Retailer Campaigns

Wine with screw top lids was bad enough for purists, now retailers are filling their shelves with wine-based products package in cans.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Starting this month, social media users and others can send each other beers, cocktails and food items as gifts via a growing number of gift card options and features from Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar.  The chain has re-designed its gift card experience for both senders and receivers of gift cards that are redeemable at nearly 2,000 Applebee’s locations across the country.

In an effort to generate traffic and increase sales at its physical stores, Barnes & Noble has announced a secret weapon against Amazon.com this Black Friday.

Barnes & Noble recruited 100 prominent authors — including Donna Tartt, David Mitchell, Dan Brown, E. L. James, Jeff Kinney, George W. Bush and Hillary Clinton — to each sign roughly 5,000 copies of their latest books. The company will distribute and sell the 500,000 signed books among its retail stores only. The signed books will not be available on the company’s website.

By Jason Becker, RICS Software   Retailers – take a step back from Black Friday weekend this year.    I’m not suggesting you shouldn’t move forward with your promotions and sales. Everyone knows that Black Friday weekend can be one of the most profitable times of the year for retailers. But relying too much on this crazy weekend of shopping to generate holiday season profits is a big mistake.  

San Bruno, Calif. – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is offering 500 online deals during Cyber Week, starting Saturday, Nov. 29, more than double the number of cyber deals it offered last year. Every day through Friday, Dec. 5, Walmart.com will offer 500 discount items, with the best deals arriving on Cyber Monday, Dec. 1.   

NEW YORK - Macy’s is enhancing its Black Friday promotions by giving away  a million dollars in prizes in stores nationwide during doorbuster hours. Beginning at 6 p.m. local time on Thanksgiving Day, customers will have a chance to win big, scoring digital gift codes that can be used instantly for Black Friday purchases.  

Denver – An estimated 28% of consumers plan to do most of their holiday shopping at mass retailers, compared to 26% who will frequent online retailers. According to an ongoing shopper behavior study conducted by The Integer Group and M/A/R/C Research, free shipping continues to be the most popular offer for holiday shoppers, with 58% of shoppers reporting they expect to take advantage of it this holiday season.   

Duluth, Minn. – Specialty fashion retailer Maurices has partnered with interactive video provider Zentrick to upgrade its "How to Wear It" and "What to Wear: Summer 2014" online video campaigns. By integrating interactive elements into six 'look'-inspired videos, Zentrick and Maurices logged 15.2% engagement and a 7.4% click-through rate (CTR).   

As the NBA season gets fully under way, specialty retailer Lids is looking to capitalize on fan excitement by offering customizable and personalized NBA apparel and headwear for the first time ever.  

Shoppers will be able to customize the new Adidas NBA Swingman jersey with the name and number of any NBA player, or personalize the jersey with their own name and number in more than 70 Lids stores nationwide. Player-customization or personalization of NBA team logo Adidas and Mitchell & Ness headwear will also be an option in more than 800 U.S. Lids stores.  

In an effort to create even more buzz for its holiday promotions, Macy’s will give away $1 million in prizes during Black Friday weekend.  

Using the Macy’s mobile app, customers shopping in-store will be able to scan QR codes to enter the giveaway during doorbuster hours, beginning at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day through 1 p.m. on Nov. 28, and then again on Saturday, Nov. 29, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.