket fever is back with Emirates as Official Airline Partner of ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 As Global Partner of the International Cricket Council (ICC), Emirates is once again in full swing as Official Airline Partner of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, taking place across India and running from 5 October to 19 November. |
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The new B2C solution incorporates modern airline retailing concepts, creating a better transaction experience and boosting revenue |
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SkyUp Airlines Selects IBS Software to Power Restart of Commercial Operations IBS Software’s cloud and NDC-native PSS platform will enable SkyUp to react to changing market conditions, giving them the ability to dynamically price fares and ancillary services and handle continuous pricing via a multitude of distribution channels. |
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SriLankan signs interline with Virgin This new collaboration underscores the airline’s dedication to Australia, allowing customers to easily include select Virgin Australia domestic or international flights in their SriLankan Airlines booking. This arrangement simplifies managing a multi-airline itinerary under a single ticket. |
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‘Brewing Excellence’ – Emirates offers a world class range of coffee to connoisseurs Celebrating International Coffee Day on 1 October, Emirates highlights the wide array of artisan coffee served in Emirates lounges and onboard flights to 140 destinations around the world. |
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United will add wheelchair feature to booking engine United Airlines has reached an agreement with the Transportation Department to introduce a unique flight filter in its booking engine, designed to assist passengers with mobility disabilities in finding flights where their wheelchairs can be securely transported in the cargo hold. |
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United’s broader partnership with Special Olympics also includes the employment of athletes in airports across the country as part of its growing Special Olympics Service Ambassador Program. |
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United-LOT Polish Airlines codeshare agreement expires The codeshare agreement, which had been in place for an extended period, reached its expiration in the final week of September, as reported by the website AeroRoutes. |
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Lufthansa equips short- and medium-haul aircraft with new cabins Lufthansa guests will experience a new cabin interior on short- and medium-haul routes in the future. It offers significantly more comfort and premium. Starting in spring 2025, the company will successively equip 38 Airbus A320s already flying for Lufthansa with the new innovative cabin. |
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Southwest Airlines ranked by Fortune as one of America’s most innovative companies Carrier was recognised for continued innovation efforts that enhance the Customer Experience. |
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The airline has confirmed its plans to enhance its Vietnam-Australia flight network by introducing two new services connecting Ho Chi Minh City to Perth and Adelaide. |
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Paradigm shift in airport traffic: Turkey, France and Spain airports gains ForwardKeys report ranks 50 busiest airports in the world and presents a stark contrast to the pre-pandemic period, particularly in terms of changes within European and MENA airports, which have seen significant shifts compared to 2019. |
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Overview of latest digital tech transforming airport customer experience Overview of latest trends in proliferation and implementation of biometrics, Digital ID and personalisation across key airports. |
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McKinsey Report: Understanding the sustainable-fuel market to capture value With SAF and sustainable fuels firmly on the agenda of airlines, airports, transport companies and hospitality industry, very useful report by McKinsey breaking down types of sustainable fuel and giving projections till 2050. |
Hotels & Hospitality News:
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Accor is proud to announce its co-founding of the “Hospitality Alliance for Responsible Procurement” (HARP), in partnership with four global hotel groups – Hilton, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Marriott International, Radisson Hotel Group, alongside two global hospitality group purchasing organizations – Avendra and Entegra, and sustainability rating agency EcoVadis. |
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Choice Privileges Now Offering Guests Grubhub Delivery at 500 Choice Hotels From adding more upscale hotel offerings to its family of participating hotel brands to offering two, new co-branded credit cards, the award-winning loyalty program continues to expand member opportunities and benefits. |
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The Luxury Collection, part of Marriott Bonvoy’s global portfolio of 31 extraordinary hotel brands, announces a new collaboration with Global Explorer Laila Gohar creating a transformative cake experience at Prince de Galles, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Paris. Known for her avant-garde culinary installations, the chef and artist has lent her Surrealist touch to a 10-foot-tall cake installation in the hotel, on display from September 28-October 10, just in time for Paris Fashion Week. |
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Marriott International Outlines Three Year Growth Plan at Security Analyst Meeting “With global travel poised for continued robust growth, our strategy is to deliver the best brands and experiences for consumers, to attract and retain the most loyal guests and to be in more places around the world. These are our three paths to win,” said Anthony Capuano, President and Chief Executive Officer, Marriott International. |
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In a tribute to the past, celebration of the present and looking toward the future, Orient Express proudly marks its 140th anniversary today, October 4th, 2023. As part of the celebration, Orient Express is proud to unveil a captivating film that transcends the boundaries of time and space. |
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Hyatt To Introduce New Home Rental Offering: Homes & Hideaways by World of Hyatt When the offering launches, which is expected in the coming weeks, World of Hyatt members will have direct booking access to a unique collection of short-term private home rentals from beachfront escapes to mountainside ski chalets, where they can earn and redeem points beyond the traditional hotel stay. |
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Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, a part of IHG Hotels & Resorts(IHG), is launching a groundbreaking MEETINGS WITHOUT BOUNDARIES, a concept for the Greater China market, capitalizing on the rising demand for domestic cultural tourism and “BLEISURE” travel. The flexible gathering experience incorporates elements such as warm ambiances and health & safety considerations into a space designed to facilitate socializing, giving a fresh perspective to the traditional conference. |
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Food and wine connoisseurs are invited to a Michelin-starred culinary collaboration at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills, where renowned Executive Chef Rogelio Garcia from the Michelin-starred Auro at Four Seasons Resort and Residences Napa Valley, joins forces with Mitch Austin, Executive Chef of Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills and the esteemed Culina team for an evening of culinary brilliance. |
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Diners can experience a sublime culinary dialogue between Chef Pedro Pena Batos and three other Michelin star chefs, showcasing their individual and combined talents, anchored in a deep respect for seasonal, local ingredients. |
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Trip.com wins three awards at the 2023 World Travel Awards – Europe Trip.com’s General Manager for Europe, expressed his pride in the achievements, stating, “Earning three awards at the 2023 World Travel Awards – Europe is a testament to our unwavering commitment to delivering outstanding travel experiences and gaining recognition at both regional and national levels.” |
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Hotel Indigo’s The World’s Neighborhood Hotel celebrates the people, places and experiences that make the neighborhood one-of-a-kind. |
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Wyndham Grand Unveils Upscale All-Inclusive Getaway Along the Lush Coast of Southeast Barbados Surrounded by beautiful greenery and stunning oceanfront, Wyndham Grand Barbados, Sam Lord’s Castle Resort & Spa is committed to improving the environment and supporting the global and local community by developing and implementing sustainable programs that deliver economic benefits to the surrounding area. |
Cruises:
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Entertainment on the ocean waves Holland America Line has made substantial progress in upgrading the internet connectivity on its 11 ships by implementing SpaceX’s Starlink technology. |
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Holland America upgrades onboard internet Holland America Line has made substantial progress in upgrading the internet connectivity on its 11 ships by implementing SpaceX’s Starlink technology. |
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These seven- and 12-night expeditions immerse travelers in some of the world’s most uncharted territories, characterised by lush jungles, impressive cave systems, vibrant underwater ecosystems, and Indigenous communities. |
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Virgin Voyages has appointed Michelle Bentubo as the company’s inaugural Chief Operations Officer (COO). In her new capacity, she will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the brand’s operations, including service delivery, port operations, marine and technology, customer service, digital platforms, change management, and business transformation. |
Retail & F&B:
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The largest pizza company and the most trusted and comprehensive cloud platform collaborate on generative AI solutions for personalized orders and simplified store logistics |
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Wealthy Shoppers Swap Quiet Luxury for Festive Flair This Holiday According to affluent shoppers, the era of quiet luxury, characterized by subtle refinement, understatement, and minimalist elegance, is coming to an end. This shift raises important questions for retailers, particularly in the context of the upcoming holiday season. |
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Taco Bell is re-launching its taco subscription program as it seeks to boost customer visits and frequency. The quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain announced its Taco Lover’s Pass, which offers loyalty members one free taco every day for 30 days after a $10 purchase. This subscription is available for purchase for a limited time. |
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Walmart enters into partnership with MobileX Through the partership Walmart will provide cost-effective and personalised mobile phone plans to its customers. |
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Starbucks for mobile orders opens at Houston’s Bush Airport Airport concessionaire OTG is launching the inaugural Starbucks pickup-only airport branch at Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport on September 29. Positioned near Gate E1, this Starbucks store is exclusively tailored for mobile orders. |
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Panera launches mypanera week campaign featuring savings and surprises for loyalty members Panera Bread kicks off the MyPanera Week Fall Faves Fest – a week-long celebration of loyalty members and everything they love about fall: crave-worthy comforts, full on flavor and deals on all things cozy. |
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Gamer go-tos DORITOS, MTN DEW and ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK have joined forces with Xbox to reward fans Gamers can snag a free 1-month subscription to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, plus rack up points to earn gaming rewards, every time they sip & snack |
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Protein Bar & Kitchen to Expand Superfan Base Nationwide through Franchising With a newly perfected franchise model that offers a smaller footprint along with a seamless dine-in, carry-out, delivery, mobile app + online ordering and catering customer experience, Protein Bar & Kitchen’s initial strategic franchising efforts will focus in Illinois and neighboring states with future growth planned for the Southeastern region. |
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Sam’s Club Offers Biggest Savings of the Year on Plus Membership Sam’s Club is helping shoppers prepare for the holidays with the best Plus membership offer of the year. With a focus on value and convenience during the holiday season, Sam’s Club is also launching two online savings events with exciting items that include early shopping hours on deals for Plus members. |
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Cashfree Payments partners with Shopify to launch onsite payments for Indian merchants With onsite payments, merchants can offer a seamless and swift checkout experience to customers by directly collecting payment information on their website, eliminating the need for redirection to a third-party page. This streamlined process reduces transaction time and minimises customer drop-offs, enhancing revenue and payment experience. |
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Givex to Sponsor Retail Gift Card Association (RGCA) Forum The panel that Velasco will introduce will cover B2B trends in the gift card industry, an analysis of what works and what doesn’t, and a discussion around best practices and the value of a B2B gift card program. |
Transport, Mobility, Fuel Retail:
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Automotive Loyalty Rates Stall Despite Volume Increases, according to S&P Global Mobility Ending consecutive periods of year-over-year declines, brand loyalty movement among U.S consumers halted in the first half of 2023, according to S&P Global Mobility analysis of new vehicle registration data. |
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Lectric eBikes Riders Log Thousands of Miles Inspiring New VIP Loyalty Program Lectric eBikes riders to be rewarded by going the distance in “Lectrifying” their lives |
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Plusgrade and European Sleeper partnership announced at the World Passenger Festival in Vienna. European Sleeper guests will soon be able to bid for upgrades, setting a new standard in the European rail industry for passenger choice, comfort and experience. The partnership further solidifies Plusgrade’s position as the global ancillary revenue powerhouse, and the expansion of its quickly expanding rail vertical. |
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Uber expands its package delivery service, Uber Connect, to include a package return service. The company aims to assist customers in simplifying the process of returning items without the need for mailing them. |
Payments, Finance, Insurance, Wealth Mngm & Social Media:
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Mastercard teams With Peacock and Instacart to reward consumers Under the new offerings, eligible World Mastercard and World Elite Mastercard holders who are new to the Instacart+ membership program will receive a complimentary two-month trial, as well as $10 off their second eligible Instacart purchase each month.. |
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Wirex Unveils the Payment Layer for Web3 with transferable loyalty Wirex, a global leader in crypto payments with over 6 million users, is proud to announce its strategic vision and roadmap to become the primary payment layer for the Web3 ecosystem. |
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PYMNTS Report: How Transparency and High Earners Power a $96-Billion Subscription Industry With consumers increasingly adopting subscription services across a range of sectors like streaming, meal kit deliveries, and fitness memberships, this industry is expected to grow significantly, potentially reaching $2.4 trillion by 2028. |
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Forter Brings Enhanced Visualization, Control and Insights to Fraud and Payments Teams Merchants can now more easily uncover critical insights and trends to maximize revenue and customer experience. |
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Cashfree Payments launches ‘One Escrow’ – a premier modular escrow solution Cashfree Payments, India’s leading payments and API banking company, announced the launch of ‘One Escrow’, an all-in-one escrow service platform. Launched by the market leaders in bulk disbursal, One Escrow is Cashfree Payments’ premier modular escrow solution that ensures complete trust and transparency in financial dealings. |
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ANVI selects Reltime to bring Web3 Mobile Financial Services to hundreds of millions of users This partnership marks the dawning of a new era for Indian P2P financial services, making them instant, seamless, secure, autonomous and extremely cost-effective. |
Telcos & Technology:
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Travel-tech innovator utu continues to revolutionise tax-free shopping with the launch of the enhanced utu Membership Program. Since its operation in 2016, utu has transformed how travellers worldwide experience VAT refunds and now operates in more than 50 countries. |
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fliggs mobile and T-Mobile launch an all-digital Web3 MVNO fliggs mobile has integrated a non-custodial wallet into its mobile app, offering secure gateway to Web3. As the first MVNO to provide a decentralized ID (DID), fliggs mobile enables universal access to Web3 and FinTech services, allowing greater control and privacy. The wallet facilitates cryptocurrency payments, cashback loyalty programs, and charitable donations. |
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Company’s round, which also includes participation from fin-tech investor Bolt by QED, provides restaurants with an all-new way to get to know their diners and incentivize them to return again and again |
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Loyalty in subscription businesses – Blue Apron being acquired by Wonder Blue Apron is being acquired by Wonder, a deal announced recently with a price tag of $103 million, significantly lower than the company’s market cap of over $1.9 billion when it went public in 2017. Blue Apron has reported a roughly 15% decline in year-over-year revenue in its most recent earnings report. |
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Zendesk extends its CX leadership with powerful generative AI offerings Company also launches capabilities to further secure data and ensure privacy in the evolving AI landscape |
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Creating the Ultimate Customer Journey: AI-Powered Recommendations Meet Immersive 3D Exploration |
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Zoku Announces the Release of Advanced Omni-Commerce Platform for Retail Powered by Oracle NetSuite and Shopify, the platform offers a unified commerce solution focusing on operational efficiencies and seamless Cx |
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Microsoft’s Generative AI Initiatives – A Vision to Transform Businesses Microsoft and CloudThat, key partners in the field of technology, have joined forces to prepare businesses’ workforces for the era of Generative AI. |
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Everi Solutions to webcast investor presentation Everi Holdings Inc., a premier provider of land-based and digital casino gaming content and products, financial technology, and player loyalty solutions, announced that it is hosting a live webcast of management’s investor presentation and preview of the Company’s products showcased at the upcoming 2023 Global Gaming Expo. |
Loyalty Research
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Sia Partners’ Loyalty Program Benchmark 2023 Identifying the leading B2C Loyalty Programs and best practices across industries in the Netherlands. |
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In depth overview of questions to ask yourself before launching the program, questions to the vendor, questions to the special provider. |
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Gartner report: Break Down Channel Silos for a Better Customer Service Experience Disconnected transitions between self-service and assisted-service hurt customer experience (CX), undermine self-service adoption, waste resources and leave customers frustrated as they toggle between multiple channels. Gartner examined more than 6,000 customer journeys to help customer service and support leaders better understand customer behavior, preferences and expectations around CX. |
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The World Market for Luxury Goods global briefing offers an insight into the size and shape of the luxury goods industry, highlights buzz topics, emerging trends as well as pressing industry issues, their effects on luxury goods retailing in markets around the world and on the development of consumers’ shopping patterns. Forecasts illustrate how the market is set to change and criteria for success. In short, it identifies the opportunity zones within luxury goods industry. |
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With the surging cost of living in the United Kingdom, more shoppers are turning to buy now pay later schemes to manage their cash flow. According to the publisher,, over 36% of consumers have used BNPL more than once because of rising inflation and cost of living. Millennials and Gen Z consumers are the ones using the payment method more frequently. |
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Loyalty market in Asia Pacific is expected to grow by 13.1% on annual basis to reach US$46,904.1 million in 2023. |
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The global smart retail market grew from $34.73 billion in 2022 to $43.73 billion in 2023 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.9%. The smart retail market is expected to grow to $108.37 billion in 2027 at a CAGR of 25.5%. |
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PYMNTS & sticky.io report: Loyal Subscribers Account for Nearly 80% of Subscription Merchant Revenue PYMNTS and sticky.io publishes report on “How Retail Subscription Merchants Can Win and Retain High LTV Customers,” based on a survey of nearly 2,100 customers examining the relationship between loyal customers and merchant revenues and the best practices to expand this lucrative group of customers. |
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Learn how iGaming operators can increase the odds for player loyalty, and gain valuable insights into player experiences, behavior and marketing preferences |
Entertainment & Sport:
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KORE Partners with PSV Eindhoven to Elevate Partnership Management and Fan Engagement KORE, the leading engagement marketing platform for the sports and entertainment industry, is proud to announce its newest joint-client with Sports Alliance and first-ever Netherlands-based customer, PSV Eindhoven. |
Source: GLO
