Marketing Tactics

Another social platform becomes a shopping channel
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube have some new competition as social commerce tools.

Visual commerce provider Curalate is releasing Curalate Reveal, a new solution enabling consumers to discover and shop products by clicking on images in blogs. Thus retailers can create shopping experiences on their own blogs or blogs of key influencers.
PayPal: Mobile comes first for retailers
When it comes to mobile engagement, retailers are wise to think of how mobile fits into the broader end-to-end shopping experience.

“That could mean location-based marketing with smartphone apps as well as reaching mobile customers with your email marketing program,” said Dan Leberman, VP/general manager, North America small and medium business, PayPal, during a recent interview with Chain Store Age. “You can see all the way through the shopping experience with a mobile-first e-commerce platform.”

Lands' End goes omnichannel for the holidays

Lands' End is getting into the brick-and-mortar business just in time for the busiest shopping season of the year.

The online retailer plans to open two holiday pop-up shops, one in New York and one in Boston.
Belk engages customers for holidays

Regional department store retailer Belk Inc. is using social media to make the holidays a little more fun and rewarding for its shoppers.

North Carolina-based Belk, which operates about 300 stores, has teamed up with digital marketing solutions provider HelloWorld for the return of the Santa Baby sweepstakes, now in its second year. In an effort to increase mobile opt-ins and ultimately boost brand awareness and consumer engagement, Belk and HelloWorld are allowing customers to create personalized e-cards, gifs, and TV spots.
Gordmans checks out enhanced store operations

Gordmans Stores is taking a POS-centric approach to improving the store experience.

Nebraska-based Gordmans, a discount department store chain with 101 locations, has engaged with retail solutions provider OLR to implement Oracle Retail Xstore Point of Sale (POS) and Oracle Retail Customer Engagement.
Baby's First Christmas is omnichannel at Babies 'R' Us

Babies “R” Us is looking to get parents thinking about holiday gifts early with in-store and innovative digital promotions appealing to “Baby’s First Christmas.”
Baby's First Christmas is omnichannel at Babies"R"Us

Babies"R"Us is looking to get parents thinking about holiday gifts early with in-store and innovative digital promotions appealing to “Baby’s First Christmas.”
Skechers walks its way past $1.2M charity goal

Skechers has surpassed its fundraising goal for special needs kids with an ever-popular event that appeals to its target market.
Kroger expands click & collect

Kroger customers who don’t have time to do their own shopping have another option.

At its investor meeting, Kroger officially announced the name of its click & collect program – “ClickList.” Click & collect lets customers select (and in many cases pay) for groceries online. Store employees then gather the items off store shelves for convenient customer pickup.
Kohl’s plans new stores, formats

Kohl’s is in growth mode when it comes to the retailer’s store base.

Next year, Kohl’s plans to open five to 10 new stores in a smaller 35,000-sq.-ft. prototype, aimed at underserved areas. Kohl’s also plans to open 10 to 15 stores dedicated to its proprietary Fila brand in outlet malls across the country. Additionally, the retailer will open two more Off-Aisle by Kohl’s off-price locations in 2016.
Store pickup is in, Black Friday is out this holiday season

A new holiday shopping survey reveals major disruptions in holiday shopping traditions, largely due to digital engagement.

Deloitte’s 30th annual holiday survey of consumer spending intentions and trends finds that some shopping traditions are losing their luster.

Key findings from the survey of more than 4,000 U.S. consumers include:
No sales, no crowds, no Black Friday at REI

REI has shocked the retail industry — and shoppers — with its decision to lock its doors on one of the biggest and most profitable shopping days of the year.

The retailer says it will be closed not only on Thanksgiving Day but also on Black Friday. REI.com will operate as normal on Thanksgiving. On Black Friday, REI.com will have a black takeover screen encouraging people to get outside. Customers will still be able to view product and make a purchase on Black Friday, but the order will not be processed until Saturday.