Digital Marketing

Fortified by growing e-commerce sales and time spent across digital channels, the U.S. retail industry will grow its digital ad spending more rapidly this year than in 2012, according to new figures from eMarketer.

By the end of this year, eMarketer predicts, U.S. retailers will have increased digital ad budgets by 15.7% to $9.50 billion, following growth of 14.5% last year.

San Francisco – U.S. retailers are showing cautious optimism for the upcoming holiday shopping season. According to a survey of 77 U.S, retailers in July 2013 with annual revenue of less than $20 million to $5 billion by e-commerce technology provider Baynote, 38% of respondents project an 11 to 20% year-over-year increase in online sales, with 22% predicting an increase of 21% or more.

Ethos Contemporary Art is joining Amazon Art, a new online fine art sales channel for the world’s largest e-retailer. Ethos will be offering original fine art from artists such as Pierre Henri Matisse, Georgeana Ireland, Lisa Palombo and Dick Marconi ahead of Cyber Monday.
 

Longueuil, Quebec -- Canadian drug store operator The Jean Coutu Group is looking to boost holiday sales and make shopping more convenient this holiday season with the launch of an “e-store” window inside the Longueuil Metro Station.

Located in the A Wing of the Longueuil Metro Station, a key public transit hub, the e-store window allows consumers to make holiday purchases online on the spot using their smartphones. Purchased items can be delivered to the address of their choosing before Dec. 24.

Meijer is extending Cyber Monday into a weeklong sales event on Meijer.com, offering customers deep discounts and free shipping on orders of more than $75. The Midwestern retailer will offer Cyber Week savings from Sunday through Dec. 7.

Leading data collection and mobile research provider Field Agent added new insights capabilities to its solutions offering with the acquisition of CORE4 Research.

General Growth Properties has created an interactive sweepstakes series called Reindeer Games to promote shopping centers across its portfolio throughout the holiday shopping season.

Starring in Reindeer Games is every kid’s favorite reindeer Rudolph, “with his nose so bright.” Rudolph will lead Santa’s eight other reindeer through a series of nine three-day sweepstakes running from Nov. 28 through Dec. 24. By the end of the promotion, the series will have given away more than $25,000 in prizes.

Reston, Va. -- For the holiday season-to-date (Nov. 1 - 24), $18.9 billion has been spent online using desktop computers, up 14% versus the corresponding days last year, according to comScore. Tuesday, November 19 was the heaviest online spending day of the season to date at $963 million. Two other shopping days – Thursday, Nov. 14 and Sunday, Nov. 24 – have also seen at least $900 million in online retail spending.