Sales & Marketing

The latest posting from the McMillanDoolittle blog:

Target announced a partnership with Instacart in Target’s hometown of Minneapolis. This is Target’s first experiment with same-day delivery of products, and it coincides with the expansion of their grocery and fresh business.

The Sports Authority is teaming up with Under Armour and  MapMyFitness on a ground-breaking new fitness rewards program.

The retailer says rewards members soon will be able to earn retail rewards for completing activities within the MapMyFitness app.

Target Corp. is launching a major and wide-ranging initiative to improve its in-store shopper experience.  

The initiative, called LA25, will be rolled out in 25 Target stores in Los Angeles. It involves everything from more helpful store signage and more modern fixtures to the exploration of RFID technology to help store associates track down missing products. The first wave of stores will be updated in the coming weeks, with a second batch getting a makeover in spring 2016.

Taubman Centers named Simon J. Leopold, treasurer and executive VP, capital markets, as CFO, effective Jan. 1.

Leopold will succeed current CFO Lisa A. Payne, who will continue as vice chairman until she leaves the company in March. Payne has been with the shopping center development and management company since 1997. Earlier, she was a vice president of Goldman, Sachs & Co.’s investment banking division.

There are four key elements that sustain a customer’s loyalty over the long term (and price is not one of them), according to the newest research from Synchrony Financial.

According to Synchrony Financial’s 2015 Customer Experience and Impact Study, which examines 27 elements of the shopping experience, four experiences stand out as most valued by customers and translate into greater spend and loyalty for retailers.

Lower gas prices are not significantly altering consumer behavior, according to the latest Consumer Fuels Survey results released by the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS).

Although drivers report that the national median gas price fell 25 cents per gallon in the past month and 60 cents per gallon since July, only 22% of consumers say that they will drive more over the coming month and only 15% say that they will spend more on other non-fuels items in the coming month.

Books-A-Million is teaming up with the nation’s largest children’s literacy organizations on a campaign that is sure to appeal to its core customers.

Through Sept. 19, customers at Books-A-Million can make a donation to Reading Is Fundamental. No purchase is necessary to donate, and contributions can be made at all Books-A-Million locations. Customers will receive an exclusive bookmark stating that they donated to Reading Is Fundamental.

While the financial industry is supporting the use of chip-and-signature cards to meet the upcoming Oct. 1 EMV mandate, consumers are less convinced.

According to a new survey released by the National Retail Federation (NRF), 62% of U.S. consumers believe new credit cards being issued by banks don’t go far enough to protect card data or prevent fraud.