Tom Caporaso

The connection of an advanced loyalty program can woo consumers, even in a case where the merchant's products may cost more, says Clarus Commerce's Tom Caparaso.

Premium loyalty is about brands and customers committing to each other from the start. It’s about brands aligning with their customers and giving upfront, according to Tom Caporaso, CEO of Clarus Commerce.

Emotional connections can make a difference when consumers have many different ways to shop and pay, according to Tom Caporaso, CEO of Clarus Commerce.

By bringing Prime benefits to the movie industry, through discounts or a MoviePass/subscription-based model, Amazon could entice even more users to its loyalty program, writes Tom Caporaso, CEO of Clarus Commerce.

Consumers are already in shopping mode, so retailers that focus on personalized and targeted offerings, and promotional campaigns around Prime Day can all reap the rewards of the Prime Day halo effect, according to Tom Caporaso, CEO of Clarus Commerce.

For Whole Foods, the potential to tap into the sheer volume of new customers via the Amazon Prime premium loyalty program is unprecedented, writes Tom Caporaso, CEO of Clarus Commerce.

The core strategy of Amazon has always been to listen to customer pain points and add valuable benefits over time. It’s how the company disrupted the retail industry. Now it’s time for grocery, writes Tom Caporaso, CEO of Clarus Commerce.

Loyalty programs should enhance your brand through all your customer-facing marketing. Macy’s Star Rewards is all over their social media, stores and supporting materials. Plenti doesn’t say anything about the Macy’s brand. It only enhances the Plenti brand, writes Tom Caporaso, CEO of Clarus Commerce.

Grocery has been in Amazon’s sites for years. It’s very appealing because shopping volume and frequency is high, but the margins are low, and the logistics are difficult because of spoilage, writes Tom Caporaso, CEO of Clarus Commerce.

That’s because transaction-based loyalty programs that focus on discounting simply train customers to wait for coupons and incentives, writes Tom Caporaso, CEO of Clarus Commerce.

Amazon dominates during the holiday shopping season because Prime offers customers benefits every day, writes Tom Caporaso, CEO of Clarus Commerce.

In a world where consumers are tuning out TV ads easier than ever before with streaming services like Netflix, the e-commerce giant is giving advertisers a new platform to be in front of millions of people who like to shop, writes Tom Caporaso, CEO of Clarus Commerce.

Macy's is not alone, as more companies find success after upgrading loyalty programs, writes Tom Caporaso, CEO of Clarus Commerce.

When you look at the potent combination of Prime customers (who are the only ones eligible to shop on Prime Day) and Echo owners, Amazon was shrewd to give those customers extra special treatment.

Retailers should focus on creating a premium experience for a broad range of customers, writes Tom Caporaso, CEO of Clarus Commerce.

Amazon's planned acquisition of Whole Foods adds more power to an already substantial marketing program for Amazon.

While much of the focus on chip cards is rightly placed on security, there's also a relationship building factor as consumers become aware of the benefits.

Nostalgia no doubt helped drive the recent Pokémon Go phenomenon, but another factor — one that will become critical to retailers’ future success — was also at play.

Walmart has entered the mobile payments industry, announcing in December that it was introducing Walmart Pay, an upgrade to Walmart’s existing app that will allow in-store shoppers to pay with their smartphones at checkout.