Marketing Tactics

Chicago -- Retail sales are forecast to rise 2.4% during the holiday season of November and December while total retail traffic will decrease 1.4% as compared to the year-ago period, according to ShopperTrak, a leading provider of shopper analytics. The company also notes that retailers have less time to capture peak holiday spending: There are only 25 days lie between Black Friday (Nov. 29) and Christmas this year, compared to 31 days in 2012. And unlike last year, consumers have only four (not five) full weekends to shop.

Los Angeles – Menemsha Solutions, a provider of retail development services, completed the design-build for online retailer JustFab.

JustFab’s first brick-and-mortar flagship is a 3,000-sq.-ft. space at Glendale Galleria, in Glendale, Calif. Menemsha Solutions’ design team created a retail space cohesive with the brand’s online shopping experience. Custom lighting, video screens and niche displays were designed and applied to creatively showcase the product.

Mokena, Ill. — Micoley.com’s Sept. 28 property auction will offer a restaurant and banquet facility in Mokena, Ill. The two-story restaurant spans 14,754 sq. ft. The site includes 162 parking spaces. Zoning allows other kinds of commercial activity.

The property has an opening bid of $995,000, substantially lower than the initial asking price of $1,795,000. Offers are expected during the lead up to the auction. Properties such as this frequently sell ahead of their auction date.

City of Commerce, Calif. — 99 Cents Only Stores will open a 15,635-sq.-ft. store in Garden Grove, Calif., on Sept. 19.

As part of the grand opening, the first nine customers may buy a 40-inch Westinghouse flat-screen TV for 99 cents. The chain currently operates 326 across the southwest.
 

Canton, Mass. – Dunkin’ Brands plans to open 17 new franchise Dunkin’ Donuts stores in west and central Texas in the next several years.

New York – The Deloitte Consumer Spending Index, which tracks consumer cash flow as an indicator of future consumer spending, slightly dipped in August.

New York – Gap Inc. is launching a fall global marketing campaign called “Back to Blue” that features two videos with musicians Dhani Harrison and Alexa Ray Joel, which consumers can watch on TV, desktops and smartphones/tablets.

Richfield, Minn. -- Sept. 16, is the final day of a four-day promotion Best Buy Co., Inc. is offering to customers who want credit toward purchase of an iPhone 5.

Best Buy will give a minimum $100 trade-in credit for an iPhone 5 to any customers who brings in a working smartphone. Best Buy says that will make the iPhone 5, currently available on several major carriers for $99.99, free. Customers will still have to pay any applicable sales tax and activation fees.

Seattle -- Starbucks Coffee Company on Monday opened two flagship stores in Beijing, China. The new Beijing flagship stores were designed by members of the in-house Starbucks global design team and the local Starbucks China Design Studio, one of 18 international design offices worldwide. One store is a “coffee tribute” store at Kerry Center and one is an “eclectic chic” 24-hour store in the Taikoo Li Sanlitun district.

PLEASANTON, Calif. — Safeway and Food Network host Marcela Valladolid have unveiled a Safeway-exclusive Marcela Valladolid brand, which offers an assortment of Mexican food products.