Digital Marketing

Sears is going the private, members-only route this Black Friday in an effort to drive traffic to its stores.

For the first time ever, Sears will open all of its stores to select Shop Your Way members for a private night of shopping for many of its Thanksgiving/Black Friday doorbusters four days early. Sears will hold its "Members Private Night" in all stores on Nov. 22 from 6-9 p.m. While access to the event is by email or text invitation only, members can text the word "EXCLUSIVE" to 73277 to receive an invitation, while supplies last.

While all the major retailers will be offering deals and discounts on Black Friday weekend, Dick's Sporting Goods plans to woo shoppers with an exciting social media promotion.

Visual social media network Instagram is taking a new step toward becoming a platform for commerce.

Instagram has launched a new program called Instagram Partners that is designed to help companies advertise on the social network. Each certified partner must have expertise in at least one of three defined areas: ad tech (buying and selling ads at scale), community management (managing comments and gaining consumer insights), and content marketing (sourcing and delivering content at scale).

Personalized shopping app ShopAdvisor and Elle magazine are turning readers into brick-and-mortar shoppers.

Elle and ShopAdvisor have released results of the August 2015 “Shop Now With Elle” proximity mobile marketing program. The program connected consumers to retailers and provided them with exclusive content and offers using location-based mobile technology, including beacons and geo-fences.

Taubman Centers is expanding its use of a mobile app that lets retail tenants connect with shoppers once they sign into a center’s WiFi network and offer them store-specific deals.

Specialty fashion retailer Vanity is trying to make visiting its stores as rewarding an experience as possible.

Home furnishings retailer Wayfair increased revenue and narrowed its loss in the third quarter thanks to what the company's CEO called "customer growth accelerating at a phenomenal pace."

With a little over two weeks until Black Friday weekend, Best Buy, HHgregg and other retailers are hoping many U.S. consumers have made shopping after Thanksgiving dinner a holiday tradition.

The consumer electronics retailers joined a growing list of retailers that released their Thanksgiving 
plans this week. Both Best Buy and HHgregg have decided to keep their same holiday sales plans from last year.