Taco Bell parent Yum Brands is continuing its investment in digital technology.During a quarterly earnings call Wednesday (Feb. 7), CEO David Gibbs noted that digital sales were up 22%, as the company dealt with challenges, including conflicts in the Middle East and shifting consumer behavior.The trend was on display at Taco Bell, which saw a record digital sales mix during the quarter, at 31%, up seven points year over year. Kiosk sales were a large driver too, Gibbs said, up 15 points from the fourth quar ...

Target is reportedly mulling a paid membership plan similar to Amazon Prime and Walmart+.The new program, known as “Project Trident” within the company, could launch as soon as this year, Bloomberg reported Wednesday (Feb. 7), citing unnamed sources.While the retailer already has its Target Circle loyalty program, offering deals and rewards for purchases, the new program would go further, offering other benefits and requiring a fee, the report said. It could incorporate Shipt, the Target-owned grocery deliv ...

Amazon will reportedly cut jobs across its healthcare units One Medical and Amazon Pharmacy.The company will cut “a few hundred” jobs in these businesses, Reuters reported Tuesday (Feb. 6), citing a letter to employees from Neil Lindsay, senior vice president of Amazon Health Services.The number of positions to be cut could range from roughly 115 to as many as 400, the report said, citing a paywalled article by Business Insider.That article also said that Amazon leaders want One Medical to save another $100 ...

Fox, ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery have announced a joint venture to launch a new streaming sports service in the United States.This collaboration aims to create a platform that will offer a lineup of sports content, including thousands of high-profile sporting events from major professional sports leagues and college sports, the companies said in a Tuesday (Feb. 6) press release.Scheduled to launch in the fall of 2024, the new streaming service will be available directly to consumers through a new app, a ...

Chipotle Mexican Grill is targeting its messaging based on digital data from its loyalty members, as across the restaurant industry, leading players are competing to offer the most personalized experience.  The fast-casual giant, which has more than 3,400 locations across five countries, on a call with analysts discussing its fourth quarter and full year 2023 financial results, reported Tuesday (Feb. 6) that it is leveraging the insights gleaned from its digital loyalty program to more effectively boost cus ...

J.P. Morgan Chase, one of the largest banks in the United States, reportedly plans to open more than 500 new bank branches over the next three years.The move aims to expand the bank’s presence in areas where it lacks representation, Reuters reported Tuesday (Feb. 6).J.P. Morgan’s expansion comes at a time when some lenders are reducing their presence. The number of active branches in the U.S. saw a net decrease of 43 in October, the report said, citing data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. J.P. Morgan h ...

Simon Property Group is leveraging technology to maintain shoppers’ visits to on-site stores in the face of growing competition from eCommerce players.The largest mall owner and developer in the U.S. has driven revenue increases, reporting Monday (Feb. 5) that, in the final quarter of 2023, it saw a 9% year-over-year uptick, with revenue for the full year up 7%.David Simon, the company’s chairman of the board, CEO and president, noted on a call with analysts that the firm is leveraging consumer-facing techn ...

Canadian FinTech SS&C is reportedly accusing banking giant BNY Mellon of data misuse.The long-standing legal dispute is returning to court, Bloomberg News reported Monday (Feb 5), with SS&C — which provides operations services for investment managers — saying it is owed nearly $890 million by the banking giant.According to the report, the case began when SS&C uncovered information that led it to believe BNY had taken financial markets data and shared it with dozens of other entities, without permission and ...

Microsoft has reportedly launched an artificial intelligence (AI)-focused partnership with news startup Semafor.The collaboration would see Semafor use tools from Microsoft and partner OpenAI to develop news stories with a “global, multi-source” breaking news feed known as “Signals,” Semafor announced Monday (Feb. 5).“Signals responds to the deep and continuing shifts in the digital media landscape and the post-social news moment, and to the risks and opportunities posed by artificial intelligence,” the com ...

Jill Moser, SVP Offers, Loyalty at Mastercard, told Karen Webster that we’re entering a new age of hyper-personalization, where context is critical.Loyalty programs, of course, have been around for decades. As Webster noted, the granddaddy might be Neiman Marcus’s InCircle program, which made the firm the first luxury retailer to debut a loyalty program, way back in 1984. Airlines’ rewards programs are pretty much ubiquitous.But by and large, those programs are not, and have not been, personalized — in fact ...