Marketing Tactics

Menlo Park, Calif. – Deliv is expanding its same-day delivery service ahead of the holiday season, doubling its footprint with the addition of four new geographies, including Seattle, Houston, northern New Jersey and Washington, D.C. The company partners directly with retailers to add the Deliv same-day delivery option into the retailer's checkout process, whether on their website, mobile app or in their physical store.  

Seattle –- Amazon.com is reportedly using feedback collected from its “Amazon Moms” Facebook group and other corporate Facebook pages to help create promotional lists of holiday toys.  

By Mike Kercheval, President and CEO, International Council of Shopping Centers  

Blue Nile, the original online jeweler, has added a couple of gems to its roster with Sloane Street and Lisa Jenks joining the ranks of the Blue Nile Designer Collective.

Tampa, Fla. -- Outback Steakhouse is introducing Click Thru Seating. With Click Thru Seating, customers visit Outback.com from any connected device to view the current wait time at their local Outback restaurant and put their name on the waitlist for now or later.    Unlike a traditional reservation, late customers will not be dropped from the wait list or penalized. The service will also soon be available on the Outback mobile app.  

With technology products at the top of many wish lists this Christmas, The NPD Group’s top analyst covering the product category weighed in with a dozen expectations for the holiday season.

“The tech industry faces even more intense pricing and promotion than last year’s holiday shopping season,” said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at NPD. “The challenge of surpassing the impressive start to last year’s holiday season will be addressed head-on by the market’s emphasis on competitive offerings.”

A strong start to holiday season at Toys “R” hinges on a carefully curated offering of merchandise offered online and in a catalog known as The Great Big Christmas Book being distributed to households this week.

Bentonville, Ark. –- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has reportedly apologized for offering Halloween outfits labeled as “fat girl” costumes on its e-commerce site. According to Bloomberg, Wal-Mart issued the apology after receiving social media criticism from offended consumers.