Pier 1, Lululemon and Golfsmith Launch E-Gifting with CashStar
CashStar, a digital gifting company, announced that in the first half of 2013 it has added more than a dozen global retailers and restaurants to its B2C and B2B digital gifting platform, and has expanded into international markets. CashStar added 300 brands to its roster, including Dunkin’ Donuts, Brookstone, Pier 1, lululemon athletica and Golfsmith. “Consumer demand and […]
The Coming Branded-Currency Revolution
Coupons. Gift cards. Loyalty points. These tried-and-true tools of the retail trade might not be as sexy as other forms of marketing. But together they account for more than $165 billion in purchasing power ($110 billion in gift cards purchased, $48 billion in loyalty points earned, and more than $5 billion in product coupons redeemed). That’s almost as much as total […]
Dunkin’ Donuts Partners with CashStar Digital Gifting Platform
CashStar, a digital gifting company, has announced that in the first half of 2013, it added more than a dozen global retailers and restaurants to its B2C and B2B digital gifting platform, including Dunkin’ Donuts. The company has also expanded its eGifting programs into new international markets. “Consumer demand and advances in technology, particularly related […]
The Future of Gift Cards
When Apple introduced the Passbook feature on its iPhone iOS 6, it gave consumers and retailers alike a lot of opportunities. Consumers could store a host of coupons and gift certificates on the app and easily redeem them while shopping in stores; stores could increase traffic and redemption rates by making it easier for customers […]
Four Reasons Why Apple’s Passbook is Growing on Retailers
We still have no leader in mobile payments, but when it comes to digital gift cards Apple’s Passbook is doing a decent job of making its case with big-name retailers — many of whom were somewhat skeptical of its utility when Passbook was first went live in fall 2012. CashStar, which makes digital gift cards […]
Is Apple’s Passbook the Stealth E-Wallet Success?
Just when most digital wallet experts had forgotten the year-old Apple Passbook — widely dismissed as ineffectual and neutered — a discordant voice wants to get an unexpected message across: just maybe Passbook is the stealth winner of the early rounds of the e-wallet wars, and it is doing it by sneaking in a powerful […]
Survey: Young Consumers Use Mobile Retail Apps
Consumers younger than 35 are nearly twice as likely to download a mobile app from a retailer or brand as those older than 50, according to data from a new survey conducted by CashStar and Digital Research. More than half of consumers who download retailer or brand mobile apps are use them at least once […]
Risky Innovation: Will Starbucks’s Leap of Faith Pay Off?
The world’s largest coffeehouse chain regularly launches products before they’re perfect. Why does such a risky approach to innovation work so well? In late March, as Starbucks was preparing to introduce its first offer on Groupon, the daily-deal service, the coffee chain’s chief digital officer, Adam Brotman, realized he had no clue whether the gambit would pay off. […]
Mobile Mother’s Day Card Sales Propel CashStar’s Growth
Portland, ME-based CashStar achieved a nearly 80 percent year-over-year increase in gross sales for Mother’s Day electronic gift cards and an increase of almost 70 percent in total number of cards sold. The growth in mobile purchases in 2013 has been equally pronounced: 2013 mobile purchases the week of Mother’s Day jumped to 16 percent […]