Marketing Tactics

Groupon has unveiled a free app that pays people cash for buying featured grocery and consumer-packaged goods items each week at any supermarket or retailer in the United States and Canada called Snap.

Android and iPhone users can now earn money when they buy an item listed in the app and take a picture of their receipt. To mark Snap’s debut, people who download the app and use it to submit any grocery receipt through Nov. 11 can enter a sweepstakes to win a year of free groceries for an entire family, a value of $13,000.

New York -- Most shoppers now actually like to grocery shop, according to research from Acosta Sales & Marketing, full-service sales and marketing agency. The company’s “The Why? Behind the Buy” report finds that 54% of total U.S. shoppers say they enjoy grocery shopping, up from 41% in 2011.

Seattle - Starbucks Corp. opens its first community store in Korea, located in the Daehakro neighborhood of Seoul, on Oct. 1. Thirty cents from every purchase at this store will go to Green Umbrella ChildFund Korea (GUCFK) to directly support lifelong skills development for youth through the Starbucks Comprehensive Youth Leadership Program.

Austin, Texas - Based on previous savings experienced during the holiday season in 2013 and projected industry growth in 2014, U.S. shoppers have the opportunity to save more than $5 billion dollars by using deal and offer websites during the upcoming holiday season. According to a new study from RetailMeNot and Dr. Jason Abrevaya, Ph.D., economics department chair at the University of Texas at Austin, consumers have the potential to save more than $200 an hour while using RetailMeNot.com, or $34 in 10 minutes.

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Shoppers are planning to spend less money and purchase gifts for fewer people this holiday season compared to last year, while also maximizing their budgets through Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales and online cost comparison, according to the CFI Group 2014 Holiday Retail Spending Report: Black Friday is Back.  

Sports Authority has partnered with the National Sports Center for the Disabled (NSCD) in honor of National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Throughout the month of October, Sports Authority locations nationwide will be collecting point-of-sale donations with the goal of raising at least $150,000 for the NSCD.

All proceeds will go toward benefiting the lives of children and adults with disabilities.

Spartanburg, S.C. - Denny’s and Stoopid Buddy Stoodios have partnered to create a new animated Web series, “The Grand Slams.” Starring a cast of characters, Egg, Pancake, Sausage and Bacon, based on the brand’s dish, The Grand Slam, the series launches an exclusive online trailer Oct. 1 and debuts its first episode Oct. 15.