In-Store Media

Austin, Texas -- Nearly half (46%) of consumers plan to start their holiday shopping before November this year, and one in four intend to have their holiday shopping completely finished by Black Friday. According to the RetailMeNot Shoppers Trend Report survey, conducted in conjunction with The Omnibus Company, 15% of consumers pick up winter holiday gifts throughout the year to spread out the cost.    Other notable findings include:  

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Plug and Play Tech Center is launching its first Retail and Brand Meetup on Wednesday, Oct.  22, starting at 5:30 pm PDT. The free event will feature a panel of marketing experts discussing the future of marketing and the importance of brands and retailers staying in touch with the customer at all touchpoint during a consumers path to purchase.    

By Mike Moriarty, A.T. Kearney

Well, well, well. Amazon is opening a store.  Isn’t that nice!

Now, does that make the company an enormous on-line retailer with “a store”, or does it make Amazon a small to mid-sized retailer with an enormous online presence?

It almost doesn’t make any difference — and that in itself makes a difference. Welcome to planet Earth, Amazon!

By Jeremy Geiger, Retailigence

The headline is bold, but yes, 2014 is the year of hyperlocal mobile advertising, and there are three very important trends converging today to make this happen. The first is smartphone proliferation; according to eMarketer, smartphone users worldwide will total a record-breaking two billion in 2014. Now billions of people around the world have the devices needed to make hyperlocal ads possible.

Los Angeles -- Sephora, Express, Art of Shaving and Things Remembered are among the retailers using a new, in-mall mobile retail solution from StepsAway.

Bentonville, Ark. – Walmart is expanding its role in health care. The retail giant is teaming up with DirectHealth.com, an online health insurance comparison site and agency, to set up counters in its stores where shoppers can speak with licensed agents about available health insurance options. Walmart’s expanding role in health care comes as drug store chains, including Walgreens and CVS, continue to beef up their own healthcare services.

Dallas - AT&T's new store design focused on the customer's mobile lifestyle is now open in Worcester, Massachusetts. The new store concept is the result of more than two years of research centered on the design goal of creating a more interactive and inviting store environment.

Customers in Worcester will be among the first to experience the new store concept.

Michaels is looking to generate traffic to its stores for Halloween with its annual in-store Great Pumpkin Event and the launch of its "Trick Your Pumpkin" sweepstakes Saturday, Oct. 4.

Every Friday from Oct. 10-31, Michaels will award a $250 Michaels gift card and gift basket of Plaid products to a randomly selected customer who creates a pumpkin craft. To enter, customers must post a photo of their pumpkin on Instagram with #TrickYourPumpkin and #sweepstakes, or at www.michaels.com/trickyourpumpkin, beginning Oct. 4.

New York -- Uniqlo is partnering with DOOB, a global provider of 3D technology-based products and services, on an interactive holiday campaign called the “Selfless Selfie Project. The program encourage people to take a selfie that isn’t as much about them but about giving back – such as pledging to do something to give back to their local community.

Belk’s fall charity sale of the year will take place Saturday, Nov. 8 from 6–10 a.m. at all Belk stores, helping thousands of participating charities across the retailer’s 16-state footprint.

The four-hour, in-store shopping event is an excellent fund-raising tool for participating organizations that sell $5 tickets to their supporters. It’s also an opportunity for customers to give back to local nonprofits while taking advantage of special in-store discounts on purchases during the event.