News Briefs

Teen apparel and footwear retailer Tilly’s, Inc. named its new permanent CEO.

The company’s board of directors has appointed Hezy Shaked, the company’s co-founder and executive chairman of the board, as its president and chief executive officer. Shaked had been serving as interim president and CEO of Tilly’s since Jan. 21, 2024 following the retirement of president and CEO Ed Thomas, who had served in the position since October 2014. Prior to that, Thomas was chief executive of The Wet Seal, from 2014 to 2015, and from 2007 to 2011.

Since co-founding Tilly’s in 1982, Shaked served as the company’s president and CEO previously in its history. Tilly’s says Shaked has spent his tenure as the company’s interim president and CEO reviewing all aspects of the business, lending his perspective as the company’s co-founder, and utilizing his experience in the retail industry to work towards improving the company’s operating performance.

“As the co-founder of this 42-year-old company, there is no one who cares about it more deeply than I do,” said Shaked. “I remain fully committed and enthusiastic about making every effort to work toward improving our business.”

[READ MORE: C-Suite Moves: August update]

Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., Tilly’s currently operates 247 total stores across 33 states.

Some JCPenney shoppers will be able to have select perfume bottles personally decorated – if they’re in the right store at the right time.

During September at certain locations across the country, JCPenney is offering for one day only the opportunity for customers to personalize fragrance purchases from select brands with complementary engraving or bedazzling. 

Shoppers who purchase any perfume from Oscar de la Renta, Guess, Ann Sui, DKNY and/or Dunhill can have their bottles engraved or bedazzled for free on the spot, with no limit to how many bottles a customer can customize. 

The event is in celebration of the new DKNY 24/7 fragrance launch. Customers can visit a select store on the event date (which will be Friday, Sep. 13 or Saturday, Sept. 14 or 21 depending on location), choose a fragrance, and watch as the bottle is personalized. See a list of participating stores and dates here.

"Whether you’re a fragrance fanatic or simply love a personalized touch, this is an event shoppers won’t want to miss," JCPenney said in a press release. "Make your fragrance collection stand out with a unique feature that’s as individual as you are."

Other personalized services JCPenney has offered this year include a limited-time initiative called Snapshot for Success that provided no-cost professional headshots at participating JCPenney Portrait studio locations during January and February 2024. 

New shopping metrics provide insight into just how popular Amazon is with U.S. shoppers.

According to new analysis from Numerator, 83% of U.S. households made at least one purchase from Amazon during the 12-month period ended June 30, 2024. Households averaged 71 orders during the course of that year, spending an average of more than $2,700.

In other good news for Amazon, Numerator data also shows that in comparison to all U.S. consumers, Amazon shoppers are more likely to be mid-career millennials or Gen X and make impulse purchases. 

[READ MORE: Forrester: Amazon and Walmart to capture one-fourth of U.S. retail sales by 2029]

Numerator also provided the following data points about consumer behavior at a number of major retailers across multiple verticals:

• Among club stores, 46% of U.S. households shop at Costco, compared to 43% shopping at Sam’s Club.
• Costco shoppers have an annual buy rate over $3,000 and are more likely to be high income, urban, Asian, and committed to buying organic.
• Among home improvement stores, Home Depot sees higher household penetration (71% of U.S. households) and more urban and suburban shoppers, while Lowe’s over-indexes with rural shoppers.
• Shoppers of Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s are more likely to be high income, urban millennials committed to buying organics. 
• Eight-in-10 U.S. households shop at Dollar Tree annually, compared to 60% for Dollar General. However, Dollar General shoppers tend to spend more annually – $513 vs. $288.
• Dollar General shoppers are 51% more likely to live in a rural area and 17% more likely to be boomers or older. 
• Walgreens captures 69% of US households, who average 13 trips and spend a little more than $300 annually. 

Poag Development Group, which acquired Oak Court Mall in Memphis last year for $14.25 million, has acquired a department store at the property. 

Poag and its investment partners have acquired the 400,000-sq.-ft. Macy’s at the center for $7 million. According to the mall’s website, it is the largest Macy’s store in the region.

“Macy’s approached us after our acquisition of Oak Court Mall to see if we would be interested in acquiring their store and leasing it back to them,” said Poag. “Our group of investors was eager to jump at the opportunity, as we have already invested in the mall to ensure that the property stays in local hands to be maximized for its highest and best use in the future.”

[READ MORE: Poag Development acquires super-regional mall outside of Grand Rapids]

The Memphis-based developer will work with JLL, its strategic leasing partner, to maximize the potential of the property at the two-story shopping center. Poag added that with Macy’s now under its control, it will determine how to move forward with any potential redevelopment at the property.

“Our redevelopment plans [of Oak Court] were put on hold as we worked through the Macy’s acquisition,” said Poag. “Now that we know what we can control for the long term, we will solicit feedback from stakeholders and neighbors as to what they feel is needed in the community before any major redevelopment decision is made.”

A regional grocery wholesaler and co-op is customizing shopper interactions at individual stores.

Associated Food Stores (AFS), which operates corporate and member stores across the Intermountain West is utilizing the Birdzi customer intelligence and engagement platform to provide personalized engagement and advanced customer insights on a store-by-store basis.

"The flexibility of the Birdzi platform enables AFS to customize engagement strategies for individual stores, allowing both us and our members to operate with greater efficiency in today’s competitive grocery landscape," said Jason Sokol, VP of marketing, Associated Food Stores. 

The implementation includes the Birdzi shopper analytics platform, coupon flyers and audience engagement tools. AFS will also deploy the Birdzi Visper personalization engine to use entire store catalogs to strategically generate custom promotional offers for each shopper.

AFS will also utilize the analytics suite to gain an enhanced understanding of customer responses, engagement and interactions. Other regional grocery retailers leveraging Birdzi personalization technology include Tops Friendly Markets and Strack & Van Til. 

Full rollout of the Birdzi platform is expected to be live across AFS in time for the 2024 holiday season.

"In partnering with one of the country’s largest grocery wholesalers, Birdzi showcases the unique flexibility of our platform, which can be crafted to fit the needs of any individual retailer," said Shekar Raman, CEO and co-founder, Birdzi. "We’re honored to earn the confidence from our first wholesale customer and are confident that our platform will work seamlessly with more than 400 AFS member retailers."

Founded in 1940 and headquartered in Salt Lake City, AFS currently serves nearly 450 retailers across Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming.

Merchants have a favorite day when it comes to dropping coupons for shopping.

Friday emerged as the day with the highest number of new coupon releases, offering shoppers the best opportunity to find fresh deals when shopping online, according to a study by SimplyCodes, a social savings and AI-powered promo code platform. Saturday and Sunday showed a significant drop in coupon activity, while Sunday consistently had the lowest number of new coupon releases.

The study, which analyzed coupon release patterns in marketing emails from 30,000 merchants, found that a noticeable surge in coupon releases occurs midweek, specifically on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Women's clothing, skin care and adult beverage stores were identified as the categories with the most active coupon releases on Fridays.

"In today's digital age, consumers are bombarded with promotional emails, often missing valuable savings hidden within," said Allison Mac, VP of marketing at SimplyCodes. "Our study reveals a clear pattern in coupon releases, with Friday emerging as the prime day for deals. Retailers typically release new offers towards the end of the week to capitalize on the weekend shopping rush. Since many people receive their paychecks on Fridays, stores aim to capture that fresh spending power."

SimplyCodes recommends that consumers don't be so quick to delete promotional emails received Wednesday through Friday, and consider making planned purchases on Fridays and through the weekend to access more valid coupons.

The full study can be found here.