Massive Retailer Is Now Giving $500 Million Back to Customers

April 17, 2024

A massive retailer is now giving $500 million back to customers after debuting a simplified loyalty offering that nearly doubles its rate.

JCPenney is the latest retailer to reconfigure its rewards program with the debut of a simplified loyalty offering that nearly doubles the rate at which members earn rewards.

With this enhanced earning potential, JCPenney estimates that it could return as much as half-a-billion dollars back to its customers in the form of rewards, said Katie Mullen, the retailer’s Chief Customer Officer, at a press briefing.

The updated Rewards program is the next step in JCPenney’s ongoing transformation strategy, which last year saw the retailer commit to investing $1 billion in improving the customer experience and operational efficiencies.

JCPenney currently boasts more than 20 million Rewards members who consistently shop at the retailer an average of five times per year; now those members will earn more with each shopping trip.

Enhancements to the program include:

Customers will earn Rewards at nearly double the previous rate, with members earning at least one CashPass point for every $1 spent and receiving a $10 CashPass Reward when they hit 200 points;
Members are guaranteed at least $20 in CashPass Rewards, with new members automatically getting a $10 CashPass when they sign up and all members getting a $10 CashPass every year on their birthday;
These rewards also can be stacked on top of other coupons and can be used on any purchase; and
JCPenney cardholders will save even more by earning CashPass Rewards 50% faster (1.5 points per $1 spent) when they use a JCPenney Credit Card for purchases. New cardholders also will get an extra 35% off their first purchase with their JCPenney credit card.

Another simplifying element of the program is the CashPass itself.

“Customers don’t want to think about points,” said Mullen.

“All they want to think about is the value that equates to for them, so we’ve been very deliberate in naming our [rewards] structure CashPass so that customers really understand that this is equivalent to dollars.”

The program continues to be free to join, which Mullen said was a deliberate choice:

“We’ve made a commitment to stay free as a program. Not every one of our competitors can say the same,” she said, adding that “there are lots of rewards programs that are targeted to elite customers and focused on giving back to your highest spenders.

We have customers of all ages and all demographics, and we wanted to make sure that everyone could participate.

One of the things we challenged ourselves on was how do we make it simpler so that every customer can feel like they can participate.

The simplicity really allows us to communicate our program more effectively in other languages, not just English, and it also makes sure we can make our program easy for anyone to join.”

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Also Read: A Massive Grocery Brand Now Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Other Economy News Today

A massive grocery is now cutting major job roles a little over a year after the discounter let go of roughly 200 workers stateside.

Discount grocer Lidl has undergone a fresh set of layoffs stateside, a Lidl US spokesperson said in an email.

The cuts impacted corporate roles across three units at Lidl US.

People impacted by the layoffs held roles ranging from administrative assistant to senior IT specialist, according to LinkedIn posts.

The layoffs come a little over a year after Lidl US let go of roughly 200 employees — primarily impacting employees at its U.S. headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.

The layoffs are the latest move by Lidl to rightsize its operations in the U.S. as it struggles to gain ground while rival Aldi hits the accelerator.

“Lidl US made the difficult decision to eliminate corporate roles across three functions within the business. While this is never an easy decision, we believe it is the right one for the business,” the spokesperson wrote.

The Lidl US spokesperson declined to say how many workers were impacted.

LinkedIn posts from several laid-off employees noted that the layoffs are part of a corporate restructuring plan.

A marketing manager who was laid off noted in a LinkedIn video posted Thursday that graphic designers, content producers, social media managers and information technology workers were included in the layoffs.

Laid-off Lidl US workers will receive severance packages and career transition support, the spokesperson said.

The job cuts last year came at a time when Lidl US was undertaking a corporate restructuring and aiming to boost its financial health.

Lidl US also underwent a round of layoffs at its U.S. headquarters a few years prior, according to German business publication Lebensmittel Zeitung.

Lidl opened its first U.S. stores in 2017 but has struggled to hit its stride and grow stateside.

Meanwhile, competitor Aldi, which entered the U.S. in the 1970s, continues to rapidly expand its store fleet, with plans to open an additional 800 stores by the end of 2028, reports Grocery Dive.

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Also Read: A Massive US Bank Is Now Freezing Customers’ Money

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