Digital Marketing

The online space doesn’t have a lock on new retail concepts, but with its lower start-up costs and potential audience reach it has proved itself a great breeding ground for disruptive retailers.   Here’s a look at four innovative e-tailers that are generating buzz and revenue increases — enough to place them among the top 15 fastest-growing e-retailers in a recent study.*   Casper

RANDOM NOTES: The North Face unveiled a new store pilot — complete with a Redwood tree — at Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, Calif. The 6,500-sq.-ft. store combines the best of digital in-store technology with features that speak to the locale and the brand’s DNA. Highlights include interior digital “sky windows” that feature artistic, atmospheric content. At the heart of the store stands a reinvented, salvaged Redwood tree. ...

Enough of the “retail is dying” narrative that has dominated so many headlines the past few months. It’s way overplayed.

Brick-and-mortar is evolving, not dying. And it’s full of exciting new players — many of them digitally native — that are infusing the industry with something it can always use: new blood. Here’s a quick rundown of some of these newcomers to the physical space:

Walmart did not reach its stated goal of rolling out the Walmart Pay digital payment service to every store by the end of June, but it certainly made a lot of headway.  

Tuesday, July 12 marks the return of Amazon Prime Day.   Based on last year’s results, Amazon will grab a sizable chunk of all online sales that day. Special “countdown deals” starting July 5 will also help funnel more e-commerce traffic than normal in Amazon’s direction. Walmart is countering with its own July online sales event built around its ShippingPass free shipping program.  

Everyone knew Amazon Prime Day was coming, now we know when and how.   Amazon will host its second annual summer sales blitz, known as Prime Day, on July 12. The online giant created the mega-shopping event, aimed at members of its Prime loyalty program, last year. It was held on July 15 and marked the retailer's 20th anniversary. Amazon said the event broke sales records that it previously set during Black Friday 2014.  

The world's largest retailer is throwing a counterpunch to Amazon's Prime service.    Walmart is offering a free 30-day trial of its ShippingPass program, which offers consumers  unlimited, two-day free shipping for a year.  Normally, the service costs $49 per year.   (So as not to feel left out, existing ShippingPass members will receive a free month of the service).  

A coordinated rebranding effort has resulted in a new name for retail associations POPAI and A.R.E, which merged last October.   The new, combined group has changed its name to Shop!, a trade association focused on enhancing retail environments and experiences. The name is designed to represent the 2,000-plus global member companies and align with the full industry community they support.  

You only get one chance to make a first impression, and retailers are applying this truism to their email marketing efforts.   According to a survey of 150 retail clients by email marketing technology provider Campaigner, 39% of respondents say that the first email content new subscribers see from their brand is a thank-you-for-subscribing message. This approach seems to be working, as almost 50% of respondents report that 21% or more of new subscribers engage with such welcome emails.  

Although Amazon poses a major holiday sales threat, there are steps retailers can take to produce a merry season.   According to a new survey of 1,500 U.S. consumers by marketing platform provider Signal, 42% of respondents said Amazon will be their primary holiday gift destination. Consumers who use Amazon do so because it is easy (50%), because they are Prime members (36%), and because they like the product reviews and recommendations (29%).