Marketing Tactics

There are more than 20,000 Starbucks around the globe, but only one of those stores—specifically the one in the artsy Fremont section of Seattle— has a five-foot tall neon letter “f” inside it.  Read more   

HHgregg CEO Dennis May said the retailer is approaching Black Friday differently this year, including opening its stores earlier than Best Buy on Thanksgiving Day and offering 40% storewide discounts.

HHgregg will open its stores at 4 p.m. on the holiday, an hour earlier than Best Buy and two hours earlier than most other retailers who plan to open Thanksgiving Day. The retailer also said its Black Friday Now promotion will begin Nov. 20 and run through Nov. 29 and will offer up to 40% off all items in the store.

New York -- A petition to get Old Navy to stop charging more for women's plus-size jeans has gathered more than 36,000 signatures online, Bloomberg reports.  

Columbus, Ohio -- Big Lots has launched a marketing program around spurring holiday home décor purchases by declaring Nov.16-22, 2014, as the nation's first Decorate Your Home for the Holidays Week.  

Perhaps the most aggressive traffic and sales generating promotional effort this Black Friday comes courtesy of Old Navy.

The Old Navy division of Gap, Inc., plans to open its more than 800 stores at 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving day and will price all merchandise at half off for 31 hours until stores close at 11 p.m. on Black Friday. And, if the 50% markdown isn’t sufficient to motivate shoppers, the retailer plans generate store traffic by giving away $1 million to one lucky customer and 1,000 $200 gift certificates.

New York –- There is a high demand among consumers for mobile apps that would make the Black Friday shopping experience easier. According to data from Verizon, 80% of consumers say knowing where to get the best Black Friday deals would make their experience easier.  

North Plainfield, Ill. -- With momentum picking up as the holiday shopping season approaches, retailers polled in Levin Management’s 2014 Pre-Holiday Retail Sentiment Survey are showing strong enthusiasm for seasonal sales potential. The findings also indicate expectations for strong pre-December shopping and plans for stepped-up temporary hiring with positions that may carry into the new year.  

Washington, D.C. –- During the 2014 holiday season, spending on tiny plastic or digital gift cards will top all previous records. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF) Gift Card Spending Survey, the average person buying gift cards will spend $172.74, up from $163.16 in 2013. Total spending is expected to reach $31.74 billion.