Sales & Marketing

Instead of sending holiday cards, retailers with physical stores may want to send texts, instead.

According to the new seventh Annual Holiday Research Study from e-commerce technology platform MarketLive, 78% of shoppers are likely to visit a store as a result of a text promotion or alert via mobile device.

In addition, 56% of shoppers look for gift ideas on social sites like Pinterest, and 55% are now comfortable with sharing their preferences with retailers in exchange for convenience and personalized product recommendations

More Americans are planning holiday-related purchases this year than in 2014, and those who plan to shop will spend more over a longer period of time.

That’s according to the International Council of Shopping Centers 2015 Consumer Forecast, which shows that 90% of Americans are planning holiday purchases this season, up from 82% last year. And overall, 80% of shoppers plan to spend the same or more this holiday season than they did in 2014.

Downtown Los Angeles is in the middle of a profound revitalization, one that is bringing new energy to a sprawling area that had long been written off as a cultural wasteland — and ghost town after 5 p.m. New residential construction has brought an influx of new residents into the area, with retailers and restaurants rushing in to meet the new demands.

Staples is limiting the severance pay of top executives as the resolution of a deal with Office Depot draws near.

Staples announced that its board of directors has adopted a new policy stipulating that the company will not pay any severance benefits that exceed three times the sum of an executive’s base salary plus target annual cash incentive award, without seeking shareholder approval.

In addition, CEO Ron Sargent has elected to amend his severance agreement to align with the terms of the new policy.

Whole Foods is creating a new collection of business applications with a key technology partner that are said to be unlike anything on the market.

That’s a bold claim and to back it up the nation’s leading organic and natural grocery chain is partnering with cloud-based business application provider Infor to develop a new enterprise platform called Infor Cloudsuite Retail.

Tarrytown, N.Y. -- DLC Management Corporation announced the company signed 27,684 sq. ft. of new leases in September across five states: Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The leases include tenants Carter’s, Creations Barber Shop, Five Below, Great Clips, Jude’s Carryout, Lucky Duck, Nail Bless, New Dragon Restaurant, Quick-N-Clean Cleaners and The Village Bar & Restaurant, ranging from 972 sq. ft. to 8,000 sq. ft.

Food Lion has rolled out its “Easy Fresh and Affordable” branding campaign to its 162 stores in the Raleigh, North Carolina market. The $250 million initiative included full store remodels, price investments and training of associates.