FiveStars, the well-funded SMB loyalty company that competes against Belly, SpotOn and others, is projecting it will grow its merchant base to 8,000-9,000 businesses by year-end, up from its current base of 6,000 customers. Customers who subscribe to FiveStars premium…
Groupon is apparently thinking hard about dismantling its ambitious SMB platform, and refocusing on its core strengths in prepaid deals, goods and travel. Reports have come out saying that Groupon is offering to sell its Breadcrumb POS platform, which had…
BIA/Kelsey is out with my new paper on the status of card-linked offers, which is based on detailed discussions with 14 leaders of the card linking ecosystem, including credit card firms, tech vendors, payment processors, publishers and merchants. Most of…
Facebook isn't often thought of in terms of "commerce," a la retailers such as Amazon or financial institutions such as American Express, but it makes a strong case for itself as a company that "unlocks" commerce. Speaking at The CardLinx…
Facebook isn't often thought of in terms of "commerce," a la retailers such as Amazon or financial institutions such as American Express, but it makes a strong case for itself as a company that "unlocks" commerce. Speaking at The CardLinx…
Will card-linked offers supplement coupons and advertising for national and local merchants and services? Will financial institutions such as banks and credit card companies take advantage of their access to card data to become major players in ecommerce and media…
More than 15 years ago, telecom carriers seemed like the logical candidate to handle ecommerce and other third party billing. But high commissions as high as 30 percent ruled them out for handling most billing accounts, after a fast start…
Forty percent of merchants run some kind of “special” sales or promotions according to a Groupon survey of 25,000+ merchants. Half of the specials are offline, "trapped" on chalkboards and menus, noted Groupon VP of Marketplacest Dan Roarty, who was…
The Point of Sales revolution that began with Square’s introduction of its iPhone fob in 2009 has continued unabated. Rising consumer expectations, increased mobile and WiFi access and more tools have made POS a strategic tool that could not have…
First Data, the payment processing giant, has been building up a suite of services that would take the company far beyond payment processing and inject it squarely in the middle of SMB marketing. The suite as currently configured includes the…
Gannett's acquisition of Key Ring two years ago was something of a head shaker. Was the media giant diving into online loyalty marketing, an area mostly dominated by financial institution-related companies? Two years later, more light has been shed on…
Gannett's acquisition of Key Ring two years ago was something of a head shaker. Was the media giant diving into online loyalty marketing, an area mostly dominated by financial institution-related companies? Two years later, more light has been shed on…
When it comes to local commerce and loyalty programs, all roads lead to groceries. That’s the feeling of key companies in the space, including WalMart, Amazon, Google and eBay. Groupon this week announced Snap, a grocery coupon and loyalty program…
When it comes to local commerce and loyalty programs, all roads lead to groceries. That?s the feeling of key companies in the space, including WalMart, Amazon, Google and eBay. Groupon this week announced Snap, a grocery coupon and loyalty program…
Deals and coupons remain anchors for local business promotion. But they can now be customized based on customer behavior and better marketing automation tools. Signpost is eager to leverage these developments. While the 200 person company launched in 2011 as…
Loyalty programs offering cash back or other rewards make a lot of sense for merchants – until it is 7:30 pm on Friday, and the loyalty program is still giving 20 percent back even though it is prime time for…
Gift cards have been growing astronomically and now make up an industry nearing $100 billion in revenues. You’ll see racks of cards for national brands and retailers everywhere, from Safeway to Bed, Bath & Beyond. But can local merchants get…
Phone-based digital payments haven’t really taken off – in part, because they aren't much easier to use than credit/debt cards. You've still got to take them out of your pocket. The notable exception is the phenomenon of My Starbucks Rewards…
Twitter has made a bold move to go beyond advertising by adding performance marketing to its portfolio via the purchase of CardSpring, the San Francisco-based startup. The acquisition price has not been announced. CardSpring had raised $10 Million since its…
"Deals are very, very powerful for many brands," but the deals themselves only represent part of the overall opportunity that brands have in working with deals companies and their millions of local customers, said Living Social EVP of National Retail…
