Cash Back Popularity on the Rise, But Is There a Better Way?

Cash is king. During the past two years, this age old encouragement from our fathers has been driven home with punctuation. In the loyalty and rewards game, cash is king in a different way. Ask a focus group to rank their preferred reward options and cash rises to the top. Surveys often produce the same result.
But look into the transactional detail of a loyalty program sponsor and you'll find that cash is not always the top choice among rewards. Over the past decade, experiential rewards and air travel have stayed at the top of the list. There seems to be a disconnect between what consumers say they want and what their behavior proves they want.

Target Tests Aim To Measure Effect Of Various Rewards

Target Corp. is not alone in testing the effect of various benefits associated with its private-label credit and debit cards and its co-branded Visa card (see story), one analyst says.

As retail and credit card profits come under pressure following the economic downturn, large retailers are scrutinizing the rewards they offer customers for paying with credit and debit cards to ensure they are maximizing profitability, Scott Strumello, an associate with Auriemma Consulting Group, tells PaymentsSource.
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TESCO PUTS £120 MILLION BACK IN CUSTOMERS’ POCKETS

Tesco today celebrates the 15th anniversary of Clubcard – the most popular loyalty scheme in the UK – with over £120 million of rewards sent to more than 14 million customers.
And to celebrate, Britain’s favourite supermarket also announced that, due to popular demand, it will continue to give customers Double Points across the store and online*.More..

It's Reward Time at Costco - Are You Motivated?

For holders of the True Earnings Card® from American Express and Costco, shoppers can earn 1% on all Costco purchases and up to 3% back on other purchases including travel, dining out, and gasoline purchased at the Costco store. Business cardholders enjoy a similar offer, topping out at 4% for gas purchases.
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Chase Freedom(R) Empowers Customers to Earn More Cash Back, Save More by Avoiding Interest on Everyday Purchases | Comcast.net

Chase Card Services, a division of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), today announced major enhancements to the Chase Freedom(R) credit card, the industry-leading cash back card that provides consumers a simple and straightforward way to earn cash back on everyday purchases. Chase Freedom is increasing the cash back rate to 5 percent on popular seasonal spending categories, like home improvement, gas and department stores. In addition, customers will earn a full 1 percent cash back on every purchase -- with no tiers, no caps, no annual fee.
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Family Dollar Tests Basket Analysis

In a project last year, Family Dollar worked with Applied Predictive Technologies (APT), a leading provider of test and learn management systems to retailers and consumer products companies, to understand what's happening at the basket level and found implications for in-store promotions, merchandising, and even operations.