Digital Marketing

U.S. online holiday spending will reach $112 billion in 2016, growing 13% over 2015.    That is according to Forrester’s Holiday Retail Sales Forecast, which said that while online sales are 12% of annual retail sales, they jump to 16% of total holiday sales during the November and December months.  

Want to get in the holiday spirit? Visit a store.    The overwhelming majority (75%) of Americans believe shopping in a store is one of the best ways to get in the holiday spirit, while 58% say that online shopping takes some of the fun out of holiday shopping, according to new research by Citi Retail Services.  

Sears’ loyal shoppers will have the chance to preview holiday sales at an exclusive shopping event.  

Improving traffic and sales, particularly in the digital channel, helped Target Corp. easily beat third-quarter profit expectations as the discounter raised its year-end outlook.    Target’s profit increased 10.7% to $608 million, or $1.07 cents a share, up from $549 million, or 88 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time expenses, it earned $1.04 cents a share, which was better than the 83 cents analysts had expected.  

Butler Enterprises has named a Gainesville insider to promote and market its Neighborhoods at Butler project in that Florida college town.   The complex’s new director of marketing, Mary Reichardt, arrives at Butler from the Visit Gainseville-Alachua County Tourism Development Office, where she served as marketing chief. There, she created the county’s first brand strategy to establish awareness across the U.S. and in Europe.   

Shopko, in partnership with First Bankcards, is launching its first private label credit card program.   The new Shopko Credit Card, which can be used at any Shopko throughout the United States, will offer discounts, periodic deferred interest promotional financing offers and automatic gift card rewards, in addition to in-store instant approval.   

The 24-hour Chinese shopping mega-event known as Singles Day brought in record numbers for the country’s e-commerce giant, Alibaba. But it appears that the growth rate is decelerating.    Alibaba Group Holding Limited reported that the total amount of goods and services sold by vendors (known as gross merchandise volume) over its e-commerce sites rose 24% to a record $17.8 billion this year. Last year, by contrast, sales on Alibaba platforms increased 60%.  

Holiday retail sales should increase 2% to 4% over last year but retailers should not be expecting a similar profit boost.   That’s the view of Purdue University retail management expert Richard Feinberg who expects retailers will lose pricing power due to online competition.  

Four of the nation’s largest retail chains remain committed to opening their doors on Thanksgiving.    Target Corp. announced it will open its stores at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, and Best Buy said it plans to open at 5 p.m. Walmart will start its Black Friday event at 6 p.m. on Turkey Day (most Walmart locations are open 24 hours).   

Chinese shoppers were so eager to participate in Singles Day that they purchased more in the first hour than the entire 24-hour event in 2013.   Specifically, more than $7 billion of gross merchandise volume (GMV) was settled through Alipay on Alibaba’s China and international retail marketplaces within the first two hours of the 2016 “11.11 Global Shopping Festival,” according to a company statement. The annual shopping event kicked off at 12 a.m. China Time, on Nov. 10.