Sales & Marketing

The nation’s newest mall in Sarasota, Fla., introduced shoppers to a new app with interesting navigation and personalization capabilities. Now the trick is driving downloads and usage.

By Gregg Aamoth, POPcodes

 

The market trend was detailed in a survey conducted by Johnson Controls Global WorkPlace Solutions in partnership with PeopleWise. According to the study, facilities management is the most outsourced service, with 82% of the respondents currently outsourcing some part of facilities management and real estate services.

New York - The day after Christmas (Dec. 26) posted the highest traffic for online shopping, with 125 points, since the 2014 holiday shopping season began. According to Verizon Retail Index data, year-over-year, traffic attributed to online shopping was on par (125) with the same day in 2013.  

Canton, Mass. - Dunkin' Donuts has launched a special New Year's Twitter sweepstakes. Beginning Dec. 29 and continuing through Wednesday, Dec. 31, followers of @DunkinDonuts will be asked a New Year's themed-question each day.   Consumers who tweet an answer using the special hashtag #DDNewYearSweeps will be entered to win one of three daily prizes of Dunkin' Donuts coffee for a year. In addition, each day 15 participants will be randomly selected to receive a $100 mobile gift prize.

Retailers expected online sales to hit record levels in 2014 and did they ever.

New all-time highs for e-commerce sales are now expected for the November through December time frame following a strong surge in sales during the final week before Christmas, according to the digital measurement firm comScore.

The 2014 holiday season has shown how shoppers’ growing preference for e-commerce can be challenging for retailers. By offering customers free shipping and ever-faster delivery, and by handling the higher rates of return that often come with e-commerce, retailers potentially face either reduced profit margins or loss in market share if they don’t keep up with customer preferences.

As they plan for 2015, many retailers will consider how they can provide a seamless customer experience that fundamentally helps them to maintain or improve profit margins.

Sam’s Club is hoping the popularity of author Nicolas Sparks translates to would-be furniture buyers as the warehouse club has launched a new furniture line with a design aesthetic inspired by Sparks’ latest novel.