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Kohl’s emphasizes cash in merging of rewards program

Written by Tom Ryan

Photo: Kohl's

Kohl’s is unifying its three rewards program — Kohl’s Charge, Kohl’s Cash and Yes2You Rewards — in an overhaul that emphasizes cash back over points, offers rewards for non-cardholders for the first time and introduces Elite status for heavy spenders.

Among the changes:

  • Cash back focus: Kohl's Charge customers now earn 10 percent Kohl’s Cash on every purchase. Kohl’s Cash is redeemed in the future. Previously, Yes2You members earned one point for every dollar spent and a $5 reward for every 100 points. Members still earn $10 Kohl’s Cash for every $50 spent during special “Cash Bonus” events.
  • Non-cardholder rewards: Customers without a Kohl's Charge card will earn five percent Kohl’s Cash on every purchase regardless of how they pay. “Cash Bonus” events as well as other special sales events traditionally reserved for Kohl's Charge cardholders — typically 15 percent, 20 percent and 30 percent off purchases — are also open to all Kohl’s Rewards members.
  • Rewards reminders: Noting customers’ frustration over neglecting to redeem their Kohl’s Cash, Kohl’s will automatically keep track of customers’ Kohl’s Cash on the Kohl’s app and remind them of Kohl’s Cash balances at the register.
  • Elite Member status: Available to Kohl’s Charge holders who spend more than $600 in a calendar year, Elite members receive free shipping from Kohls.com all year, early access to Black Friday deals and other promotional events and queue priority on its customer service hotline.

Kohl’s chief marketing officer Greg Revelle told Bryan Pearson, president and CEO, LoyaltyOne, in a column for Forbes, that the changes were motivated to simplify its offerings across Kohl’s Charge, which accounts for nearly 60 percent of its purchases, Yes2You Rewards with 30 million active members and its popular Kohl’s Cash sales events.

He said, “We know maximizing all of the value offerings can be complex, so we saw an opportunity to unify all three rewards programs into a single, easy-to-use rewards platform.”

The program is being piloted across 100 stores in eight markets with full rollout slated for 2019.

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