Digital Marketing

London – Specialty luxury retailer Michael Kors Holdings has joined the ranks of Snapchat users. According to DigiDay, Michael Kors debuted on Snapchat earlier this week during New York Fashion Week, launching exclusive photos from Fashion Week on Snapchat.

Michael Kors has had a longtime social media presence, and was the first retailer to buy an ad on Instagram. Other New York Fashion Week social media activities for Michael Kors included live Internet streaming of the show and a live Twitter chat with the hashtag #AllAccessKors.

Whole Foods is putting its motto -- whole foods, whole people, whole planet -- to the test with a new initiative to alleviate poverty through microcredit.

The retailer is partnering with its own Whole Planet Foundation on an effort to raise $5 million in 42 days to fund microlending programs worldwide.

Merrillville, Ind. - Homeowners looking to upgrade their backyard in time for summer can now enter membership-based buying club DirectBuy’s “Backyard Dream-Over” sweepstakes for a chance to win outdoor furniture, appliances, and more. DirectBuy is utilizing gamification techniques by letting consumers play a game on mobile phone, PC or tablet for a chance to win up to 600 sweepstakes entries while learning about DirectBuy.

Armonk, N.Y. - Consumers headed online for their Valentine’s Day shopping this year. According to IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark data, during Valentine’s week (Feb. 7 – 13) online shopping rose 10.2% from the same period in 2014.

In addition to overall sales, consumers ramped up their shopping efforts the week leading up to Valentine’s Day. Growth was seen in key verticals including:

Seattle -- Starbucks Coffee Company is taking its coffee to an entirely new level as it continues to target consumers who are willing to pay for super-premium brews. The company said Tuesday it will offer online customers subscription delivery of its small-lot coffees.

Jewelry retailer James Avery is offering shoppers a more interactive experience, one that connects customers to the brand, at its store in Apharetta, Georgia.  

In creating the next “home” for the 60plus-store James Avery, the challenge was to find a way to bridge current customers’ expectations and history with an invitation to new consumers who may not be familiar with the brand.

New York – A majority of business websites are not ready for prime time, at least when it comes to global commerce.

According to a new survey from multilingual search agency Oban Digital, while 67% of business executive respondents say that internationalization is a key part of their growth strategy, only 20% of businesses have all of their current online communications adapted for local culture or language, a key driver of sales success.

By Haydn Simpson, NetNames