Marketing Tactics

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Amazon continues to set the bar higher, achieving the highest rating on the annual Top 100 E-Retail Satisfaction Index by customer experience analytics firm ForeSee. Amazon outdid its 2011 score, climbing three points to 89, and four points higher than the second highest scoring websites, Apple.com (85) and QVC.com (85). (Scores of 80 or higher on ForeSee's 100-point scale are considered superior customer satisfaction performances.)

NEW YORK — Macy's has partnered with fashion icon Nicole Richie (daughter of famed singer Lionel Richie) for an exclusive line for the company's Impulse division. Nicole Richie for Impulse will launch in 100 Macy's stores and at Macys.com in September and will feature apparel inspired by Richie's trendsetting personal style, including 1970s influenced silhouettes, prints and fabrications, the company said.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — "Modern Family" star, Sofia Vergara, is expanding her brand at Kmart with the launch of a new, exclusive home collection. The actress' apparel line launched at Kmart and on Kmart.com in the fall of 2011.

WAYNE, N.J. — Babies“R”Us is offering customers a new way to support military moms-to-be through a partnership with Operation Shower, an organization that hosts baby showers for military wives to ease the stress of their husbands’ deployment. The retailer has launched Babiesrus.com/OperationShower, which will serve as an online information portal, where visitors can learn how they can support this charitable program and ensure that military moms-to-be, who are often far away from friends and family, receive basic essentials for their newborns.

CINCINNATI — Kroger announced that it has kicked off a sales event during May that will support the broad range of programs and services the United Service Organizations provides to service members, their families and veterans.

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. — Kohl's has added athletic merchandise from Fila to its exclusive of Kohl's Care collection. Available now through the end of July, the collection offers chic and stylish athletic apparel, accessories and gifts which can be found in all 40 Wisconsin Kohl's stores and online at Kohls.com, with 100% of the net profit donated to support the fight against breast cancer, the company said.

New York -- Shoppers in the United States earning at least $150,000 annually rank Nordstrom highest among luxury retailers, according to a survey by the Luxury Institute.

According to the 2012 Luxury Consumer Experience Index, which ranks retailers based on customers' evaluations of a brand's store personnel, shopping environment and degree of satisfaction with the total experience, Nordstrom earns the top overall score of 8.41 out of 10.

Bergdorf Goodman ranked second (8.37), and Barneys New York third (8.23).

Has anyone else noticed that more and more consumers seem to be “cross-shopping” than ever before? I’m talking about those people who shop both the high-end luxury retailers and the discount or even dollar stores. I recently read an article that indicated one-quarter of all Nordstrom shoppers also shop at the Dollar Store. And, I started to ask myself if this trend is here to stay.
 

Total U.S. shopper traffic in retail stores and malls for April 2012

Warm weather and shifting holidays in March caused retail foot traffic to dip in April. Retail foot traffic in April was 7.6% lower from March, and 2.7% lower on a year-over-year basis.  The slow April is the first in the past 3 months to experience a decline in year-over-year and month-over-month retail foot traffic.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears has launched SearsLocalAd.com, an online service that provides customers with access to additional local deals beyond the weekly Sears print circular or Sears.com. The online shopping portal is dedicated to local customers, allowing them to shop smarter by previewing new local deals updated every week, and includes enhancements for Sears' Shop Your Way Rewards members.