1. A computer implemented method for facilitating a merchant loyalty program, said method including: transmitting, by a computer-based merchant system, purchase data to a loyalty host, wherein said purchase data includes retailer data, transaction data and a retailer item identifier, wherein said retailer item identifier is associated with a manufacturer item identifier, and wherein said retailer data includes a retailer identifier and said retailer item identifier, and wherein said manufacturer item identifier is part of manufacturer data associated with a manufacturer; receiving, by the computer-based merchant system, a determination of a qualifying merchant in response to said purchase data corresponding to loyalty program data; and receiving, by the computer-based merchant system, loyalty awards based on said manufacturer item identifier and said loyalty program data, wherein said manufacturer item identifier is obtained based on said retailer item identifier, and wherein said loyalty awards are determined based on at least one of said retailer item identifier, said manufacturer item identifier and a group of merchants.