Apple Inc. have had significant influence over other consumer electronics retailers, who have lost traffic, control and profits due to a perceived higher quality of service and products at Apple Stores. Apple's notable brand loyalty among consumers causes long lines of hundreds of people at new Apple Store openings or product releases. Due to the popularity of the brand, Apple receives a large number of job applications, many of which come from young workers. Although Apple Store employees receive above-average pay, are offered money toward education and health care, and receive product discounts, there are limited or no paths of career advancement.
Apple Wallet started to appear in retail locations in the US. The iBeacon solutions allowed the retailer to broadcast an unsolicited lock-screen notice onto smartphones within Wi-Fi range, which is about one thousand feet. In 2015, Apple incorporated the ability to present a loyalty card in Wallet to a point-of-sale terminal via NFC. Walgreens enabled this first with their Balance Rewards loyalty program; customers can add their card to Wallet through the Walgreens or Duane Reade mobile apps and tap their phone to the terminal when prompted for their rewards card. Passes can be distributed via email, SMS, MMS, social media, an