Marketing Tactics

Black Friday weekend is just around the corner. But as retailers remained focused on one-day sales, exclusive sneak peeks and door busters, they are missing the boat on a much more lucrative opportunity — Singles’ Day.  

L.L. Bean has opened its first store in Cincinnati, at The Kenwood Collection mixed-use center.   The 15,000-sq.-ft. store includes an outpost of the Freeport, Maine-based retailer’s Outdoor Discovery School, which offer demonstrations, clinics and introductory hands-on activities like snowshoeing, kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, archery and fly casting.  

Saks Fifth Avenue is transforming its stores into a candy wonderland for the holidays.   The retailer’s holiday theme this year is called “Land of 1000 Delights” and it will appear in all 41 Saks’ full-priced stores in the U.S. and Canada. Jumbo swirl lollipops, whipped cotton candy and mounds of rock candy are just some of the colorful décor that will make up each store’s visual displays.    

LG Electronics is taking its LG Signature brand on the road, opening a pop-up at Santa Monica Place in Santa Monica, California, Nov. 8 through Nov. 13.   The LG Signature Gallery concept was officially launched in Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center earlier this fall. Similar to the New York City concept, the LG Signature pop-up structure on the West Coast is created entirely of LED panels on all four sides.   

Dollar General is rolling out extended store hours, exclusive digital coupons and online-only discounts to woo holiday shoppers this year.   The retailer has announced that its holiday season plans will begin this week with a special discount for military-affiliated shoppers on Friday, Veterans Day.  

While Singles’ Day has morphed into the world’s biggest shopping extravaganza, the event’s allure may be losing some luster.  

J.C. Penney will celebrate Thanksgiving with an all-night shopping spree — complete with new shopping carts.    The retailer will open at 3 p.m. on Thanksgiving, similar to last year, and remain open until Friday, Nov. 25 at 10 p.m. Online shoppers will get a jump on holiday deals, with Penney’s Black Friday sale prices available online the day before, starting at midnight Nov. 23.  

Macerich’s tech-driven, HGTV-sponsored Santa Claus experience will be expanded to five properties in California, Chicago, and metro New York this Christmas season.   Kids can download an Elf-Ray Vision app to their smartphones—or used a provided tablet — to explore “Santa HQ” in 3D, take an Elfie Selfie to insert themselves in a customized holiday video, or test their gift-worthiness on the Naughty or Nice O’Meter. A 10,000-bulb synchronized light show at the attraction plays the Carol of the Bells.

A longtime San Francisco grocery banner will soon disappear.    Safeway will acquire Andronico’s Community Markets, which operates five Andronico’s stores in the San Francisco Bay Area.     

Grocery retailer Winn-Dixie opened the second ever location of its next-generation store concept, in the Hyde Park section of Tampa, Florida.