Marketing Tactics

Walmart is launching a new initiative with InComm and Pursuant Health that allows health plans to promote health risk assessments at kiosks in Walmart stores.

InComm, a leading prepaid product and transaction services company, and Pursuant Health (formerly SoloHealth) announced the partnership at the 2015 Money 2020 Conference in Las Vegas.

Purchases made via Facebook advertisements are more frequently occurring via mobile device.

According to new data released by the Facebook IQ marketing insights division, three in 10 purchase conversions from Facebook ads between January and May 2015 took place on a mobile device (24% on a phone, 6% on a tablet). During that same period, the frequency of mobile purchases increased 35%, according to Facebook IQ’s latest internal analysis.

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.

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.

It won’t impact retailers’ bottom line as much as the new Buy Now button, but Twitter is continuing its evolution into more of a sales-oriented digital platform.

Twitter is testing a new feature called “Promoted Moments,” which builds on its Moments offering that was launched at the beginning of October. Twitter Moments allows users to click on a special tab and view a curated list of stories considered to be the “best” on Twitter.

Instacart will be opening a temporary online Halloween pop-up shop.

Customers in Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco will be able to receive same-day delivery of costumes until supplies last. Instacart successfully piloted the Halloween shop in Seattle in 2014.

Instacart will charge its normal delivery prices for the special program: $3.99 for a two-hour delivery, and $5.99 for a one hour delivery when customers spend $35 or more. First-time Instacart users can have their costume delivered for free, as can Instacart express members.

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.

Companies that are partially or entirely devoted to retailing dominate a new list of top brands among U.S. consumers.

According to a new study from Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Apple is the top brand with U.S. consumers. Following are Amazon and Walmart. Other retailers in the top 10 list include Netflix, Costco and Chick-Fil-A.

But the survey also showed that Walmart and Apple rank first and third among America's least favorite brands, indicating that "brand love" can be volatile and turn quickly negative.