News

The Great Save promotion is back again at Target for the second year in a row. As was the case last year, the promotion is billed as something of a warehouse-club type shopping experience complete with sharp pricing on large-pack sizes combined with a little bit of the treasure hunt atmosphere to create the allure of discovering bargains.

The biggest difference between this year and last year is the Great Save promotion will be shorter. It runs through Feb. 5 this year, whereas last year it was in place for seven weeks or until nearly the end of February.

Target.com was second only to Walmart.com in terms of the number of unique visitors its website attracted this holiday season, and as such is well positioned to capture a large share of this year’s record online spending. Total online holiday sales advanced 13% to nearly $31 billion, according to the online measurement firm comScore. For the 56-day period beginning Nov. 1 through Dec.

Not sure why parents of a newborn would want to share images of their child with throngs of people gathered in Times Square or motorists in Los Angeles, but in these celebrity-obsessed and digitally-enabled times a lot of behaviors defy logic.

Be that as it may, Target devised a novel brand-building campaign that allowed parent to essentially share images of their baby with a universe of complete strangers as opposed to the more discrete tradition of limiting viewings to family and a close knit group of friends.

This should be interesting. “Target: Inside the Bullseye” is scheduled to air on CNBC Thursday, Jan. 13 at 9 p.m. EST. The documentary will repeat that evening at 10 p.m., 12 a.m. and 1 a.m. and will also re-air again on Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.

San Diego -- Escalate Retail on Monday announced that discount department store chain Century 21 has successfully implemented Escalate’s Enterprise1 ERP solution for management of the retailer’s inventory, merchandising and financials.

Century 21 chose Escalate’s Enterprise1 to more effectively keep pace with the enormous amount of inventory that goes through the store every day.

Executives from The Container Store and Urban Outfitters are among the retailers who will be honored at the National Retail Federation’s Annual Convention and EXPO, or BIG Show, which will be held at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City, Jan. 9-12, 2011.

The recipients will accept their awards during the show’s Annual Retail Industry Luncheon on Tuesday, Jan. 11.

Mobile commerce is expected to be among the dominant topics at the National Retail Federation’s Annual Convention and EXPO in New York City, with break-out sessions and a super-session devoted to the fast-growing channel. Two recent studies offer insights into the channel. Here are some highlights:

The annual NRF Convention & EXPO has a strong history, and while the show’s early concept has evolved over the last century, its message remains the same: to bring together industry decision makers who want to find ways to drive their business.

Some attendees often question why NRF is held in New York City during January, when the weather can be downright brutal. But the reason is easy.

Amazon and Netflix are the top scorers in terms on online customer satisfaction, according to the sixth annual ForeSee Results E-Retail Satisfaction Index (U.S. Holiday Edition). Both had a score of 86 on the study’s 100-point scale, with 80 generally considered the threshold for excellence. Here are the study’s top performers:

As retailers gather in New York City for the National Retail Federation’s Annual Convention and EXPO The new, post-recession American shopper is high maintenance, promiscuous and demands an innovative and engaging experience in-store and online. That’s the takeaway from a study released by Leo Burnett’s marketing services arm, Arc Worldwide .