Social Media

In case you missed it, Kate Berg, president of Bentonville-based Collective Bias, shared her views about where social media is headed and what it means for brands in the most recent issue of Connecting Northwest Arkansas. Berg is helping invent the future at the rapidly growing social shopper agency so it’s worth taking a minute to get inside her head. Read more.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens is following in the footsteps of the likes of Target and Walmart in offering a digital edition of its weekly advertising circular that will offer additional items through Walgreens.com and the company's mobile applications.

The Sunday circular — read by more than 50 million consumers, according to Walgreens — also will get a new look and feel, designed to improve the shopping experience.

New York City -- Walgreens in January has been utilizing a new mobile advertising tool to push out messages targeting consumers who just "checked in" at one of its locations, according to a report published in Ad Age Wednesday.

According to the report, Walgreens sent out 5,000 messages in January via Twitter stating: "Check out Halls' new cough drops in the cold aisle."

New York City -- CVS/pharmacy announced on Thursday that it is providing several free services, educational information and special product offers during February's American Heart Month.

By Jeff Weidauer, [email protected]

New York City -- Seamless customer experience, empowered consumers, mobile commerce and social shopping were among the buzzwords at the National Retail Federation’s Annual Convention & Expo in New York City. Highlights of the show, which set new records for attendance and featured a keynote address by a former president, are featured in Chain Store Age’s NRF BIG Show Wrap-Up report.

Click here to download the report.
 

Framingham, Mass. -- Staples announced the opening of a new e-commerce innovation center in Kendall Square in Cambridge, Mass. The office will house teams responsible for designing and implementing innovative new e-commerce solutions for the business customers who shop Staples websites and stores.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Hy-Vee has introduced a mobile application that it said could make locating pie crust in its stores as easy as saying "pie."

The supermarket chain announced the release of the app, which allows customers to locate products, browse ads, search for recipes, build shopping lists, shop and interact with the company through social media. The app is built on the AT&T Mobile Enterprise Applications Platform and uses Taqtile Mobility's Shingle solution.

Albany, N.Y. -- Social media marketing agency Media Logic said Tuesday that 70 new brands have been added to its Retail Social Juice Index, bringing the total number of tracked brands to nearly 700.

The additions, including eBay, DKNY and Zappos, creates a more comprehensive industry index and provide users with a broader competitive set for comparison, according to Media Logic.

West Des Moines, Iowa -- Hy-Vee has launched a mobile app for customers to make shopping easier, faster and more social.

The smartphone app offers a number of interactive features to help customers with meal planning and preparation, gain access to store and pharmacy information and more.