Digital Marketing

Optimistic that holiday sales will increase this year, retailers are stepping up their seasonal hiring plans.

Amazon introduced a new way to make Prime accessible to college students.

Gap Inc. is carving out a niche in the increasingly popular monthly subscription box segment.

Retailers are more likely to increase their marketing budgets for Amazon than they are for Google, Bing, Facebook or Twitter.

With a mere six months under its belt, Lids’ new Access Pass loyalty program is driving customer engagement to new levels.   Tired of running a stagnant loyalty program that only engaged a small amount of shoppers regularly, the sporting goods headwear and apparel retailer was ready to change the game. In April, Lids switched from a static points-based program to a digital model designed to “delight” shoppers.  

Commercial real estate developers and investors surveyed this summer by the DLA Piper law firm concurred that reports of the demise of brick-and-mortar are greatly exaggerated.   Only 8% of the 222 respondents to the survey, most of them C-level executives, agreed with the statement that brick-and-mortar is “doomed.” That said, just 3% were of the opinion that traditional retail was here to say.  

Walmart is determined not to be bested by Amazon when it comes to same-day delivery.   The discounter announced on Tuesday that it has acquired Parcel, a last-mile delivery startup that specializes in delivery of perishable items and general merchandise to customers in New York City. Operating out of a warehouse in Brooklyn, Parcel delivers goods the same-day, overnight and in scheduled two-hour windows, providing customers with live updates via text messages throughout the delivery process.   

Toys "R" Us is doubling down on its new brand positioning, “Today We Play.”   The retailer announced it has begun testing an augmented reality app, called Play Chaser, in 23 stores nationwide, with a chainwide roll-out planned for Oct. 21. Developed in partnership with PlayFusion, the free app allows users to activate different AR mini games and play experiences on their smart device while in Toys "R" Us stores.