Marketing Tactics

Austin, Texas -- Starting in November, Whole Foods Market stores nationwide will host DIY craft tutorials, with local artists from Etsy’s seller community. Shoppers can also find exclusive step-by-step DIY projects from Etsy’s creative community in Whole Foods Market’s 2013 Holiday Guide, available in stores and online.

Canton, Mass. – Dunkin’ Donuts has signed a multi-unit store development agreement with three existing franchise groups to develop 12 new restaurants in Detroit during the next several years. Existing franchise group Coffee Ventures, LLC plans to develop seven restaurants in suburban Detroit between 2014 and 2017, while existing Detroit franchisees Tarun and Falguni Raval plan to develop one restaurant in Detroit in 2014 and existing Detroit franchisees Nick and Masoud Shango plan to develop four restaurants in Detroit between 2014 and 2016.

Pittsburgh – Dick’s Sporting Goods and ESPN have entered a multi-year agreement in which Dick’s will serve as the exclusive e-commerce provider of licensed merchandise and sporting goods on ESPN.com and related digital properties.

New York – Nespresso is opening an in-store “Boutique-in-Shop” at the Macy's Herald Square on 34th Street in New York City. Nespresso coffee specialists will be present to offer demonstrations of Nespresso machines and guide customers through the profiles of the 21 Grand Cru coffees.

This is the second Nespresso Boutique-in-Shop within a Macy's store.

Los Angeles – A large number of shoppers do not appear to be setting aside any money for holiday spending this year, and four in 10 do not even intend to do any shopping for the upcoming holiday season.

According to recent GoBankingRates.com polls, more than 63% of respondents didn't allocate any savings toward holiday gift buying. In addition, more than 40% of respondents said they would not be buying holiday gifts this year at all.

Other findings include:

Dodgeville, Wis. – Lands’ End will offer free shipping to all customers on purchases more than $50 as part of its standard customer offerings. U.S. customers will also have the option to upgrade to two-day UPS shipping for $5.

New York -- Target is celebrating the launch of Sonia Kashuk's new line bath and body products collection with a larger-than-life art installation and pop-up store in New York City's Grand Central Station. The centerpiece of the space is a gleaming white bathtub on a platform that is raised some eight feet off the floor. A live model sits in the tub, which is surrounded by bubble-like balloons.
 
The new line, which includes shower gels, body lotions, loofas and shower caps, is on display in the pop-up and available for sale.

LeapFrog Enterprises is rolling into the holiday with its strongest product lineup ever but concerns about consumer spending have the leading educational entertainment company tempering its view of fourth quarter sales.

Macy's has integrated NantMobile’s iD visual recognition technology into its Star Gifts app to allow customers to shop on the go from catalogs, billboards and magazine ads.

Lands’ End will offer free shipping to all customers on purchases more than $50 as part of its standard customer offerings. U.S. customers will also have the option to upgrade to two-day UPS shipping for $5.