It has become a trend where almost every major tech company today is trying to offer a 360-degree range of services. Facebook is creating its own cryptocurrency, Google is investing in autonomous driving tech, Apple has released its own credit card, and Amazon has branched out to personal assistants and AI-development. It is a relentless race towards ubiquity that these megacorporations seem to have identified as critical for their survival in the future.

Uber announced Uber Money over the weekend, unveiling lofty plans to evolve into a full-fledged financial services company. Uber Money is “a team within Uber working on financial products and technologies that deliver additional value for the Uber community, all at Uber speed,” wrote head of Uber Money Peter Hazlehurst.

We’ve all seen the headlines: “Low prices aren’t fun anymore – consumers have reached peak happiness with clothing purchases,” on CNBC and “The ‘retail apocalypse’ is an apparel apocalypse,” on Retail Dive.  

​

After looking around the industry and studying the research and analyst reports, I find the conclusion unequivocal. American consumers are over their love affair with fashion. The fashion industry is on the ropes.

As the gift card, loyalty, incentive, and branded currency industry as a whole continues to grow,   we’re excited to help lead the conversations and innovations to move forward. Preparations for the 2020 Flourish Conference, where they’ll be looking forward to the future of branded currency, are already well underway. Be sure to mark your calendars for March 16-18, 2019 to get ready for the future of branded currency!

Currency and how it is transacted is obviously experiencing major disruption. Yet the hidden world of what is known as branded currency, that is, loyalty points, rewards programs and gifts card, is about to experience a major shake-up that will impact a number of businesses. 

Branded currency—gift cards, incentive points, credits, and other non-cash platforms that businesses use for loyalty and incentive programs—have never been more popular. It's important for companies that use branded currency in their promotional and recognition efforts to stay on top of the trends. 

For its third year, Flourish: The Growth of Branded Currency Conference will spotlight how gift cards and other forms of branded currency drive the recipient's experience. The event takes place April 1-3 at the Gwen Hotel in Chicago. To learn about the show's newest offerings as well as what will be consistent with years past, Incentive recently spoke with the co-founders of the event, Holly Glowaty and Kristen Thiry both of whom also co-founded the financial-tech consultancy K+H Connection. 

Although online commerce is going nowhere, in-person customer experiences still prevail. Time and time again, consumers are proving that prefer the experience of shopping. And brands get to make authentic connections — that lead to lifelong customer loyalty.

But the in-person experience isn’t always great. In fact, the biggest pain point for more than 70% of consumers? The checkout experience.