GiftCard Partners Blog

LoyaltyOne recently took a deep dive into incentive programs and what exactly attracted millennials to them. There study found that the majority, falling into a range of 18-29 years old, identified in-store experience as a top factor when it came to joining grocery-store reward programs. These in-store experiences also seem to go hand-in-hand with health and nutrition.

Beacon technology has the potential to change the way we all shop. However, there is a "creepy" factor to knowing that stores are tracking your movements around their retail locations. So, some retailers are mixing a human element into beacon technology, and the results are surprisingly pleasant. Some retailers testing out beacons with messaging in either a native app or push messaging are using their employees as part of the beacon experience. Training employees on the beacon messaging and positioning employees in critical areas of the store allows employees to gain extra responsibility while improving the customer experience and removing the intrusive factor that beacons can present. Employee training on cutting edge technology provides professional development opportunities for your workforce and a unique chance for growth in the critical customer service area of your business. Offering small incentives like gift cards to employees who volunteer to step up and receive the training and take on extra responsibility is a great way to reinforce innovation at your organization. Think of beaconing as an opportunity to advance your workforce as well as advancing the technology in your stores. Head over to
MediaPost for more information.

In hoping to prove the value of whole grocery, Whole Foods Market is launching its first ad campaign this week. Crazy, right?

In an effort to vamp up their customer service, Boston Market has recently rolled out its new customer service initiative: Guest Service Excellence program just in time for the holidays. In a recent article from QSR, 
Boston Market Ramps Up Customer Services, Tony Buford, the’s brands chief operating officer said, “Like any service-oriented business, guest experience and customer service are items that we’re constantly working to perfect.” Corporate executives hit the road to visit Boston Market locations all across the U.S. as part of the program roll out in order to personally introduce employees to the new touchpoint in the program. The program focuses on five key points:

Whole Foods shoppers are dedicated, that’s no question. That’s why customers are known to drive more than an hour to get the experience at the Whole Foods that is just not offered at other grocery stores.