Digital Marketing

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens is following in the footsteps of the likes of Target and Walmart in offering a digital edition of its weekly advertising circular that will offer additional items through Walgreens.com and the company's mobile applications.

The Sunday circular — read by more than 50 million consumers, according to Walgreens — also will get a new look and feel, designed to improve the shopping experience.

East Palo Alto, Calif. -- Ikea said Thursday it has plugged in four Blink Level 2 electric vehicle charging stations at its East Palo Alto, Calif., store. The initiative is in partnership with ECOtality and represents the eighth EV project for IKEA in the United States.

To charge an EV at Ikea East Palo Alto, drivers pull into a designated parking spot, swipe their Blink InCard (RFID card), and plug the charger into the EV to charge the vehicle.

Reston, Va.  -- Online retail spending reached $49.7 billion for the fourth quarter, up 14% over a year ago, according to comScore.  It was the ninth consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth and fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth rates. For the entire 2011 year, U.S. retail e-commerce spending reached a record $161.5 billion, marking a 13%  increase from 2010.

Los Angeles -- SkuLoop, a retail solution provider offering a suite of tools that allows retailers and brands to build their own digital promotions, announced that veteran fashion executive Trent MacLean has joined its board of advisors. He previously served as president and COO of 7 for all Mankind and Paige Denim, and prior to that as president of Liz Claiborne Casual Sportswear and president of Liz Claiborne Canada.

For Valentine’s Day, mall owner General Growth Properties has challenged shoppers to power up their mobile devices to “search for the love” at a GGP mall. Effective Feb. 1, customers began entering the Where Is the Love? sweepstakes by finding and scanning love-themed QR codes hidden throughout participating GGP malls.

Boston -- A report released Wednesday by Boston Consulting Group said that, while 96% of companies are using Facebook and 83% are using Twitter, few have an overall marketing strategy that incorporates digital and includes clear metrics for success.

The report, Marketing Capabilities for the Digital Age, presents the findings of a BCG survey of marketing executives at 31 major corporations globally and presents an overview of the digital landscape.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Fred Meyer's jewelry retail subsidiaries, Fred Meyer Jewelers and Littman Jewelers, which make up the third-largest fine jewelry retailer in the United States, have announced the launch of the Fredmeyerjewelers.com and Littmanjewelers.com mobile websites, optimized for mobile devices including iPhone and Android smartphones.

Portland, Ore. -- Fred Meyer Jewelers, the nation’s third-largest fine jewelry retailer, announced the launch of mobile websites for its namesake and Littman Jewelers brand. The sites are optimized for mobile devices including iPhone and Android smartphones.

Fred Meyer Jewelers has partnered with Moovweb to create the mobile enabled websites. The mobile websites serve as a complement to the regular sites with functional ecommerce capability.