Marketing Tactics

With back-to-school shopping on the horizon, parents are looking to get their shopping started early in the hope of getting the best deals, according to Meijer’s customer survey. 

Grand Rapids, Mich. – Back-to-school shoppers are both willing to spend more and also seeking savings this season. According to a new survey that department store chain Meijer conducted of its customers, approximately 92% of households with school-age children plan to spend the same amount or more than the previous year for back-to–school supplies.

JCPenney Co. is launching a back-to-school marketing campaign that covers all the bases of omnichannel retailing.

Plano, Texas – The J.C. Penney Co. Inc. is launching a back-to-school marketing campaign that crosses multiple channels. The campaign will be supported by ads on TV, in Seventeen magazine, direct mail, preprints, broadcast and streaming video.

All marketing elements will be housed on a back-to-school hub at the Penney website, which includes a mix-and-match game that allows kids and teens to assemble different pieces to create their own style mash-up.

Retailers today are in a constant search for the industry’s Holy Grail – delivering an omnichannel brand experience across all touchpoints. Unfortunately, this quest to deliver on the promise of the omnichannel experience has given rise to a troublesome and pervasive problem known as fake omnichannel or “’fomni.”

Amid their search, retailers confront a wide array of commerce-related software solutions masquerading as omnichannel and promising to provide the type of seamless experiences shoppers now expect.

Washington, D.C. - While paid search and email marketing still top retailers’ list of effective customer acquisition channels, social media has moved up the ranks to become an important tool for engaging with and attracting new customers. According to the State of Retailing Online 2015 report, conducted by Shop.org, Forrester Research Inc. and Bizrate Insights, 25% of retailers surveyed cite Facebook as a top acquisition platform.

West Sacramento, Calif. – Raley’s Supermarkets is considering hitting the big city. According to The Sacramento Bee, Raley’s is evaluating the launch of a smaller “farmer’s market” store format aimed at hip urban dwellers.

The format would focus on healthy and locally produced items. If Raley’s goes ahead with the concept, it could take up to two years to roll them out. Raley’s is considering opening two of the urban stores in downtown Sacramento.

New York – Macy’s Inc. is attempting to make charitable donations fashionable. The retailer’s new Fashion Pass program provides customers 15%-20% off storewide, plus $10 off a $30 purchase, when they give $5 at the register from July 22 to Aug. 15.