Companies like CVS, Rite Aid and Dunkin' Donuts are moving their rewards programs online to cut costs -- such as postal prices -- and follow customers. "People are online spending, so tying rewards to places like Amazon.com and Zynga and enabling them to use reward points by clicking a button makes it much easier," says Elizabeth Crosta, VP of public affairs at American Express. "Ultimately, for us, the more people redeem, the more customer loyalty we create." While Dunkin' Donuts does not yet let customers redeem points online, people can use the chain's website to register their loyalty …

Mercedes-Benz new factory-owned dealership on Manhattan's west side is the automaker's crown jewel but also an example for franchisees, part of a trend of automakers trying to get dealers to update stores and add things like coffee bars and gift shops selling branded accessories. But auto dealers point out that, although they welcome the input from the mothership, they are independent businesses. And they are still dealing with the recession and slow recovery.

Consumers are spending more, but doing so in fewer transactions, according to American Express Business Insights' most recent Business Insights Spend Sights report. The study, which examines spending patterns across several key categories, U.S. cities and demographic groups, finds that in spite of lower confidence consumers are still splurging but less frequently. Ed Jay, SVP at American Express Business Insights, said that value is top of mind for even affluent consumers but that "the occasional 'splurge' pattern also shows that while consumers try to practice restraint, the prolonged economic uncertainty still cannot impede them from making a special …

Raising prices and fees may boost share price, but at what cost? Netflix's decision to hike the price for unlimited streaming and DVD rentals last month may have been great news to investors but not customers. Yes, Netflix's stock price rose 2%, but how about its brand equity? Others, like Bank of America, which is also raising fees because of business trends and new regulations, should look at Walmart, which raised prices to lift margins. The company now finds most of its shoppers no longer believe it has the lowest prices. How about Netflix? Earlier this year it …

More than a decade after showing off its Vision SLA, a luxury roadster concept, Mercedes-Benz is ready to bring it to market. Industry sources say the convertible would be the smallest two-seater in the tri-star line-up but would also be the first front-wheel drive when it comes to market possibly as early as next year. Earlier this year Mercedes U.S. CEO Ernst Lieb confirmed a version of the A-Class will come to the States but suggested that the automaker would probably have as many as four distinct body styles based on the new platform.

When ConAgra tried a bit of social media jiu jitsu last month, inviting bloggers to what they thought was a new Italian restaurant in a West Village brownstone in NYC, apparently run by George Duran, the chef who hosts the "Ultimate Cake Off" on TLC, they got ConAgra frozen dinners instead. The effort, by Ketchum PR, included hidden cameras capturing attendees supping on the company's Three Meat and Four Cheese Lasagna by Marie Callender's and Razzleberry Pie, also from Marie Callender's. The idea was to use the footage for promotional videos on YouTube and its Web site, and …

Miller High Life is again running a summer promotion to convert competitive brand drinkers, pitch loyalists and improve the lives of veteran soldiers. The program includes a partnership with Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America to donate up to $1 million in cash and experiences for veterans and their families. With the effort, via Team Enterprises, for every specially marked Miller High Life and Miller High Life Light bottle caps or can tabs from the purchases of 12-packs of beer Miller High Life donates 10 cents to help "Give a Veteran a Piece of the High Life." The …

McDonald's is introducing calorie information on menus throughout all for its 1,200 UK restaurants. The move reflects the company's commitment to the Responsibility Deal, a new UK government public health effort aiming to make people cognizant of caloric content. The government wants 5,000 or so food outlets involved by year-end. KFC, Pizza Hut, Pret A Manger and JD Wetherspoon have already signed up.

Ads don't bother Twitter users, and some even think they're relevant, per a survey by market research firm Lab42. Only 10.9% of U.S. Twitter users said Promoted Tweets are "annoying and take away from the Twitter experience," and 24.8% said they've seen Promoted Tweets from brands that are relevant to them. More than a fifth said they have gotten a discount or found out about a new brand through a Twitter ad, and 14% said they have re-tweeted a Promoted Tweet.

Talk about customer service. Just a day after news broke that some idiot from Apple lost his iPhone 5 prototype at a tequila bar (the second time that has happened) in San Francisco (could it have at least have been a TED Conference or a meeting of the CERN High Energy Physics Fan Club?) an enthusiast site has reported that a Genius Bar technician at an Apple Store in Connecticut handed over to a customer a hard drive containing the store's internal files.