Digital Marketing

Social media is front and center at Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores this holiday season with the retailer tapping into customers’ desire to share with the introduction of the Holiday Hub.

As holiday shoppers hunted for online deals Thanksgiving weekend the Overstock.com Web site provided fertile hunting grounds.

The retailer said its sales between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday increased 23 percent compared to the same period the prior year. In addition to new customers, the increase was driven by an 8 percent increase in average individual order size. Cyber Monday sales increased 24 percent while Thanksgiving day saw the largest gain, up 38 percent off of a smaller initial base than Cyber Monday.

Amazon has introduced a line of “ethically sourced” products for Amazon Prime members.

Amazon Elements will consist of premium products with “transparent origins,” the company said. Amazon Elements will offer Prime members an upgraded level of information about products: when and where items were made, why each ingredient was included, where the ingredients were sourced and more.

  San Francisco – Although email is at the point it’s often considered a “legacy” technology, a slight majority of consumers still prefer it for holiday communication from retailers. According to a new consumer survey from Salesforce, 53% of respondents said that email is their preferred communication channel during the holidays.  

San Luis Obispo, Calif. - Omnichannel retailers that provide cross-channel offers to their customers are the big winners emerging from this year’s “Cyber Week.” Data from Shopatron shows that forcing customers into buying frenzies on specific days is losing favor, and that retailers who focus on meeting cross-channel consumer demand with ever increasing levels of service are realizing the benefits.

By Bruce Schanzer and Jennifer Bitterman

Looking to capitalize on the immense popularity of the PBS show Downton Abbey, Cost Plus World Market is having an online tea party and expanding its range of Downton Abbey products just in time for the holiday shopping season.

Reston, Va. - Cyber Monday reached $2.04 billion in desktop online spending, up 17% from a year ago and representing the heaviest online spending day in history and the only day ever to surpass $2 billion in sales. According to data from comScore, the weekend after Thanksgiving also reached a major milestone as it saw its first ever billion-dollar online shopping day on Saturday, while Sunday’s sales just fell short of the $1 billion mark.