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Home Depot, which suffered a data breach between April and September, said 53 million email addresses were taken by hackers during the attack, in addition to the 56 million payment cards that were previously disclosed. Home Depot also said that the criminals used a third-party vendor's user name and password to reach the perimeter of its network, then gained additional rights to navigate the company's systems. Hackers used custom-built software on Home Depot's self-checkout terminals in the U.S. and Canada to access customer data, according to a statement yesterday. 

After a marketing campaign erupted into a social media firestorm last week, Victoria's Secret has changed the slogan that many found offensive. The company caused controversy when it used the words "The Perfect 'Body'" in an ad for its Body by Victoria lingerie. The photo that accompanied the slogan featured 10 models, several with visible ribs. The ad launched a Change.org petition and sparked social media outrage. While the same photo is still in use, now the words scrolled across read "A Body for Every Body."

The holidays will be upon us before we know it. For retailers, this is the make-or-break time of the year. The stress levels start to increase after a summer during which many brands solidified plans, made upgrades to their websites and more. So, what can you control now to make the season go more smoothly, save some time and drive more revenue? Here are six tips for your holiday email program:

The Harris Tweed Authority (HTA) has settled a dispute with Crate and Barrel over its labeling of a design of chairs. Euromarket Designs Inc. offered for sale a Harris Tweed Chair and Harris Herringbone Chair on its Crate and Barrel website. The products however weren't made from Harris Tweed, a fabric hand-woven on the Western Isles and protected by U.K. law. The HTA said it has secured a "monetary settlement" and assurances the items wouldn't be marketed as Harris Tweed.

It might be hard to think about Christmas when you need SPF 1,000 to survive being outside right now, but now is the time to start building your email list and nurturing subscribers to get ready for the holiday shopping season. Here are five tips for using email marketing to make sure your business is on your customers’ "nice list," enabling you to sell more product this holiday season:

Frequently misunderstood and feared, blacklists vex many email marketers. To those without the benefit of experience, blacklists seem liable to penalize any sender on a whim, but industry veterans know that's not the real story. The savviest understand where the hazards are and how to avoid them. Senders that understand the landscape take these six steps to stay off blacklists, or to quickly remediate blacklisting events:

Join us for this fast-paced session covering advanced strategies retailers can use to optimize your email marketing performance.

Listen as we map out simple customer service best practices you can implement today, and keep customers coming back time and again.

Join John Lawson as he runs through 15 ways to acquire news customers in 30 minutes.

In this webinar, executives discuss the key challenges omnichannel retail marketers faced heading into the 2014 holiday season.