Marketing Tactics

Mall Marketing Spotlight: GGP unveils reimagined Santa experience
General Growth Properties has unveiled Adventure to Santa, a DreamWorks DreamPlace first-of-its-kind holiday experience that starts with Shrek, ends with Santa and seamlessly blends storytelling with cutting-edge technology.
Intersection of Opposites: An inspired approach to shopping center design
By Ahsin Rasheed

Walmart stretching out Black Friday to five days

Bentonville, Ark. -- Following the lead of some other retailers, Walmart is spreading out Black Friday beyond the day after Thanksgiving.
Skechers opens 1,000th store; 35 to 40 more locations to open by yearend

Manhattan Beach, Calif. -- Skechers is celebrating the opening of its 1,000th retail store. The company, which operates in more than 75 countries, hit the milestone mark with the opening of a new store in Mexico City on Wednesday, preceded by an additional store opening in Mexico earlier this week and two in California last week.
Survey: Declining prices at the pump may increase holiday sales

Alexandria, Va. — Declining gas prices may increase holiday spending this year—especially among men and those ages 18-34, according to a new national survey on consumer optimism conducted by the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS).
Starbucks’ redesigned Seattle outpost

Seattle -- Starbucks’ new outpost in the Fremont section of Seattle fits right in with the artsy neighborhood. The company moved from a smaller store in the area to a spacious two-level corner site, complete with a mezzanine.
Men’s Wearhouse likes look of service

Planning for a wedding will never be the same thanks to a new service Men’s Wearhouse is launching in 2015 to elevate its service-based value proposition.
Shopko takes different approach with Thanksgiving

Regional discounter Shopko is employing an unconventional strategy concerning Thanksgiving store hours.
Five days of deals at Walmart

Walmart continues to expand its view of Black Friday and is encouraging shoppers to do the same by rethinking the practice of waiting in line on Black Friday to secure limited quantities of merchandise.
A.C. Moore looks to do more with Marines

Arts and Crafts retailer A.C. Moore launched its inaugural campaign to benefit the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation with a program involving all its stores.

The company’s 140 locations will serve as official drop off locations for the program with every toy donated going to a child in the local community. In addition, the company has pledged to donate 25,000 toys and is asking its customers to help double the donation with an additional 25,000 toys to provide a total of 50,000 toys to kids this holiday season.
Alibaba reports $9.3 billion in sales on China’s “Singles Day” sales event

New York -- Alibaba Group Holding Limited announced that it hosted $9.3 billion in sales on China’s “Singles Day,” an annual sales event held on Nov. 11.

The E-commerce giant said that 43 of all Singles Day transactions came through mobile devices, up from 21% in 2013.
Research: Food shoppers opt for brick-and-mortar over online

Chicago -- Although consumers are changing how they shop for food and beverages, most prefer to make perishable purchases in tradition brick-and-mortar locations.