News

Target pulls the plug on movie service
Target is continuing to re-define its digital offerings, this time by shutting down its two-year-old movie streaming service.

The Target Ticket service was shut down Tuesday, but customers will still be able to use the service to view already rented movies and TV shows until Target Ticket's closure on March 7.
TGI Fridays names two digital marketing agencies
Carrollton, Texas - In a move designed to offer its guests a more enhanced, robust and personalized experience both inside and outside of the restaurant, TGI Fridays has selected two new agencies – Made Movement (Made) and Meredith Xcelerated Marketing (MXM) – to manage all future digital marketing, e-mail and technology campaigns.

Family Dollar looks to cloud to drive growth

Family Dollar Stores Inc. has inked a deal with a cloud management firm to improve its operational efficiency and cost competitiveness.
P.F. Chang’s gets conversational with Neuron ESB

Scottsdale, Ariz. - P.F. Chang's China Bistro is getting conversational with its customers. The casual dining chain has selected Neuron ESB application and Web services integration software to unify backend systems that will power real-time customer communications for its P.F. Chang's and Pei Wei brands.
Urban Outfitters beats Street with Q4 sales

Philadelphia – Urban Outfitters Inc. beat Wall Street expectations with its sales for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2014. Total net sales grew 12% to $1.01 billion from $905.86 million.

Same-store sales, including direct-to-consumer sales, rose 6%. For the full year, total net sales increased 8% to $3.32 billion, from $3.09 billion. Same-store sales grew 2%. For both the fourth quarter and full fiscal year, strong growth in the wholesale segment helped push up total net sales.
Dick’s Sporting Goods goes for Olympic Gold; retail sponsor for Team USA

Pittsburgh -- In a first for Dick’s Sporting Goods, the retailer said it will serve as the official sporting goods retail sponsor to the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and Team USA., as it prepares for the 2016 Summer Games, which will be held in Brazil.

Dick’s will focus on supporting U.S. Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls with jobs and equipment.
CVS Health improving after quitting smoking

Discontinuing tobacco sales a year ago may have been the right thing to do for CVS Health, but the company’s fourth quarter results offer other retailers contemplating a similar move a glimpse of the short term impact on sales.

Non-pharmacy front of store same store sales at CVS Health locations declined 7.2% during the fourth quarter but would have registered a slight increase were it not for an 800 basis point negative impact associated with lost sale of tobacco and related products.
Use of digital coupons on upswing

New York -- Traditional preprint circulars continue to dominate many retailers’ promotional offerings but digital coupon momentum is accelerating, according to strong 2014 results by Coupons.com.

Total revenue in the company’s fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2014 increased 14% to $60 million and full year revenue increased 32% to $221.8 million. Total digital coupon transactions in 2014 increased 23% to 1.6 billion.
Neiman Marcus to give away $500 on Instagram

Neiman Marcus is entering the social shopping fray by launching its first ever user-generated content contest on Instagram.

The retailer has said previously it understands the influence user-generated content can have on purchase decisions. That’s why they integrate it into key points in the user journey. Neiman Marcus says it is aiming to create powerful, socialized shopping experiences, online and in-store.
Springtime is high-tech time for Home Depot

The fact that Home Depot is hiring 80,000 associates for its busy spring season may not seem like a big deal, but the retailer is arming these employees with unprecedented retailing technology.