Coupons/ Rebates/ Pricing

Petco is launching an omnichannel campaign in support of a new program designed to appeal to its target market: pet parents.

Petco's new and free Welcome to the Family Program supports all new pet parents, complete with a companion care pack, information on proper pet care and 24/7 support. The program helps pet parents as they expand their brood and embark on new adventures with the newest addition to their family.

Move over Big Lots and Ollie’s Bargain Outlet. Kmart is ready to begin making opportunistic purchases of closeouts and liquidated good in keeping with its strategic vision to make shopping fun again.

Kmart said its strategic merchandising group is actively sourcing extreme-value deals by purchasing the inventory of liquidated companies and capitalizing on other opportunistic situations to obtain outstanding products and offer unbeatable value.

Regional grocery chain Weis Markets says its loyalty program and other promotions helped boost traffic in the third quarter as the company reported an increase in same-store sales.

For the period ended Sept. 26, sales increased 4.1% to $711.9 million while same-store sales increased 4%, compared to the third quarter in 2014. The company says it generated $12.8 million in net income, down 5.4%, compared to the same period in 2014. Third quarter earnings per share totaled 48 cents, compared to 50 cents in 2014.

Traffic and conversion troubles led to a same store sales decrease for fashion retailer Bebe in the second quarter.

For the period ended Jan. 2, net sales decreased 5% to $122.4 million, as compared to $128.9 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2015. The net sales decrease was primarily driven by a comp decrease and store closures. Same store sales decreased 2.5% compared to an increase of 8% in the same period of the prior year. Traffic and conversion declined while average unit retail was flat.

As retail enters a technology-centric, omnichannel era, the good old fashioned coupon remains as important as ever.

According to a new study of 11,000 consumers from digital offers platform RetailMeNot Inc. and ad intelligence provider Placed Inc., more than three in five shoppers actively seek out coupons in preference to other types of promotions.

Retailers are always looking for new promotional opportunities and with the arrival on the Lunar New Year a mall operator in upstate New York hopes to generate shopper traffic with a range of Chinese-inspired activities.

When it comes to e-commerce, the top driver is actually something the experience doesn’t offer.

According to two surveys of online shoppers in the U.S. and Canada conducted by Bizrate Insights, a division of Connexity, in December 2015 and January 2016, a leading 55% of respondents cited the lack of crowds, traffic and hunting for parking as a top reason to buy online. Another 46% said shopping online takes less time than shopping in stores, while 46% also mentioned free shipping.

Rite Aid on Thursday announced a big push behind its unique loyalty card offering wellness+ with Plenti - beginning Jan. 31, Rite Aid is offering its wellness+ with Plenti members the opportunity to earn 5,000 Plenti points when they spend up to $200 on participating products in stores or online. During Rite Aid’s “Big Point Event,” which runs through Feb. 27, customers can make multiple visits and purchases to reach the reward thresholds to earn up to 5,000 Plenti points.

Macy’s is looking to inspire shoppers once again this February with promotional events tied to the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women campaign.