Sales & Marketing

Meijer is taking an original approach to Black Friday and generating return visits. The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer will offer deals on three different days — Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday and Saturday — along with coupons for additional deals that consumers can use on their next shopping trip.

Walnut Creek, Calif. -- Retailers appear to be putting in the foundational elements to create a coordinated focus on the customer experience. The percentage of respondents to a new survey from RSR Research reporting that Marketing is the primary owner of customer data internally nearly doubled from 2012 to 2013, from 33% to 61%, and those reporting no explicit owner fell from 33% to 17%.

Isis, a mobile commerce joint venture created by AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless, has unveiled its upgraded Isis Mobile Wallet, which allows customers to pay at contactless payment terminals directly from their smartphones.

Framingham, Mass. – In addition to opening stores at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving, Staples is extending Black Friday sales the entire week of Nov. 24 through Cyber Monday on Dec. 2.  

The retailer’s Black Friday promotions include online daily deals changed on a daily basis, trade-in/trade-up technology recycling programs that give holiday shoppers cash toward to the purchase of a new product, and free shipping for members of the Staples Rewards loyalty program and on all purchases of more than $45.

By Stephen Springham, senior retail analyst at Planet Retail

Three quarters of results and a hat-trick of disappointments — Walmart U.S. again failed to achieve its guidance of flat comps in Q3, reporting a decline of 0.3%. This was not entirely unexpected as an already fragile consumer environment has not been helped by the government shutdown.

Sidney, Neb. -- Cabela’s recently launched a new and improved mobile website for customers using handheld devices or smartphones. The new site gives customers a seamless mobile shopping experience offering the same information and services as Cabelas.com.

Cincinnati — Saks Fifth Avenue has signed a letter of intent to relocate its downtown Cincinnati store to The Kenwood Collection, which Phillips Edison & Co. is transforming from a regional destination to a super-regional destination that will draw shoppers from three states.

According to the letter of intent, Saks will lease 80,000 sq. ft. of retail space over two levels of a building that fronts I-71. Plans call for the store to open in the spring of 2016.

Cabela's has launched an improved mobile website for customers using handheld devices or smartphones, just in time for the holiday season.

According to the specialty retailer, the site gives customers a seamless mobile shopping experience and offers the same information and services as the desktop version.