Marketing Tactics

Indianapolis -- Lids Sports Group and the National Football League announced Thursday that Lids will manage multiple retail locations in New Orleans, in addition to operating the principal NFL Shop at Super Bowl Presented by Visa.  

The temporary stores are located within the French Quarter, Riverwalk, and local NFL host hotels as a means to offer Super Bowl spectators alternate sites to purchase official fan gear prior to the NFL season’s championship game.  
 

Camp Hill, Pa. -- Rite Aid Corp. reported Thursday that same-store sales for the month of January edged up 0.3%, boosted by a 4.2% rise in front-end sales for the month along with increased prescription counts.

Total sales for the four-week period decreased 0.5% to $1.914 billion.

Toronto -- Hudson’s Bay Co. said Thursday it has introduced a new three-tiered rewards program, partnering with Capital One Canada to boost the rate at which HBC shoppers earn reward points for shopping at Hudson's Bay, Thebay.com or Home Outfitters.

Hudson's Bay Rewards members will now earn one point for every dollar they spend on almost anything in store or online and, as they move up the tier levels, they earn more points per spend.

The art of sewing comes alive at The Hab, a one-stop shopping destination in Mumbai, India, for all things sewing. The colorful store offers a fresh and youthful take on one of retailing’s more staid, and slightly old-fashioned, categories, and more than lives up to its motto: “A hipper side of sewing.”

HAMPSHIRE, U.K. — Mobile couponing is expected to greatly increase in popularity this year. According to a new report from Juniper Research, the number of discount coupons redeemed through mobile and tablet devices is expected to reach 10 billion this year, up by more than 50% on last year.

PLEASANTON, Calif. — Safeway is offering its customers the ability to earn reward points redeemable at participating Exxon or Mobil gas stations.

"Safeway listens to its shoppers, and we understand the importance of stretching grocery dollars," said Mir Aamir, president of customer loyalty and digital technologies at Safeway. "By teaming up with ExxonMobil, we're able to thank our customers with a loyalty program that makes two frequent and critical purchases lead to real savings."

Amazon, which gained attention for its expanded Kindle line and growing e-commerce footprint, captured the second spot on BrandIndex's list of most buzzed about U.S. brands for 2012.

Lowe's and Target were the only traditional retailers to make the top 10. Lowe's moved up one spot to the number five position, thanks to the launch of MyLowes.com and better-equipped staff. Target captured the number seven spot with the help of its remodeling program and year-round exclusives.

Other retailers in the top 25 include Walgreens (13), Home Depot (18) and Kohl's (25).

MINNEAPOLIS — Digital coupons are increasingly being used as a marketing tool for major brands, as evidenced by the rise in such offers between 2011 and 2012.

Accoding to Kantar Media, digital couponing events across key websites increased by 46.1% in 2012 compared with 2011, and 805 manufacturers distributed digital coupon offers on these key websites during 2012, an increase of 18.9% as compared with the same period in 2011.  

NEW YORK — Limited access to healthy, affordable food choices, is an oft-cited reason for poor food habits among the nation's less fortunate. In order to address this issue, hunger relief organization Philabundance has teamed up with retail design consultancy CBX to create a prototype for a not-for-profit grocery store.

SALISBURY, N.C. — The future grocers of America will get a taste of what its like to work in the industry, thanks to a new, interactive exhibit by Food Lion on display at the Children's Museum in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Children will be able to go behind miniature-sized counters and cash registers and pretend they are checking out customers. They will also be able to experience three preparation areas to further allow them to imagine they are Food Lion associates.