Marketing Tactics

New York - U.S. companies are struggling to keep pace with their customers’ “always on” nature and greater use of digital channels. According to new research from Accenture, 56% of consumers report that the number of brands they consider has increased significantly in the past 10 years, and 46% believe they are more likely to switch providers compared to 10 years ago.

Target may have ruffled some feathers in the past with what some considered a lack of plus-size offerings. But the retailer seems to be making up for it now.

Target says it is launching a brand new plus-size line, Ava & Viv, which will be sold both online and in stores starting on Feb. 22.

The popularity of Disney’s Frozen license and a final surge of spending allowed most U.S. toy retailers to grow sales this past holiday season, according to new data from NPD.

Solid Gold pet food is partnering with Petco to donate an estimated $500,000 of premium pet food to selected pet charities nationwide.

The program kicked off earlier this month at more than 1,300 Petco locations across the U.S. finalize the placement of Solid Gold's new package design.

Burlington, Mass. -- Talbots will open a new store on Jan. 30 at Wayside, in Burlington, Massachusetts, according to Wayside’s management and leasing firm The Wilder Companies.

The opening of the 9,300-sq.-ft. Talbots, which features all three of the brand’s concepts -- Talbots, Talbots Petites, and the first Talbot Woman in the market -- is part of a multi-phase revitalization that is nearing completion at the open-air retail center.

Plano, Texas – Meet the new catalog, same as the old catalog. The J.C. Penney Co. Inc. is reportedly bringing back its print catalog, often referred to as the “big book,” which the retailer discontinued in 2010.

Belmont, Mass. – To ensure coupon redemption, retailers may want to take a mobile approach. A recent study of retailers using CodeBroker mobile marketing solutions showed CodeBroker mobile coupons, ranging from in-app to on-demand offers, resulted in redemption rates as high as 50%.

The study also showed that multi-channel promotions are highly effective in increasing redemption rates, while on-demand offers, in which consumers request a coupon, have the highest average rate. Other key findings include:

Toronto – Sears Canada is reaching out to Target’s Canadian employees. The retailer is encouraging the 17,600 workers who will likely lose their jobs when Target exits the Canadian market later this year to apply for jobs online.

Sears Canada also plans to host job fairs for soon-to-be-laid-off Target employees across Canada, and will host a meet-and-greet for Target Canada head office employees with senior executives and HR experts at its corporate headquarters on Wednesday, Jan. 21.

Wayne, N.J. – The “Island of Misfit Toys” from the legendary Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer holiday special has nothing on Toys “R” Us. Toys "R" Us is running its 10th annual "Great Trade-In" event that lets customers exchange potentially unsafe, old and second-hand cribs, high chairs, car seats, strollers and other items in exchange for savings on a new item.

Irving, Texas – Chuck E. Cheese’s is running a dance-themed omnichannel promotion featuringYouTube stars Shaniah Jones and D’Squared Live. Kids can win free tickets by learning to “do the Chuck E.,” an original dance, at Chuck E. Cheese’s locations.