Digital Marketing

Sephora continues to innovate to drive mobile growth.   The retailer announced it is deploying two new interactive tools as part of a campaign to relaunch its private-label brand, Sephora Collection.  

Online retailer Hollar is looking to take sales away from a segment that, to date, has proved relatively immune to digital growth: dollar stores.  

With back-to-school spending on a “stock up” cycle rather than a “make do” cycle, total spending for K-12 and college school supplies is expected to reach $75.8 billion, up from last year’s $68 billion, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights and Analytics.   

Amazon Prime has added yet another item to its growing lineup of membership benefits: discounts on student loans.   The online giant is teaming up with Wells Fargo to offer Amazon Prime Student members a discount on private student loans that are taken out through Wells Fargo Educational Financial Services, the largest private student lender among U.S. commercial banks. (Membership in Amazon Prime Student costs $49 a year, which is half the price of a regular Amazon Prime membership.)  

Sequels are rarely better than the original, but the second annual Amazon Prime Day may deserve comparisons to “The Godfather Part II” and “The Empire Strikes Back.”  

The Unilever-Dollar Shave Club deal reflects the growing importance of emerging brands, vertical integration, and the consumer direct route to market favored by new CPG market entrants such as Dollar Shave Club, Honest Co., and NatureBox.

Consumer goods giant Unilever is paying a reported $1 billion to buy an online retail start-up that has yet to turn to profit.   Unilever PLC announced it is buying Dollar Shave Club, the razor delivery subscription service known for its irreverent brand positioning and viral You Tube videos. Terms of the deal were not announced, but The New York Times and other media outlets reported Unilever is paying $1 billion in cash for the scrappy company, which has yet to turn a profit but expects to do so by yearend.