Social Media

Meijer is taking an original approach to Black Friday and generating return visits. The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer will offer deals on three different days — Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday and Saturday — along with coupons for additional deals that consumers can use on their next shopping trip.

North Plainfield, N.J. -- Forty-three percent of respondents to Levin Management’s annual pre-holiday retail sentiment survey believe that their holiday sales will peak prior to and during the Thanksgiving/Black Friday weekend sales period. In other notable results, 43.6% of respondents’ companies plan to open new stores in 2014 – a significant jump from 23% in last year’s pre-holiday poll and 35.9% the previous year.

Jacksonville, Fla. -- Hispanic shoppers in the United States make more grocery trips and spend more across grocery trip types than total U.S. shoppers, according to AMG Strategic Advisors, the growth strategy consultancy of Acosta Sales & Marketing, a full-service sales and marketing agency in the consumer packaged goods industry. On average, U.S. Hispanic shoppers make 4.1 routine grocery trips per month and spend $110 on each trip, compared to total U.S. shoppers who make 3.8 routine grocery trips per month and spend $95 on each trip.

The retail industry continues to hurtle toward an omnichannel reality with the most recent example involving SharperImage.com and the integration of “buy now” mobile capabilities provided by Digimarc into its print catalogs.

Lowe’s is kicking off the holiday season by positioning itself as the go-to place for DIYers to shop for materials that will allow them to tackle budget-friendly DIY projects so they can prepare their homes for the holidays.

The home improvement retailer has a dedicated landing page offering inspiration from do-it-yourselfers and designers, including Design Mom, Little Green Notebook, Brit + Co., Curbly and P.S. – I made this… and Oh Happy Day.

Post Foods' Honey Bunches of Oats has enlisted pop duo Domino Saints for its latest ad campaign geared toward Hispanic markets. The pop duo from San Juan, Puerto Rico, collaborated in the exclusive "Smile While You Shake It" music video.

Inspired by samba beats, the song and signature dance incorporate the cereal box and breakfast utensils as percussion instruments. National bilingual media, social media and website (bunchofbeats.com) encourage consumers to upload their own versions of the dance, share them digitally, and be eligible to win prizes.

H&M plans to hold a ribbon-cutting celebration marking the opening of a 42,000-sq.-ft. store in New York City’s Times Square at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 14. On hand to help light the H&M logo at the top of 4 Times Square will be global superstar Lady Gaga.

By Brian Smith, BizBrag