Sales & Marketing

The departure last week of Target chief marketing officer and spearhead of the retailer’s entry into Canada, Michael Francis, was a significant development in the retail world, but someone forgot to tell the company’s suppliers.

Reston, Va. -- Mobile phones drive digital traffic around the world, but tablets are gaining steam, according to a new report released by ComScore. The report, “Digital Omnivores: How Tablets, Smartphones and Connected Devices are Changing U.S. Digital Media Consumption Habits,” found that smartphones and tablets are driving nearly 7% of total U.S. digital traffic.

Key findings highlighted in the report include:

Americans spent lots of money on apparel in September, and Target was among the beneficiaries, reporting that the category’s performance exceeded the total company same-store sales increase of 5.3%. Target didn’t elaborate on any key merchandising initiatives that may have influenced the results, such as the launch of the Missoni collection, but it was hardly alone in reporting strong apparel sales.

Purchase, N.Y. -- MasterCard Worldwide announced that Subway, the nation’s largest sandwich chain, will accept MasterCard’s PayPass contactless payments at more than 7,000 U.S. locations by the end of first quarter 2012. 

Consumers will now have the option of paying for their meal by simply tapping a MasterCard PayPass-enabled card or device at the register. PayPass does not require customers to sign receipts for purchases under $50.

NEW YORK — Supermarket chain Stop & Shop will work with Foodshare to sponsor events at its stores in Hartford, Conn., to help qualifying residents access the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefit.

About 70% of Connecticut residents who qualify for SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program, actually receive the benefit, Stop & Shop said. This is because of such issues as language barriers, lack of transportation or lack of knowledge of the program.

New York City -- Wal-Mart Stores was ordered to temporarily halt operations at seven stores in the city of Chongqing in southwest China, as the local government investigates accusations that it mislabeled some pork products as organic.

The company, which was ordered to pay $421,000 over the incident, apologized to shoppers for any inconvenience and said it was cooperating with authorities.

New York City -- An overwhelming majority (72%) of U.S. consumers expect their holiday spending to be “careful” or “controlled” in 2011, according to Accenture’s annual consumer holiday shopping study. Discounts, sales and prices are still top of mind this holiday, with 40% of consumers saying an item being on sale is the single most important factor in their decision to purchase.

It is still very early in the holiday season and anything could happen from a pricing perspective. However, with that as a caveat, it appears Target and Walmart are in a virtual dead heat when it comes to toy pricing, according to a survey by Citigroup’s senior retail analyst Deb Weinswig.