Digital Marketing

Mall operator General Growth Properties (GGP) is looking to get in touch with customers in a new and very personal way.

GGP has selected Mobiquity to be the provider of beacon-based advertising services for select malls in its U.S. portfolio, including Tysons Galleria (Washington D.C.), Glendale Galleria (Los Angeles), Water Tower Place (Chicago) and Ala Moana Center (Honolulu).

Leading department store operator Hudson’s Bay Company confirmed months of speculation and agreed to pay what appears to be a modest sum to acquire online luxury retailer Gilt Groupe.

Hudson’s Bay, which operates 470 department stores including Saks Fifth Avenue and the Off 5th discount format, said it agreed to pay $250 million for Gilt in a deal that will add $500 million to 2016, $40 million in adjusted operating profit by 2017 and countless synergies to leverage the combined companies’ infrastructure and customer databases.

Although it still only represents a small percentage of total retail sales, e-commerce is one of the biggest subjects in retail for 2016.

Shipping software provider TrueShip offers the following list of 10 predictions for the direction of e-commerce in the new year.

Online accessories retailer eBags continues to build out its senior leadership team with the newest hire filling the roles of CFO and COO.

Simon turned to the Internet for its latest development. The shopping center owner creates centers that offer destination shopping and a place for socialization, and now it’s redefining the way the company connects with its millions of shoppers on a daily basis. Simon SAID is a lifestyle-focused digital platform that delivers editorial content on fashion, beauty, design, culture and food. The platform taps influencers, bloggers and retail partners to create original content, which features products from numerous brands sold at Simon centers.

A new feature on Twitter will let advertisers engage consumers more directly than ever before.

For many years, Twitter has offered advertisers a service called Promoted Tweets that puts their tweets at the top of users’ content stream with images, videos and/or hashtags encouraging retweets, likes and follows. Now, Twitter is expanding the capability it gives advertisers to directly engage consumers with an offering called “conversational ads.”

Beacon technology is remapping how shopping center owners and retailers engage with their customers. PREIT is the latest owner to adopt the beacon-based advertising service, by partnering with Mobiquity Networks, at its premier malls. Earlier this year Macerich announced its expanded partnership with Mobiquity by adding the technology to more of its centers.

As we wrap up another holiday season, it’s time to review some of the most innovative and successful omnichannel promotions launched by retailers.

Some of these promotions were brand new, some were updated versions of established favorites. And some directly drove purchases while others built brand awareness and general holiday goodwill. But all five of the selected campaigns engaged customers in ways that should help boost loyalty long after holiday cheer fades.

Harry & David