Loyalty Marketing

San Bruno, Calif. -- Walmart on Friday kicked off its online holiday deals, a month earlier than usual, and announced that it is offering free shipping on about 99% of its online items this year for orders over $50. (Last year, only about 15% of its assortment qualified for free shipping). The moves comes as retailers get ready for what is expected to be an extremely competitive season, one marked by intense promotional activity. Retailers are also challenged by this year’s calendar: Thanksgiving falls late, on Nov.

Mountain View, Calif. – Millennial consumers age 18-34 are most likely to use online and mobile technology in their holiday shopping this year. According to a new survey from the Google 2013 Holiday Intentions Shopping Study, 95% of Millennials but only 87% of consumers age 35 and older plan to use the Internet as a tool for holiday shopping.

Bank holding company Green Dot and Walmart have expanded the line of MoneyCard branded reloadable prepaid debit cards to include six new card types.

Prior to the latest agreement, Green Dot offered three version of prepaid debit products at 4,100 Walmart stores.

New York -- Moms with young kids, defined as children under the age of five, are often more active on social media, more likely to shop using mobile devices and more open to engage with brands across digital touchpoints than other segments of moms and consumers at large. A new analysis from Experian Marketing Services shows that moms with young kids are 62% more likely than the general population to use their mobile phones to look for local coupons while shopping.

Wayne, N.J. -- Toys “R” Us is expanding its point-based Rewards “R” Us loyalty program as it gears up for one of the most competitive holiday seasons in years. The added incentives include a first-ever, private pre-Black Friday incentive.

New York -- Nearly 90% of Americans repeatedly buy products retailers have on promotion, according to a new survey by Syngera, a global technology startup that uses big data to bring personalized digital experiences to the physical retail store.  In the survey, 85% of respondents said they would return to brick-and-mortar stores when alerted to upcoming sales of previously purchased items.

By James McCandless and Kenneth Katz,  X Team International

The recent government shutdown has analysts scrambling to determine how much damage was done to the national economy. From a retail perspective, understanding the scale and scope of the shutdown requires a more thorough understanding of the issues at play; including a closer look at how retailers responded and a breakdown of how the lingering effects of the partial government closure may impact the holiday sales season.

The ripple effect on retail

PriceGrabber, a leading distributed e-commerce platform and shopping site, conducted its Winter Holiday Shopping Survey and found that 69% of consumers plan to shop at the same retailers at which they shopped last year.