Marketing Tactics

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores said Monday that, on the eighth day of its "12 Days of Giving" Facebook campaign, it is awarding $140,000 to nine nonprofits aiding veterans, active members of the military and their families.

Over 12 consecutive days, Walmart will award a total of $1.5 million to 145 organizations in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears announced Monday that it is offering customers last-minute deals on such brands as Craftsman, DieHard, Kenmore, NordicTrack, Lands' End and Kardashian Kollection. 

Deals being offered at Sears stores Dec. 23 to Dec. 24 include 70% off fine jewelry, up to 65% off fashion boots, 35% off fragrance sets, 50% off all Craftsmen Mechanics tool sets, 60% off the NordicTrack fleece at only $9.99 (Reg. $26 ), Samsung 46-inch 3D TV for $999.99 (save $600 ) and 55% off sleepwear and sets for kids.

Reston, Va. -- Following recent e-commerce trends released by comScore, online spending continues to grow at a consistent 15% rate. As reported earlier, holiday e-commerce spending rose 15% year-over-year to $26.8 billion for the first 42 days of the shopping season, through Dec. 12.

And on Sunday, comScore released its latest findings, that online sales surpassed $1 billion on four days during the work week of December 12-16, a 15% increase over the same period last year.

 BLOOMSBURG, Pa. — Weis Markets announced that it has raised $100,000 for Wounded Warrior Project, an organization that raises awareness and enlists public support for the needs of injured service members. The company's Bloomsburg store associates presented the check to Jeff Combs, who is a warrior outreach coordinator for Wounded Warrior Project and a former US Marine who was severely wounded while serving in Iraq.

Wayne, N.J. -- Toys “R” Us said Monday it will keep stores nationwide open for the 112 hours before Christmas, with doors staying open from 6 a.m. Dec. 20, to 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

This is the second consecutive year that the retailer has remained open for 24-hour shopping in the days leading up to Christmas.

The Toys “R” Us flagship in New York City’s Times Square is staying open even longer, having been open since 6 a.m. on Dec. 16 and not closing until Christmas Eve.

Walmart's social media shopping platform, Shopycat is using the services of ifeelgoods, a company that provides marketing and technology solutions for digital goods incentives, to provide Facebook credits as reward for key customer actions. 

Through its partnership with @WalmartLabs, Walmart's social media arm, ifeelgoods is providing technology to encourage customers to use Walmart's new ShopyCat social gift finder, ifeelgoods reported.

Jacksonville, Fla. -- Winn-Dixie Foundation on Thursday announced it is investing nearly $1.4 million in neighborhoods across the Southeast through partnerships with 116 nonprofit organizations, providing a broad range of services.

By providing grants to programs that feed the hungry, assist women and children in need, help the sick and address inequalities in education and health, the Winn-Dixie Foundation reaches out to neighbors in five states across the Southeast, the foundation noted.

Montreal -- A survey released Friday by e-commerce visitor feedback analytics firm iPerceptions found that, despite online retail sales being up, online retailers are missing out on revenue opportunities.

Third quarter 2011 Retail Ecommerce industry report showed that, while U.S. retail sales estimates show online retail spending rose 13% year-over-year to $36.3 billion for the quarter, task completion fell significantly for visitors at nearly every stage of the retail purchase cycle.