Marketing Tactics

New York -- Starbucks Coffee Company and Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) on Thursday unveiled the first-ever Starbucks store on a train. The train’s maiden voyage will take place on the train line running from Geneva Airport to St. Gallen in Switzerland on Nov. 21 at 6:36 a.m.

London -- Disney U.K. is teaming up with Harrods to open a Cinderella-inspired "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique" at the world famous department store, marking the first time that a Disney Parks and Resorts concept has been recreated in the United Kingdom. The boutique will be the centerpiece of partnership between Disney and Harrods that also includes a dedicated Disney Store, which opened on Nov. 1. .

New York – HSN is launching an integrated marketing partnership with Spanish-language media company Univision Communications that will offer a fully integrated experience for U.S. Hispanic consumers.

By Justin Coward, managing director, mobile retail systems, VeriFone, ASPAC

New York -- Macy's reported a profit for the third quarter that easily exceeded Wall Street, helped by stepped up marketing.

For the quarter ended Nov. 2, Macy's earned $177 million, up from $145 million a year ago.

Revenue rose 3% to $6.28 billion. Same-store sales increased 3.5%, beating the 2.1% rise analysts expected.

Sales trends improved in every region, and both the Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s chains performed well, the retailer said.

Seattle -- PlayNetwork, a leader in branded entertainment media experiences, announced it is providing music programming and installing state-of-the-art media systems for the Levi's brand in 1,500 stores around the globe, including all U.S. locations.

Eight-in-10 (80.6%) shoppers will purchase gift cards this holiday season, according to the National Retail Federation’s Gift Card Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics.

Holiday shoppers will spend an average of $163.16 on gift cards, up 4.0% over the $156.86 they spent last year and the highest amount in the survey’s 11-year history. Total spending on gift cards will reach $29.8 billion.

A tepid economic climate and government shutdown weren’t enough to prevent Macy’s from producing a 3.5% third quarter same store sale increase and better than expected profits which prompted the department store operator to reiterate it full year financial forecast.