News

Hasbro has entered into a strategic merchandising relationship with Disney Consumer Products for the Disney Princess and Frozen properties. The agreement gives Hasbro global rights (excluding Japan) to develop dolls based on Disney Princess stories and characters including Cinderella, Beauty and The Beast, The Little Mermaid and Frozen beginning in 2016.

According to Deloitte’s annual retail holiday sales forecast, steadily improving economic fundamentals should moderately boost holiday sales in stores and online this year.

E-commerce platform WooCommerce has partnered with LevelUp to lower payment processing costs for merchants.

WooCommerce merchants can now accept LevelUp payments for a flat 1.95% processing rate. Merchants will also be able to run a full suite of revenue-driving marketing campaigns.

Chicago -- The strategic merits of Burger King Worldwide's leveraged buy-out of Tim Hortons Inc. will be tested by Monday's enactment of tightened U.S. Treasury tax rules on U.S. companies seeking to re-domicile their headquarters in countries with more favorable tax systems, according to Fitch Ratings. The new regulation is meant to reduce the attractiveness of inversions and is effective immediately.

Stamford, Conn. -- Half of Americans (49%) plan to shop online earlier for gifts this holiday season, with the main reason being to ensure they receive their packages on time (63%), according to a survey by Pitney Bowes.

Salt Lake City -- Mexican restaurant chain Taco John’s is partnering with InMoment, a cloud-based customer experience optimization platform that gives companies the ability to listen to and engage with customers to improve business results. InMoment is providing the technology for Tell TJ, Taco John’s guest satisfaction survey program.

Fort Myers, Fla. - Chico’s FAS is launching a digital charitable giving campaign powered by HelloWorld. The campaign features a Facebook-integrated microsite and a mobile optimized site that allows consumers to upload a photo and treat it with pink coloring and the hashtag #TOGETHER in honor of Breast Health Awareness Month.

San Jose, Calif. – Neighbrhds, a product of mobile marketing provider Urban Living Marketing, has recently released more than 50 apps, each focused on providing the user with local information tailored specifically to their neighborhood. Each app, named after its corresponding neighborhood, aims to provide residents and visitors with instant access to community events, local businesses and more.

By Dov Cohn, Bronto Software