Social Media

While other retailers try to hone their social media and omnichannel skills, Victoria's Secret is creating excitement once again the way it knows best: by announcing a new team of crystal-decorated, 6-inch-heel wearing models.

By Sherrie Mersdorf, director of marketing, NewBrand

New York -- High-profile retailers can make a high-impact difference when they use their clout to do good.  

Case in point: Ann Inc., parent to Ann Taylor and Loft, donated more than $4.3 million to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation to fund groundbreaking cancer research. The brands parlayed successes from the 2014 spring and fall campaigns and have brought the company's total corporate donation to $22.3 million in the past 10 years.

In theory, the launch of a limited-time, 250-piece Lilly Pulitzer designer collection on Sunday, April 19 should have been a major coup for Target. Instead, it was a major disaster in marketing, CRM, and operations. By now, the story of how consumer demand for Lilly Pulitzer overwhelmed Target’s website and stores has been told many times. Let’s look at three lessons retailers (including Target) can learn from this experience.

Know Your Customer

By Melanie Curtin, OpiaTalk

Promotions, discounts, and coupons, oh my! It’s easy to have a love/hate relationship with them. On the one hand, they’re proven to bring in business and boost conversions. On the other, they can cut into margins.

It’s often assumed that the bigger the promotion, the better it will convert. But what if it’s not about the promotion itself? What if it’s more about the delivery?
 

The new focus on health and wellness merchandise at Kohl’s gets a big boost this week with the addition of an exclusive Gaiam women’s apparel collection.

The retailer has been greatly expanding its assortment of active lifestyle and wellness offerings through brand launches, partnerships and unique social integrations that further the company’s commitment to active and well lifestyles promoted under the Make Your Move initiative launched earlier this year.

HSN is leveraging the 30-year career of designer Sigrid Olsen to launch a multi-platform marketing campaign.

The retailer is producing a show on HSN with Olsen that premieres this month to coincide with the debut of the Spring 2015 collection of her first women's fashion line since 2008. The show is just one facet of a campaign on social media, mobile and online.

The North Face is celebrating Earth Day by expanding its Clothes the Loop omnichannel initiative, with the goal of recycling more than 100,000 pounds of apparel and footwear this year.

The retailer plans to expand its Clothes The Loop recycling program to all of its retail and outlet stores in the U.S. in tandem with an in-store and social media campaign to encourage consumers to recycle unwanted apparel and footwear from any brand in any condition.