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The SmartMoney website says that retailers are expanding their customer loyalty programs and offers five trends that shoppers can take advantage of:

• Immediate rewards - Sign up for any loyalty program that you're offered

• Targeted deals - Exclusive sales and offerings

• Souped-up membership cards - Linking loyalty cards to a credit card

• Manufacturer's rewards

• Point-earning partnerships - retailers partnering with online shopping portals

My thoughts:

Loyalty programs are not only good to obtain loyal customers, they're also helpful in finding out more about your customers and to keep in touch with them on a regular basis.  I agree that you have to get good data and be patient.  There's no point in having a loyalty program if you're not going to use the information.

For loyalty program trends, check out this article.