Retailer Campaigns

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Black Friday shopping may be on the decline, according to a new study by CFI Group, a customer satisfaction technology and analytics firm. The company’s 2013 Holiday Retail Spending Report found fewer than 25% of consumers plan to spend more than half of their total holiday shopping budgets during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday period. But 45% said they will begin before November, with 61% indicating they'll finish their shopping completely by early December

PetSmart is leveraging a Halloween costume contest to drive traffic to stores. The specialty retailer is holding the contest Saturday, Oct. 19 at stores nationwide, as well as locations in Canada and Puerto Rico.

As added incentive for pet parents to take their costumed furry friends to stores to participate, PetSmart is offering the first 50 pets in costume at each store between 9 and 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19 free treats from Dentastix and Temptations, plus a coupon for $1 off a Bret Michaels Pets Rock toy purchase.

Woonsocket, R.I. – CVS is reportedly offering a new program to its ExtraCare loyalty program members, called myWeeklyAd, which creates a personalized profile with targeted product offers based on previous purchases. According to Wall St. Cheat Sheet, CVS spent about $7 million on the omnichannel program which is available on PC, tablet and smartphone.

New York -- UGG Australia will launch UGG by You, an online customization tool putting customers in control of the design process and transforming a visit to the retailer’s website from a shopping trip to a creative experience.

The customization tool allows consumers to mix and match an array of color schemes on two classic styles, the UGG Classic Short sheepskin boot and its Fluff Flip Flop, through a user-friendly design tool. There are over 11,000 color, outsole and trim combinations possible through the footwear personalization tool.

Digital media company Specific Media and Nielsen have joined forces to offer a new platform called Retail Connect designed to address what the firms regard as a gap between offline and online advertising.

According to Specific Media, the Retail Connect platform will allow for more effective advertising for brands as well as consumers because it leverages Nielsen’s Buyer Insights aggregate data about in-store consumption habits and online behaviors to inform an optimized and efficient approach to online advertising.

Cincinnati -- Americans are increasing their use of social media for discussions about favorite brands, while slowing down on face-to-face and phone conversations about product likes and dislikes, according to a report by Colloquy, the research arm of LoyaltyOne, a global provider of loyalty and marketing programs.

Social media brand recommendations have grown 4% since Colloquy conducted survey research in 2011 on the word-of-mouth habits of U.S. consumers, while face-to-face recommendations have declined 4% in that time period.

Milk-Bone has teamed up with lifestyle technology company Brit + Co. to help launch a new pets destination website at brit.co. To celebrate the partnership, Milk Bone is holding a Halloween "Trick or Treat Best Pet Costume Contest." 

Matthews, N.C. -- Family Dollar hit a major milestone in its history on Thursday as the company opened its 8,000th store, in Lancaster, S.C.