Coupons/ Rebates/ Pricing

Target remains aggressive in its marketing efforts to educate shoppers about the 5% REDcard, and this week ran a spread ad in its weekly circular. The ad is compelling with  distinctive red dots in offset type calling out “5% off” and educating consumers about the program’s design in a way that can’t be matched by extensive in store signage dedicated to the program.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Building on its valued customer program, Harris Teeter is offering shoppers a way to link coupons to the program's card.

Harris Teeter's e-VIC program now gives customers the opportunity to link valuable manufacturer coupons directly to their VIC card. When e-VIC members receive their e-VIC e-mail, they can browse the list of e-VIC coupons any time, and link the coupons by clicking the “Save it” icon on any of the displayed coupons.

NEW YORK - After coming off a strong November, U.S. retailers found their momentum largely waned in December, with sales impacted by a still-cautious consumer, early discounting and a blizzard that crippled the Northeast in the days immediately after Christmas. But while many chains missed Wall Street’s heightened expectations for December, the retail industry still turned in its strongest holiday performance since 2006.

Transaction marketing gained widespread acceptance among retailers in 2010, as they began to recognize marketing in the electronic banking channel as a far more cost effective way to encourage repeat business, increase the average transaction sizes and drive same-store sales. It enabled retailers to overcome the marketing waste associated with other channels -- like Groupon -- and consistently provided compelling and measurable return on their marketing investment.

The final holiday numbers are in from online measurement firm comScore and it was a record year. November and December online sales increased 12% to $32.6 billion and, considering the surge in traffic that takes place at Walmart.com during those months and the increasing level of cross-channel integration, the retailer likely captured at least a fair share of the growth.

Expectations outpaced the willingness of consumers to spend during December, as large numbers of retailers reported results that were less than expected. Weather certainly affected the ability of shoppers to get to stores, as heavy rains pelted California and blizzards hit the Northeast, but that type of stuff happens in December. A bigger factor was that retailers were victims of their own success. Recall November was something of a promotionpalooza and shoppers found offers that arrived early and often to be irresistible.

Columbus, Ohio -- Retail same-store sales eased to 3.2% growth in December in the wake of November’s exceptionally strong promotional activity and an ongoing shift toward online shopping, according to Kantar Retail. The sales-weighted composite for the 31 retailers reporting -- most of them apparel retailers -- was weaker than the 5.6% same-store sales gain last month, but slightly better than the 3.0% gain in December of 2009. (The calculations no longer include Walmart, which stopped reporting monthly results in 2009. )

Reston, Va. -- Retail e-commerce spending for the entire November -- December 2010 holiday season reached $32.6 billion, marking a 12% increase versus last year and an all-time record for the season, according to comScore.

SUNBURY, Pa. - Weis Markets has announced that it has lowered the prices on 2,400 staple items, and that it will freeze the prices of these products for 90 days through April 2. 

Retailers who report monthly sales are set to report their best December results in several years this Thursday assuming preseason forecasts and in-season upward revisions prove accurate. Total holiday sales are forecast to increase in the low- to mid-single digits, and Thursday’s monthly results from the likes of Target, Macy’s, Kohl’s, TJX and others will offer an indication of how good a season it was.