Digital Marketing

Chicago -- Retail CFOs are feeling more confident about the state of the consumer, forecast a 5.1% increase in total sales and a 4.8% increase in same-store sales this year, according to a new BDO USA survey. The finding marks a significant increase from the number expressing similar sentiments last year.

In the study,  a majority (63%) of CFOs indicate that they include online sales in their comparable sales projections, suggesting that some of this expected growth and optimism may be linked to the exploding popularity of e-commerce.

Reston, Va. -- comScore and Google are partnering to offer a real-time audience metric designed to help brand marketers easily measure campaigns across screens. After a period of testing, comScore vCE will be available to DoubleClick marketer and publisher clients, built into the widely used ad management platform.

With the path to purchase routinely involving multiple screens, comScore and Google have struck an agreement designed to simplify the ability of marketers to measure shopper behavior in real time.

Helen Bryan has become the second author in the Amazon Publishing stable of writers to surpass 1 million copies in combined print, audio and Kindle editions.

Bryan, author of historical novels "War Brides" (2012) and "The Sisterhood" (2013), follows Amazon Publishing author Oliver Pötzsch over the 1 million threshold.

Winnipeg, Manitoba -- Silver Jeans Co. will open a store at Woodfield Mall on April 11, in Schaumburg, Ill.

"We put a lot of work into making sure the store environment represents our brand," says Michael Silver, CEO, Silver Jeans Co. "Consumers will be able to experience our brand values by visiting one of our lofts. We've created an environment that has a comfortable modern feeling but also lets our guests know that we're a historic brand with a rich 92-year history."

Charlotte, N.C. - Belk has partnered with HelloWorld, Inc. (formerly ePrize) to create a campaign that allows consumers to submit a photo and brief description of a couple's love story for a chance to win a $20,000 event, like a wedding, and a private concert with singer Edwin McCain.

It’s no secret that today’s teens and twenty-somethings have grown up on social media and see it as an extension of their everyday lives. But retailers who think they can just display a bunch of wares on a social media page and attract Millennial shoppers are sadly mistaken. A panel of five exceptionally bright and well-spoken Millennial consumers ages 16-21 (all offspring of prominent retail IT figures) at the recent Retail ROI “Super Saturday” event in New York gave some frank insight into how Millennials view social media.

Sears has launched a new service powered by the chain’s Shop Your Way mobile app that enables customers to pick up their online purchases at any Sears store within five minutes of arrival.

Omnichannel is omnipresent in conversations throughout our industry. I heard the term — and the angst, confusion, tests and even some initial successes around it — again and again at NRF’s 2014 BIG Show. In many cases, delivering on omnichannel is a tall order, requiring significant soul-searching for retailers in terms of what it means to them and their customers, often followed by equally significant investments in fundamental areas such as inventory management and customer relationship management systems.

Genius Brands International has a roster of new licensing partners to create merchandise based on Stan Lee’s Mighty 7 (SLAM 7), the animated film trilogy created together with Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment and Archie Comics.

Factory Entertainment has secured a worldwide toy license for the franchise.