Loyalty Marketing

Customers and Shop Your Way members can shop Black Friday deals at most Sears stores starting as early as 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Sears’ subsidiary Kmart, continuing a 23-year tradition as a destination for early-bird shopping, will open for 42 hours straight, from 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving to midnight on Black Friday.

Seattle –- Amazon.com will start offering daily Black Friday deals on Saturday, Nov. 1. Amazon will also start offering two Deals of the Day every day through Monday, Dec. 22.  

San Francisco –- Compared to non-users, Twitter users start holiday shopping earlier, spend more and are more prone to impulse purchases. According to a new study conducted by brand research firm DB5 for Twitter, more than a third (34%) of Twitter users have already begun thinking about holiday shopping, and 81% say they love holiday shopping, compared to 56% of non-users.  

Bentonville, Ark. -- Walmart is upping the ante on holiday shopping. The chain announced that, starting Saturday, Nov. 1, it will reduce prices on more than 20,000 items. Walmart is also launching its holiday promotions on the first weekend in November to get a jump on what is expected to be a highly competitive selling season.  

General Mills has partnered  with GRAMMY Award-winning group Camila for the company's 2014-2015 Musica y Sabor campaign focused on connecting with customers in the Hispanic markets.

New York –- Holiday spending among U.S. consumers is expected to rise 1.9% in 2014 compared to the prior year. According to the 2014 Nielsen Holiday Retail Sales Forecast, which surveyed more than 25,000 demographically representative American households in September, 25% of respondents had already started holiday shopping in September.

Get it before it’s gone is the message Amazon is sharing with holiday shoppers as it looks to drive sales of limited duration “Lightning Deals” supported by enhanced same day delivery capabilities.

Amazon’s countdown to Black Friday and then Christmas involves a strategy of featuring roughly 15,000 products the online retailer promotes as Lightning Deals because of reduced pricing during a tight promotional window.

Burlington has partnered with K.I.D.S./Fashion Delivers and ABC’s Good Morning America for its eighth annual Warm Coat Warm Hearts coat drive, themed around “Families Helping Families.” 

The coat drive, which kicks off on Saturday, November 1, 2014, will benefit K.I.D.S./Fashion Delivers, a national non-profit organization dedicated to providing apparel and other products donated by manufacturers and retailers to community charities across the U.S. and throughout the world. 

On the heels of moderating expectations for its third quarter performance, Kohl’s announced plans to improve results during the holidays, including an around the clock opening schedule beginning at 6 p.m. Thanksgiving Day.

Kohl’s will open its doors at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day and remain open through midnight Friday, Nov. 28. The retailer will also offer a variety of omnichannel holiday services, including a daily “Today’s Deals” section on Kohls.com.

Seattle –- Amazon.com is reportedly using feedback collected from its “Amazon Moms” Facebook group and other corporate Facebook pages to help create promotional lists of holiday toys.