Marketing Tactics

Minneapolis -- Parents and others shopping for toys at Target will no longer be offered product suggestions based on gender.

The retailer announced it plans to start removing gender-based signage in several departments, including toys, bedding and entertainment. Target said it made the decision after feedback and suggestions from customers.

Retailers know the power of social media in influencing customer attitudes, but how many of them change their merchandising strategy seemingly based on one tweet?

Sephora is enhancing its omnichannel appeal by taking a page out of Birchbox’s playbook.

Dollar General is upping its commitment to beauty with an expanded lineup of products and an in-store beauty magazine.

Whole Foods, which is known for luxurious produce departments and an exhaustive assortment of natural foods, is adding "brewery" to its list of offerings.

The grocery chain has been opening brewpubs at select stores throughout the U.S. The beers have been so popular with shoppers that the retailer plans to distribute one of its beers to all of its Texas stores starting in September. 

As retailers feel pressured to raise wages for employees, GameStop is focusing on education by giving staffers an incentive to hit the books.

With New York Fashion Week right around the corner, Macy's is planning a catwalk show of its own to close out the biggest fashion week of the year.

The retailer announced that it will host “Macy’s Presents Fashion’s Front Row” on Sept. 17 in New York City, featuring celebrities, musical acts and a runway show. 

San Francisco – Twitter is reportedly planning to expand the pilot of its buy button feature, and not by a small amount. According to Re/code, Twitter is negotiating with e-commerce platforms including Shopify to let potentially hundreds of thousands of retailers and other businesses directly sell goods through links embedded in tweets.  

Seattle – Shoppers at select Nordstrom Inc. stores are seeing a new pop-up shop. Specialty eyewear retailer Warby Parker is operating pop-up shops at six Nordstrom locations around the country until Sept. 6, and also offering an e-commerce page on the Nordstrom site.

As part of the Pop-In@Nordstrom series of themed pop-up shops, Warby-Parker will offer Nordstrom customers a curated selection of frames, as well as four exclusive pairs of sunglasses and an assortment of literary-themed specialty items such as colored pencils and watercolor markers.

New York — Where would the retail industry would be without entrepreneurs? The growth of retail is dependent on individuals who identify opportunities and take risks. Now, an organization that fosters that mentality among a future generation of difference-makers needs your vote!

Enactus USA, formerly called Students In Free Enterprise or SIFE, is looking to earn a $500,000 grant from Microsoft in the tech company’s #UpgradeYourWorld campaign which runs through August 23.