shopkick, the largest location-based shopping app that rewards shoppers for walking into stores and interacting with products, and Macy’s (NYSE:M), one of the nation’s premier retailers – and shopkick’s inaugural partner, today announce a full national rollout of the application. Beginning today, customers can earn rewards, in shopkick’s cross-retail currency of “kicks”, just for walking in to more than 800 Macy’s stores nationwide, and instantly receive exciting exclusive deals and offers.

The entire rollout was made possible through a first-time execution with Mood Media Corporation (TSX:MM/ LSE AIM:MM), the world’s leading in-store media solutions provider. Through its existing Mood Media audio system, Macy’s was able to instantly activate the patent-pending “shopkick Signal,” allowing shopkick users nationwide to start receiving rewards and offers.

Canadian bank customers surveyed in an annual poll are less satisfied with their financial institutions than they were a year ago, at least partly due to the rising fees they're being charged.

The survey from J.D. Power and Associates, released Thursday, found that the percentage of customers who say they will "definitely" reuse their bank in the future, declined by four percentage points since a year ago.

And the number of respondents who said they would "definitely" recommend their bank dropped five percentage points from last year.

At least part of the rising discontent was tied to a greater number of customers who have been slapped with higher fees, with 27 per cent of respondents saying their charges went up this year, compared with 17 per cent in 2011.

"Not only are customers frustrated with changes to their fee structure, but many are also confused by the changes, leading to the lower satisfaction," said Lubo Li, senior director of financial services at J.D. Power.

ePrize, the global leader in digital engagement, today announced that craft retail giant Michaels launched a new loyalty campaign called "Make Your Joy" to incentivize consumers to start thinking about the holiday season as early as July. The multi-channel campaign was designed and executed using ePrize's multi-channel promotions and loyalty platform and will last through the holiday season.

Accessible through a microsite and mobile optimized site, the campaign is geared toward those "holiday architects" who work tirelessly to make sure that everything about their family's holiday season is perfect. The program will allow these holiday enthusiasts to create and manage holiday to-do lists, sync their calendars to Michaels' events, view and share holiday crafting projects, and receive rewards for every action they complete.

Cardagin Networks, Inc., a market leader in Mobile Relationship Management (MRM) platforms, announced today that it has been tapped by iconic national burger and fries brand, Boardwalk Fresh Burgers and Fries, to power the company’s mobile customer loyalty and rewards program. With this agreement, Cardagin will produce the first-to-market customized enterprise version of its highly successful MRM platform for Boardwalk.

A West Coast developer of the franchise, Boardwalk Ventures, LLC., will lead the program roll out exclusively in Southern California and Texas stores this year to complement the brand’s coast-to-coast expansion beginning at the end of July in Hermosa Beach.

“By knowing our customers through our state-of-the-art loyalty and rewards program we will be able to provide better customer service, which has always been the hallmark of our longstanding brand,” said Andrew Ritchie, CEO of Boardwalk Ventures, LLC., who is heading up the Boardwalk West Coast expansion. “We are elated to begin rolling out this program in our stores this summer.”

Flashy photos and positive reviews can only get a hotel so far. To keep customers coming back after the busy summertime travel months are through, hotels, resorts and B&Bs are increasingly turning to points-based marketing programs that reward guests for loyalty and social media usage. One of the most popular programs for businesses within the travel industry right now is Topguest, a social loyalty platform that hotels can use to reward guests for checking-in on their mobile devices.
How It Works

Topguest isn't a social media platform and it isn't exactly a loyalty program, either. Instead, it's a hybrid combination that businesses in the travel industry—including hotels, B&Bs and airlines—can use to tie location-based social media activity to their loyalty programs, which in turn makes their existing programs more effective.