Marketing Tactics

The nationwide expansion of the Facebook Place Tips in-store mobile promotion service, complete with free proprietary Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons, was interesting news.  Here are three implications of Facebook’s latest effort to serve as a commercial platform:

Lumber Liquidators former chief merchandising officer William Schlegel is the latest casualty of an ongoing management overhaul by company founder and Chairman Tom Sullivan that also claimed the jobs of the CEO and CFO.

Sullivan continues to clean house at the company he founded 20 years ago after a damning report by 60 Minutes raised concerns about the company’s product sourcing practices and allegations of circumventing federal laws.

Shifting landscapes can make it difficult to focus on the exciting opportunities that result from major market changes. The constant evolution of the digital space fueled by rapidly advancing technology and elusive consumer preferences may leave retailers feeling weary about digital promotions. Frustration over this seemingly unending race causes many to long for the days and simplicity of traditional print promotions.

Ottawa, Canada – The Shopify e-commerce platform is expanding a beta test of the Facebook “buy” button with select U.S. retailers, by invite only. Facebook began piloting the buy button, which lets desktop or mobile consumers click the “buy” call-to-action button on ads and page posts to purchase a product directly from a business, without leaving Facebook, in July 2014.

New York — Apple has opened its sixth store in Manhattan, on the Upper East Side in a Beaux Arts building that was originally the home of the U.S. Mortgage & Trust bank in the 1920s. The site, on Madison Avenue, most recently housed a luxury retailer.

Debra Berman, former chief marketing office of J.C. Penney, is joining Yahoo in the new position of senior VP of consumer marketing, effective July 6.

"In this newly created role Debra will oversee product marketing, help drive audience engagement and lead consumer brand strategy," Yahoo chief marketing officer Kathy Savitt wrote in a company blog post on Friday.     

Staples has empowered young students to help create and design school products that solve real-life problems.

Through a unique initiative created by Staples Inc. called Designed by Students. kids have made: a colorful all-in-one writing instrument with interchangeable writing tips. A portable desk that lets students work anywhere. A floating locker shelf that maximizes and stylizes lockers.

Walmart’s saturation of Northwest Arkansas with its Neighborhood Market format continued this week with the opening of a new location on north Walton Boulevard just a few miles from the retailer’s headquarters.