Marketing Tactics

Amazon released the book titles its editors chose to include in the online retailer’s Big Fall Books Preview. The books on the list, which will be released in the coming months, are expected by Amazon to be the most popular 20 books of the season.

The books chosen span genres from fantasy to memoir to history, and everything in between, and include new titles from Jodi Picoult, Steven King and George R.R. Martin — whose “A Song of Ice & Fire” series serves as source material for the HBO series “Game of Thrones.”

Mall-based specialty retailer Aeropostale has appointed Julian R. Geiger as CEO, effective immediately — a role he previously held until 2010. Geiger succeeds Thomas P. Johnson, a former Brooks Brother executive who replaced Geiger after he left.

In 2011, Geiger was appointed president and CEO of Crumbs Bake Shop. He resigned from Crumbs at the end of December 2013, and rejoined the Aeropostale board in May, and will remain a member.

San Francisco -- Kenshoo, a provider of predictive media optimization technology, and RevTrak, a promotions platform that drives and measures in-store sales through digital coupons, announced the results of a partnership uniting offline conversions and paid search performance for omnichannel optimization for Staples Canada.

Staples has enlisted Kenshoo, a global leader in predictive media optimization technology, and RevTrax, a promotions platform that drives and measures in-store sales through digital coupons, to help the company optimize omnichannel campaigns in Canada.

Las Vegas -- A resident of Las Vegas has launched a shoe vending machine, according to the Las Vegas Business Press. The business was born of a need to change out of high heels and into more comfortable footwear.

Ashley Ross launched Rollasole, a vending machine that dispenses comfortable flats. MGM Resorts International sells the shoes in several of its retail outlets in its Las Vegas resorts. And the shoes can be purchased in stores at Wynn Las Vegas and The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas as well.

Shopping site Shopsavvy announced an update to its mobile app this week that adds functionality for users who are looking for the right price on the product they want.

The update increased the number of participating retail outlets from fewer than 40,000 to about 500,000. Additionally, products can be tracked by their barcodes using the app’s built-in scanner.

By Andrew Schneide, ZOG Digital

Online home and housewares retailer Wayfair.com is prepared to go public and has some of the biggest names on Wall Street lined up to sell its shares.

Wayfair.com, one of world’s largest online destinations for home furnishings and décor items, has grown sales rapidly in recently years, but true to form with other aspiring online retailers, its losses have increased as its spends more on marketing.