Marketing Tactics

San Jose, Calif. – EBay Inc. is planning to roll out a service called Promoted Listings that will let sellers pay a percentage of sales resulting from listings that receive special promotion on the site. Sellers can agree to pay a higher percentage of sales to receive better placement of ads, although popularity of promoted items and seller reputation will also be considered in placement.

Seattle – Amazon.com is reportedly preparing an online marketplace for handmade goods that will appropriately enough be known as “Handmade.” According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon has been sending targeted emails to Etsy sellers inviting them to sell their wares on Handmade.

The invites do not specify when Handmade will launch or what type of fees sellers will be charged. Etsy sellers are being asked what category of goods they make, such as apparel and baby, and can also select subcategories such as jewelry and home.

Manchester, U.K. - Global online fashion retailer Boohoo has selected cross-channel marketing attribution software company Visual IQ, to provide marketing attribution management solutions across TV and digital channels in support of its 2015 growth initiatives. Boohoo leverages a number of traditional, digital and mobile channels to connect with consumers.

O'Fallon, Ill. -- Gander Mountain will open a store in O'Fallon, Illinois, on May 28.

The new 61,000-sq.-ft. Gander Mountain store features an exterior and interior layout that reflect its new store design, featuring innovative interior elements, displays and fixtures.

"We are excited to open our second Gander Mountain location in the St. Louis Metro and provide the countless outdoors enthusiasts with the gear they need," said Gander Mountain president and COO Mike Owens.  

Los Angeles -- Specialty teen retailer Hot Topic is acquiring Geeknet, parent company of online retailers ThinkGeek and ThinkGeek Solutions, for approximately $122 million, which is more than double the company’s market value.  

ThinkGeek sells a wide range of merchandise, including clothing, toys, and gadgets mostly based on popular movies, television shows and brands that have strong "geek" appeal, such as "Star Trek," ''The Big Bang Theory," and ''Star Wars."

Grapevine, Texas – It’s no secret that Millennials are among the most avid consumers of video games. For video game retailer GameStop Corp., engaging Millennials in a way that satisfies their needs and promotes loyalty is absolutely essential.

After reporting disappointing financial results for the first quarter, the Fresh Market can use all the help it can get in communicating its value proposition to shoppers.

So it may not come as a surprise that the grocery chain has selected a new advertising agency to drive growth going forward. The Fresh Market announced that its new agency, Zimmerman, will conduct strategic planning, creative services, brand activation, media planning & buying (traditional and digital), internal campaign development and social media activation for the company.

Reports of the death of brick-and-mortar stores have been greatly exaggerated. How else to explain the throngs of shoppers still crowding physical stores in the major shopping districts of the U.S., especially over the weekend at H&M's grand opening in New York?

Weddings are becoming increasingly pet-friendly, and a new collection from Martha Stewart and PetSmart aims to leverage that trend.

The pet products retailer has announced it will be teaming up with Martha Stewart Pets on a wedding collection for dogs.

Saks Fifth Avenue is expanding its off-price business to major urban centers with a new OFF 5th store opening in downtown San Francisco.

The new 40,500 square foot store features an assortment of more than 800 brands from top designers to emerging labels, with fashion and accessories for women and men arriving weekly.