Marketing Tactics

San Francisco – On July 19, online transportation service provider Uber is offering a one-day promotion where mobile customers could use the Uber app to order on-demand ice cream from an ice cream truck.

App users in 33 global cities, including 22 in the U.S. and Canada, have a one-day “order ice cream” option on their app. If one of several ice cream trucks deployed in each city is available, customers can order a bundle of five to six ice cream treats with payment directly charged to their Uber account.

Skechers USA’s recently remodeled East Coast flagship store on 42nd St. in Manhattan’s Times Square has incorporated five outdoor LED displays and three static displays to make its own statement on one of the world’s most visually noisy stages.

New York – Gilt.com is launching the Gilt Insider Program, a new free rewards program offering Gilt members the opportunity to earn points for free by interacting with the site. Activities such as making purchases, referring friends and visiting online sales earn members points they can redeem for benefits such as access to early sales, exclusive discounts, free shipping and invites to special events.

Austin, Texas – Digital coupon provider RetailMeNot launches its IPO on Friday of 9,090,908 shares of its Series 1 common stock at a price to the public of $21 per share. Shares will be available on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol "SALE." Of the shares in the offering, 4,545,454 shares are being offered by RetailMeNot and 4,545,454 shares are being offered by selling stockholders.

New York – U.S. consumers spent more last month as real home prices and initial unemployment claims continued to improve. The Deloitte Consumer Spending Index for June 2013, which comprises four components of tax burden, initial unemployment claims, real wages and real home prices, increased to 4.3 from a reading of 4.2 the previous month.   
Following is a summary of the four main components of the Index:

Tax Burden: The tax rate is up from last year, and is now at 12%.

Washington, D.C. – Compared to a record-breaking back-to-school shopping season in 2012, this year’s back-to-school season will not be as impressive. New figures from the NRF and Prosper Insights show that families with school-age children will spend an average $634.78 on apparel, shoes, supplies and electronics, down about 8% from $688.62 last year. Total spending on back-to-school is expected to reach $26.7 billion.

GRAPEVINE, Texas — As retailers large and small vie for foot traffic during the highly competitive back-to-school season, GameStop is focusing its efforts on the segment of its market that is on summer vacation.

The multichannel video game retailer has launched a five-week Summer Playcation promotion the offers gamers deals now through Aug. 18 in all U.S. GameStop locations.

J.C. Penney is counting on a familiar blend of promotional tactics for the 2013 back-to-school season after a slate of merchandising initiatives and a free haircut offer ended horribly last year.

The department store retailer is touting the availability of some familiar brands and promotional pricing along with a new Joe Fresh Kids brand, expanded Levi’s assortments, free customization kits with the purchase of backpacks and shoes during August and dedicated landing pages at Jcp.com for key brands such as Arizona, Levi’s and Total Girl.

Pet retailers will head to the SuperZoo Pet Products Expo in Las Vegas next week, looking for innovations to grow sales, and one potential big-ticket item is the Summer Splash, from the Ultimate Dog Pool, a new supplier of inflatable pools for dogs.

The inflatable dog pool designed for medium to large size dogs will be on display at booth #4470 July 23-25, seeking distribution opportunities at the expo.

Warrendale, Pa. -- Rue21 is partnering with Sony Pictures Entertainment to promote the release of "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones.” The promotion awards a winner with two tickets to the Hollywood movie premiere; three additional winners receive movie prize packs.

In addition, Rue21 is hosting two legs of Sony Pictures' 10-market mall tour where fans can see the stars of the film, Lily Collins and Jamie Campbell Bower. Rue21 is hosting the events at the Chicago Ridge Mall (Chicago) and Franklin Mills Mall (Philadelphia).