Social Media

New York - Saks Fifth Avenue is launching a user-generated content hub on Saks.com called #SaksStyle. Created by Curalate on its Fanreel image integration platform, #SaksStyle will function as a daily go-to guide for fashion inspiration created solely by Saks customers, highlighting products purchased from Saks Fifth Avenue locations nationwide and online.

QVC’s Claire Watts has resigned from her role as CEO of U.S. operations, effective Friday, Sept. 5, to pursue other opportunities.

New York -- Looking to better respond to increasingly online and mobile customers, 70% of retail executives said their organizations have adopted an omnichannel strategy to link the consumer's in-store experience with the company's website, mobile device application and social media platforms. This strategy, according to the 2014 Retail Outlook Survey of 100 retail executives by KPMG LLP, will help create a seamless shopping experience for the consumer.

Menomonee Falls, Wis. - Kohl’s Department Stores and multiplatform media company AwesomenessTV have launched a partnership to launch S.o. R.a.d., a seven capsule limited-edition junior’s fashion line and “Life’s S.o. R.a.d.,” an original four-season YouTube series featuring top teen influencers. The first S.o. R.a.d. junior’s capsule will launch at Kohl’s and Kohls.com on Sept. 22.

Nordstrom Inc. has become the first retailer to launch the Like2Buy platform, which allows Nordstrom.com customers to directly purchase items featured on the retailer’s Instagram page. The commerce-enablement of visually oriented social platforms, such as Instagram, Pinterest and Vine, is an inevitable development as social media becomes more focused on photos and videos and less on text. The preference most Millennials have for visually oriented social media reinforces the value that commerce enabling these platforms has for retailers.

Los Angeles – Guitar Center is launching the fourth installment of its omnichannel “Guitar Center’s Singer-Songwriter,” offering aspiring singer-songwriters across the country the chance to take their careers to the next level, on Sep. 1. The winner of Guitar Center's Singer-Songwriter 4 will have the opportunity to record a four-song E.P with producer Don Was, perform to a national television audience on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” new gear, $25,000 cash and more.

Montreal - GDecide has created a free private social network for decision making, aimed at Millennial consumers. The network offers a platform that collates and tallies responses to questions and only distributes questions to the select circle of network connections users wishes to poll, protecting the privacy of its users.

At a time of year when consumers are still caught up in end-of-summer barbecues and back-to-school shopping, retailers are getting caught up in the rush of holiday planning. Holiday sales can account for 20% to 40% of a retailer’s total annual sales, according to the National Retail Federation, and a successful holiday can turn around a bad year or make a good year even better.