When it comes to loyalty programs, 61% of consumers worldwide would use them more if rewards were applied automatically. More than half would be tempted if they could use rewards across multiple brands, personalize their rewards, or track their points easily.

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.

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.

The importance of loyalty programs: Loyalty programs helped drive a significant part of both companies’ revenue growth by motivating consumers to buy directly from the brands. 59% of consumers worldwide buy directly from a brand because they are a member of a loyalty program, per a November 2021 Capgemini survey. Because those sales cut out an intermediary, they helped pad the retailer’s bottom lines.

The feature may also complement Klarna’s own loyalty program and incentivize use by letting customers bundle loyalty programs to increase their rewards potential. Why it matters: Klarna has been buffeted by financial headwinds—making it more important than ever to seek out growth opportunities.

Retailers need to showcase their private-label brands, home in on attractive loyalty programs, and promote deals. Loyalty programs are crucial right now—retailers need to give subscribers extra perks like discounted monthly refill options, extra coupons for returning customers, and surprise gifts for subscribers.

The partnership also comes with the promise of “double points” available through both Ulta’s Ultamate Rewards and the Target Circle loyalty program. Walmart’s US partnership with UK prestige beauty retailer Space NK launched with online-only sales in March but will be followed by store collaborations in 250 US Walmart locations over the summer.

SuperNet also processes transactions for the dispensaries and offers a loyalty program. POSabit. The Washington-based fintech offers point-of-sale hardware and software for cannabis dispensaries. POSabit recently expanded into several states, including Georgia, Texas, and West Virginia.

The news: Amazon is pushing back against proposed antitrust legislation it says would “cause serious and damaging unintended consequences” for its Amazon Prime loyalty program and the consumers and sellers who rely on the service, per a blog post from its vice president of public policy, Brian Huseman.

On today's episode, we discuss what the direct-to-consumer (D2C) playbook 2.0 contains, which D2C players are the ones to watch, and which spaces are ripe for D2C disruption. We then talk about what people currently expect from a loyalty program, how much context really matters, and how to avoid treating customers like data points. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Jeremy Goldman.

All the cards also simplify qualifying for higher tiers of the brand’s loyalty program and using points. Why it’s worth watching: The cards offer three main benefits that can help the portfolio stand out and boost volume for Chase. Rebounding travel will be a boon to popular hotel co-brand cards, but they face tighter competition from premium and ultra-premium general-purpose cards.

But we assigned points to retailers that offered these features outside of paid memberships as well, either through free loyalty programs (as Nike did) or to the general public (as with Nordstrom). Features linked to usage of retailer credit cards were excluded. Key Findings:.