Marketing Tactics

New York -- Applied Predictive Technologies announced that Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen will license APT's Test & Learn software to test business initiatives such as menu strategies, pricing, and capital investments.  

New York -- A petition to get Old Navy to stop charging more for women's plus-size jeans has gathered more than 36,000 signatures online, Bloomberg reports.  

New York -- A 2014 Kelly Scott Madison Holiday Shopping Study revealed that the top concerns for consumers this holiday season are shipping costs and online security, as 71% of respondents ranked both as top-of-mind.   Other findings focused on timing and returns:  

Perhaps the most aggressive traffic and sales generating promotional effort this Black Friday comes courtesy of Old Navy.

The Old Navy division of Gap, Inc., plans to open its more than 800 stores at 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving day and will price all merchandise at half off for 31 hours until stores close at 11 p.m. on Black Friday. And, if the 50% markdown isn’t sufficient to motivate shoppers, the retailer plans generate store traffic by giving away $1 million to one lucky customer and 1,000 $200 gift certificates.

Dollar General is leveraging the expansive reach of its more than 11,500 stores this holiday season to benefit several organizations aligned with the retailer’s mission of serving others.

The retailer is partnering with St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital’s Thanks and Giving campaign and the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Foundation’s “You’re the Hero” toy drive, as well as other local toy drives, to offer customers an opportunity to give back this holiday season.
 

New stores, 3.9% same store sales growth and increased loyalty propelled Nordstrom to record third quarter sales.

The company’s total sales increased 8.9% to $3 billion thanks to the addition of new stores and a 3.9% same store sales increase that was driven by online growth. Profits increased 3.6% to $142 million compared to $137 million while earnings per share increased 5.8% to 73 cents from 69 cents.

HHgregg CEO Dennis May said the retailer is approaching Black Friday differently this year, including opening its stores earlier than Best Buy on Thanksgiving Day and offering 40% storewide discounts.

HHgregg will open its stores at 4 p.m. on the holiday, an hour earlier than Best Buy and two hours earlier than most other retailers who plan to open Thanksgiving Day. The retailer also said its Black Friday Now promotion will begin Nov. 20 and run through Nov. 29 and will offer up to 40% off all items in the store.

RadioShack continues to roll out its new “Fix It Here!” service as it looks to become more relevant with shoppers.

The company announced the new mobile device repair service is now available in at least 30 stores in the Houston area. The move is part of an ongoing national rollout expected to have the service in 750 locations by year end. The service is currently offered at 650 stores.

RadioShack is looking to increase sales during the crucial holiday shopping season, and the new service is seen as a way to generate store traffic and sales.

The online grocery channel, while a minor part of FMCG/CPG sales in the U.S. currently, is widely anticipated to be a primary driver of growth for the category in the coming years. And the emergence of this channel can’t happen too soon - total dollar sales for FMCG/CPG products increased just 1.5% last year according to IRI. But change is coming.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. –- Sears will provide members of its Shop Your Way loyalty program access to many Black Friday deals one full week before Thanksgiving,on Sears.com from 6 p.m. on Nov. 20 until 11:59 p.m. (CT) on Nov. 21. During this online member-exclusive pre-sale event, members can log on to their Shop Your Way account during the sale to access the deals.