Marketing Tactics

Guess what’s coming to Best Buy
Minneapolis – Consumers who want to purchase an Apple Watch will have a new option as of Friday, Aug. 7.

On that date, Best Buy will become the first national retailer, other than Apple Stores, where customers can buy the Apple Watch.

It will begin to arrive in more than 100 Best Buy stores and will also be available on BestBuy.com. Another 200 Best Buy stores will have the Apple Watch in time for holiday shopping.
Deloitte: Back-to-school shoppers taking their time
New York - With plenty of last year's supplies stowed in the closet and the option to restock at-will, back-to-school shoppers may be in no hurry to fill their shopping baskets by August.

According to Deloitte's annual back-to-school and back-to-college surveys, 38% of surveyed parents shopping for children in grades K-12 said the back-to-school shopping season is less important to their families because they replenish school supplies throughout the year and feel less need to stock up.

The most popular back-to-school retailer is…

New York -- A survey released Monday is in line with other reports that consumers do not plan to spend more this year on back-to-school supplies than they did last year. The survey also lists the 10 most popular retail brands for back-to-school purchases.

Target ranks as the most popular retail brand for back-to-school purchases, just ahead of Walmart, in the 21st annual Back-to-School survey by Brand Keys, the New York-based brand loyalty and emotional engagement research consultancy. Macy’s, CVS and Best Buy round out the top five.
Back to School: Trends to Watch

The calendar may only say July, but retailers are already promoting back-to-school.

Here are four promotional trends the folks at Market Track predict will play out this selling season:

• Retailers/e-retailers creating new mid-year “Black Friday” type events concurrent with Back to School. (e.g., Amazon's Prime Day, Target’s Black Friday in July, etc.)
New Dr. Seuss on the loose at Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble's Get Pop-Cultured campaign is getting a dose of medicine from Dr. Seuss ths month.
Toys"R"Us to cheer on Special Olympics athletes

Toys"R"Us is supporting the Special Olympics in Los Angeles this year in a new and innovative way.

The retailer is deploying employee volunteers to encourage and cheer on the littlest athletes, as they reach personal victories in a variety of sporting activities. Toys"R"Us has a longstanding commitment to the Special Olympics, and as a Games Level sponsor of the 2015 World Games, is able to help the organization's efforts to bring the benefit of sports to children and adults of all abilities.
Holiday help hits retailer inboxes early

Bronto Software has released the 2015 version of its popular Holiday Resource Center to help retailers optimize marketing strategies and drive sale growth.
Office Depot focused on teachers for back-to-school

Office Depot Inc. is thinking teachers first with an omnichannel component at the core of its back-to-school promotion.
H-E-B looking for Texas' best foodmakers

Twenty-five food makers across Texas have a shot at getting their products on H-E-B shelves as part of the grocer’s innovative Primo Picks Quest for Texas Best contest.
Study: Back-to-school shoppers do online homework

San Jose, Calif. – Back-to-school shoppers are doing their homework online before making purchases. According to research from store analytics provider RetailNext, 73% of consumers research online and then buy back-to-school items in the store.

In addition, 32% of college shoppers plan to comparison shop online to make sure they get the best pricing, up from 28% in 2014. More than 31% of K-12 school shoppers will compare prices online, compared with 30% last year.

Other notable findings include:
Report: Amazon gets the fashion picture in U.K.

Seattle – Amazon.com is always trying to improve its overseas operations, and now the e-commerce titan is “getting the picture” in the U.K. market. According to TechCrunch, Amazon has opened a 46,000-sq.-ft. photography studio in London.
Infographic: Base in-store promotions on consumer behavior

Palo Alto, Calif. – Driving ROI from in-store promotions requires a deep understanding of consumer behaviors and needs.

In a new infographic, promotional technology and services provider Eversight offers nine behavioral insights to help retailers more effectively target consumers with their in-store promotional campaigns.

Click here for the infographic.