Subscription models are driving customer loyalty in online sales of groceries and other essential goods, but fatigue among consumers threatens long-term growth.

Zara is charging UK customers £1.95 to return online orders: The fee may help preserve Zara’s margins, but it could come at a cost to brand loyalty.

The provider brought its rewards program to nine markets to help entice spending and expanded Pay Now’s availability, which gives customers more flexibility.

Amazon is boosting its Prime membership fee: As subscriber growth slows and ecommerce costs rise, the retail behemoth banks on loyalty and a wide array of services to keep users from canceling.

Co-brand card issuers and brand partners have an opportunity to reimagine their offerings in the pandemic’s wake. Leaning on newfound digitization and shifting spending habits can help providers tailor their offerings in ways that widen their net, grow volume, and appeal to the maximum number of customers.

The European point-of-sale firm acquired customer loyalty startup Fivestars to help it compete in the US against rivals PayPal and Square.

Rapidly shifting customer expectations, disruption from new entrants, and new risks and coverage needs threaten to turn the property and casualty (P&C) insurance industry on its head. But insurers that digitally transform can come out on top.

Restaurants scramble to roll out loyalty programs: Hardee’s, IHOP, and Carl’s Jr. are the latest chains to leverage loyalty to offer personalized experiences and deepen relationships with consumers.

On this episode of Brand Anatomy, where we get exclusive looks inside leading brands, Briefings director Jeremy Goldman sits down with Dorothy Dowling, CMO of Best Western, to discuss the changing needs of today’s travelers given rising inflation and pent-up post-pandemic demand, and the importance of loyalty programs to better serve customers.

This inaugural study ranks eight leading premium travel credit cards offering 49 emerging features, weighted by demand from prospective customers.

As digital transformation accelerates worldwide, growth in online shopping has created opportunities not only to reimagine brand relevance, but also to rethink the end-to-end customer experience. Dr. Tiffany Raymond, head of global customer advocacy, at PayPal, talks with eMarketer editorial director at Insider Intelligence Rimma Kats, about steps you can take to optimize your product, cart and checkout pages to help reduce cart abandonment, improve conversion, increase spend and boost customer loyalty.

Price increases hit retailers and consumers hard: As inflation approaches historic highs, retailers have to decide how much of the cost can be passed on without alienating their customer base.

Price hikes and product shortages put CPG customer loyalty at risk: Brands are focusing on marketing or experimenting with alternative distribution models, like digital direct-to-consumer, to win back customers.

Which features do current digital grocery customers value most, both overall and within key customer segments? How do leading retailers and delivery services compare when offering features consumers demand most? WHAT’S IN THIS REPORT? An analysis of the digital grocery features that retailers and digital grocery services can offer to attract new customers and drive customer loyalty.

The risk/benefit: While Amazon provides brands with access to a lucrative customer base, that access comes at a cost—in terms of fees, placement, and perhaps most importantly, customer data and loyalty.