Marketing Tactics

Seattle –- Amazon.com will open a holiday pop-up store at San Francisco Westfield Centre, in San Francisco, on Wednesday, Oct. 22, according to the San Francisco Business Journal.   

Redwood City, Calif. -- Shopping app Shopkick reported on results of its end-to-end, iBeacon compatible technology, shopBeacon, with inaugural partner American Eagle Outfitters. The teen retailer installed shopBeacon technology at over 100 locations and has tested its impact on shopper behavior over the past months.     

Tea drinkers longing for a stronger wake-up brew and coffee drinkers wanting to add variety to their repertoire of caffeinated beverages now have options.

When it comes to domestic divas, Martha Stewart has few rivals, but Ellen DeGeneres is dipping her toe in the water with a new seasonal home collection branded as E.D. On Air.

The popular comedian and talk show host announced the creation of her new lifestyle collection in July called simply E.D. The new seasonal home collection is called E.D. On Air because it was created exclusively for QVC. It will debut on Friday, October 8 when DeGeneres introduces the line live on her show.

The Maurices division of Ascena Retail Group is rolling toward a footprint of more than 1,000 locations with a new round of stores opening in advance of the holidays.

Maurices plans to open sixteen locations before November 10 giving the Ascena subsidiary a total of 938 locations. The company contends the U.S. and Canada can support more than 1,300 locations.

By Gary Ambrosino, President and CEO of TimeTrade   Hidden in the onslaught of negative headlines about former retail heavyweights, like JC Penney and Sears, is a slew of less-publicized, good news from smaller—many formerly online-only—retailers that are not only weathering the storm but are thriving.   

Oak Brook, Ill. -- McDonald’s USA will answer questions from customers through a multichannel effort called “Our Food. Your Questions.” The company invites people to submit their food questions via social media.    McDonald’s will respond with behind-the-scenes webisodes and other social content that provides facts on ingredients, how food is made and how it’s prepared in restaurants.