Marketing Tactics

Foster City, Calif. - American households with teens are reining in prom spending in 2014. According to a new survey of 4,000 consumers by Visa, the American average household will spend $978 in 2014 on the prom.

That's down more than 14% from the average $1,139 families spent on items including attire, limousine rental, tickets, and dinner in 2013. The sharp decrease follows three years of steady increases. By way of comparison, Canadian households will spend about 25% less than American households, at $723.

New York -- Japanese online giant Rakuten has teamed up with First Bankcard to launch the Rakuten Rewards MasterCard Program, which provides cardholders with reward points for using their credit card to shop on Rakuten.com and elsewhere.

Rakuten.com, formerly Buy.com, is Rakuten's U.S. marketplace, offering consumers more than 17 million products at everyday low prices from a network of small and large business shop owners.

Hong Kong -- Coach announced that it has retained Studio Sofield, led by designer and president William Sofield, as creative advisor in the development of the company's next generation retail concept.

The new concept will be unveiled in fall 2014, with the company's 4,000-sq.-ft. flagship in Beverly Hills, Calif., followed by the Coach store at the Time Warner Center in New York City (5,335 sq. ft.).

Average spending per person is forecast to decline this Easter despite pent up demand from a long cold winter, according to new consumer research from the National Retail Federation.

Sports Authority opened two locations in Puerto Rico — on in San Juan and the other in Carolina — early this week, bringing the total number of stores on the island to three. The stores are located in the Plaza Las Américas and Plaza Carolina shopping centers, respectively.

According to the company, both locations are equipped with improved store designs for effortless navigation and offer extensive product selections. The stores will feature specialty sport shops with products from brands including Nike, Under Armour, Puma, Adidas and Columbia.

Atlanta -- Miller Zell has named James Warner VP of digital innovation, responsible for driving integrated experiences, digital brand engagements and relevant technology solutions into the overall shopper journey.

Previously Warner worked with W3 Design, Momentum Worldwide and Moxie Interactive, where he led consumer-centric design and technology development for tier one retailers and global brands such as Coca-Cola, Nokia, Verizon, Red Bull North America, American Express, 20th Century Fox and Nike.

Washington, D.C. -- The average American celebrating the Easter holiday in 2014 will spend an average of $137.46 on apparel, food, candy, gifts and more. According to the National Retail Federation’s Easter Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, this is slightly less than the $145.13 spent last year.

Cambridge, Mass. – Retail visual merchandising solution provider RBM Technologies has named E.Y. Snowden its new president and CEO. Snowden was previously CEO of Boston Communications Group and president of APC/Sprint Spectrum.

In addition, RBM has closed a $9.5 million round of growth equity financing led by Spring Lake Equity Partners. RBM plans to use the financing to enhance its products and enter the international mobile market and new retail verticals.