Marketing Tactics

Dodgeville, Wis. – Lands’ End is running an omnichannel swimsuit promotion called the “Lands’ End Getaway Tour.” From May 17 through June 7, the Lands' End Getaway Tour will make stops in Atlanta, New York, Boston, Toronto, Chicago and Madison, Wisconsin, with personalized fittings and consultations.

In addition, Lands’ End is offering a website with videos on how to create a professional swimsuit fit experience and swim style tips from Glamour.

Staples this week debuted eight new product categories in its Dallas retail stores to help business customers “Make More One-stop Shopping Happen.” The product expansion is rolling out to more than 1,000 stores across the U.S. and hundreds more in Canada.

New York -- Internet scrapbooking cite Pinterest Inc. is expanding its efforts to allow advertisers pay to more prominently display their pins, the San Francisco-based company announced in a blog past on Monday.

The company said it is working with a small group of brands to roll out a paid test in its search and category feeds. The group includes Target, Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Lululemon Athletica.
 

Atlanta - Consumer year-over-year spending growth of 4.1% gained momentum in April 2014 compared to the prior month’s growth of 3.1%, driven by warmer weather as well as the Easter shift into April this year, according to First Data SpendTrend analysis. The report, which tracks same-store point-of-sale data by credit, signature debit, PIN debit, EBT, closed-loop prepaid cards and checks from nearly four million merchant locations serviced by First Data, shows transaction growth of 3.5% in April,  compared to March’s 2.7% growth.

Irving, Texas - Michaels has launched its new “inspirational” arts and crafts site that offers 24-hour shopping on any computer, tablet or smartphone. The new site offers project ideas and one-click shopping lists for projects.

It also features "Favorite Pins" – projects and products that are trending on Pinterest from Michaels.com. During the launch period, Michaels.com will feature 21 days of hourly, daily and weekly online specials.

Cambridge, Mass. -- An ongoing debate in retail is whether it’s a better strategy to use markdowns or everyday low prices. Research by MIT Sloan School of Management visiting professor Özalp Özer and his colleague Karen Zheng at MIT Sloan supports basing pricing strategy on consumer behavior compared to a one-size-fits-all approach.

Whirlpool is taking its latest campaign to social media, and encouraging people to take and share photos of the inside of their refrigerators using hashtag #fridgie — a play on “selfie.”

The concept was inspired by the design of the latest Whirlpool 4-Door French Door Refrigerator.

Michaels has enhanced its online presence with the launch of its new site that enables shoppers to make online purchases from any computer, tablet or smartphone.

The new site goes beyond the typical online shopping experience, according to the company, with project ideas and one-click shopping lists for projects all in one place. It also features "Favorite Pins" — projects and products that are trending on Pinterest from Michaels.com.

A shrinking net loss was the only positive result from the tough first quarter fiscal 2014 numbers posted by Caché. Net loss shrank to $10.8 million from $17.8 million in the same quarter a year earlier.

Caché’s net sales dropped 11% to $47.4 million, from $53.5 million. Same-store sales declined 8.9%, with the shift in Easter contributing. Jay Margolis, Caché’s chairman and CEO, tried to strike an encouraging tone.

Sports Authority has partnered with the Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA), the largest private funder of melanoma research, to raise skin cancer awareness and funds to support studies aimed at its treatment and cure.

This is the fourth consecutive year Sports Authority has participated in and supported the effort.

With 474 locations across 43 states and Puerto Rico, Sports Authority is supporting an extensive outreach campaign this month to coincide with Melanoma Awareness Month.