Marketing Tactics

Meijer has made the holidays a lot merrier for 213 very special customers.

The retailer picked 213 customers at random to get a big surprise at checkout: their entire shopping cart filled with gifts and groceries was given to them as a holiday gift.

Minneapolis – Some customers are only midway through the race to finish their holiday shopping, some haven’t even left the starting line, but Best Buy is offering help to make sure they reach the finish line by Dec. 24. Best Buy Co Inc. is making thousands of products on BestBuy.com eligible for a free shipping upgrade.  

Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin - Kohl’s Department Stores has gotten in on the non-stop holiday shopping action by promoting itself as the place to be for “A Sale So Big We’re Open Non-Stop” beginning 6 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 19 through 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve, Wednesday, Dec. 24.   

Home furnishings retailer West Elm announced it is teaming up with Kate Spade Saturday to launch an exclusive collection of furniture, bedding, rugs and home accessories.

The Kate Spade Saturday + West Elm collection is Kate Spade Saturday’s first home collaboration and will be available in West Elm stores in the United States and Canada and on westelm.com in early January.

Kraft Foods Group Inc. says that CEO Tony Vernon plans to retire later this month, and the company has named Chairman John Cahill as his successor.

Vernon will retire on Dec. 27, the last day of the company's fiscal year. He will stay on as a senior adviser through March 31 and as a director until the company's next annual meeting in 2015.

Bentonville, Ark. – “Super Saturday,” the Saturday before Christmas (Dec. 20), looks to be a super day for retailers. According to an in-store customer survey conducted by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on Dec. 13, 36% of consumers plan to shop that day.  

Grand Rapids, Mich. - Meijer made the holidays very merry for 213 unsuspecting customers recently when those shoppers received a big surprise upon checkout – their entire shopping cart filled with gifts and groceries given to them as a holiday gift.

During the “Very Merry Meijer” event, one customer at each of the retailer's 213 stores across the Midwest was randomly selected on Dec. 13 to receive their purchases free.

Every retailer wants to acquire new customers, but apparently not every retailer knows how to draw them in. New data from loyalty intelligence provider Colloquy and sponsored by Chase Merchant Services show that a whopping 60% of retailers admitted they don't have a good process in place for effectively targeting new customers.

In addition, 85% of retailers are in search of ways to add value to their retail offering outside of discounts, promotions and /or loyalty programs.