“Given the long-term market share losses among traditional department stores, it’s no surprise that they’ve turned to loyalty programs to try to keep their customers,” said Frank Badillo, director of research at MacroSavvy.com, which provides insights about economic trends.
“Department stores have been squeezed from all sides over the years, losing shoppers to discounters, specialty apparel stores, and, most recently, online.
“So they have been among the most aggressive in turning to loyalty programs, typically tied to their own store-branded credit cards, to try to keep their shopper and give them incentives to return to the store, or increasingly, to their online store,” he said.
This is an excerpt from the Philadelphia Inquirer. The full article is found here.