Marketing Tactics

So much for the weak economy. A record number of people, 161 million to be precise, are expected to celebrate Halloween this year, according to the National Retail Federations annual survey.

NRF has been conducting the consumer intentions and actions survey for 10 years and the outlook for this year is the brightest ever with average spending per person expected to increase to $72.31 from $66.28 last year.

Former Walmart senior executive and longtime board member Jack Shewmaker is among a group of four business leaders slated for induction into the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will be held Friday, Feb. 10, 2012.

Tempe, Ariz. -- Self-serve frozen yogurt concept Yogurtini said Thursday it will open the first of 10 stores planned for the southern Florida area.

A unit in Coral Springs, Fla., will open on Oct. 1, marking the first of 10 franchise locations through an area-development deal with Emilio and Javier Braun.

The brothers, who are based in Miami, are in the process of opening stores in Davie, Fort Lauderdale and the Hammocks Community in South Miami-Dade County.
 

Dallas -- Neiman Marcus said Thursday it has launched its first-ever foursquare challenge to take place on Oct. 1 in conjunction with the department store retailer’s Shoe & Handbag Event.

New York City -- A report released Thursday by Bloomberg said that consumer confidence in the United States slumped last week to the second-lowest level on record.

The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index dropped to minus 53 in the period ended Sept. 25 from minus 52.1 the prior week. Similar readings were reached three times in the first half of 2009 and surpassed only by all-time lows of minus 54 plumbed in November 2008 and again in January 2009.

Bellevue, Wash. -- T-Mobile USA announced Thursday the rollout of a new global design for nearly 400 new and remodeled stores across the country. The move follows successful test pilots in Tukwila, Wash., and in New York City at Seventh Ave. and 48th St.,

T-Mobile said it adopted the new design format from its parent company, Deutsche Telekom AG, which has received positive customer feedback for this new design in retail stores across Europe.

WASHINGTON — Halloween will be a popular holiday this year, according to the National Retail Federation, as more consumers this year are expected to partake in traditional festivities. 

MORRISVILLE, N.C. — Macy’s and  JCPenney rank as the nation’s top “local” advertisers, according to a new report from RSR Research. The study, “The Local Approach: The State of Localized Advertising in Retail,” finds most major retailers are missing huge opportunities to drive store traffic through localized digital advertising campaigns.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Winn-Dixie on Wednesday expanded its Fuelperks! rewards program throughout central Florida, incorporating 62 Winn-Dixie stores in Orlando and Daytona, Fla., areas into the program.

As part of the program, the Winn-Dixie customer reward card has been redesigned to include a magnetic stripe on the back, similar to a debit or credit card.

PITTSBURGH — GNC Holdings on Wednesday announced that Jenn Brown, two-time Emmy Award-winning sports journalist, has joined the GNC LiveWell team as its newest brand ambassador.