Marketing Tactics

New York - Visits to the top 500 retail sites increased 13% on Black Friday, according to data from Experian Hitwise. For the sixth year in a row, Amazon was the top retail site receiving traffic on Black Friday. Walmart was the second most visited retail site, followed by Target. But Target’s visits increased 13% on versus 2009, representing the biggest increase among the top five sites. The top 20 retail sites accounted for 61% of all visits among the top 500 retail sites.

New York - Macy’s has debuted a new environment for one of its signature businesses—women’s shoes—at its store in Oak Brook, Ill. The plan is for elements of the updated format to be implemented in additional locations going forward.

The revamp, designed by Charles Sparks + Company, Westchester, Ill., has a clean, modern look. It features “runway” fixtures, sweeping lines and monolithic linear shelving concepts. A semi-transparent screen-like segmentation of spaces allows trend statements to flow easily within the overall plan.

Washington, D.C. - Douglas Development announced that Mike Isabella, former executive chef at Mediterranean restaurant  Zaytinya, and Bravo’s Top Chef  contestant, has leased 5,000 sq. ft. in a three-level Douglas Development-owned property at 707 6th Street, NW, in Washington, D.C.

Isabella will open a two-level Italian-inspired restaurant, Graffiato, in spring 2011.

Washington - Amazon.com, Nordstrom and J.C. Penney are just a few of the retailers that made the grade on the list of the top 10 retailers for customer service as selected by shoppers in the sixth annual NRF Foundation/American Express Customers’ Choice survey.

The survey, which asked 9,291 shoppers which retailer provides the best customer service, was conducted by BIGresearch. In alphabetical order, the top 10 retailers for customer service are:

• Amazon.com

• J.C. Penney