Omnichannel
Hereโs a circuitous route to free advertising on Google: Phillips & Co. will install QR codes on rooftops in an attempt to sneak into Google Maps. Phillips & Co.โs new proposition, called Blue Marble, offers a โspace-accessible profileโ for businesses, cities, schools โ anyone who wants to raise their profile.
The Orvis Company announced the launch of its iPhone and Android rich apps powered by mobile commerce provider Digby. The rich apps complement all of Orvisโ cross-channel touchpoints including retail stores, e-commerce, catalogs, and a mobile-optimized website.
How long have we been talking and asking about multichannel? You know the questions: โDo you have a multichannel marketing program?โ โDo you know who your multichannel customers are?โ โDo you know how much your multichannel customer spends?โ Weโve been asking these questions for about as long as weโve been using terms like relevance and one-to-one, which is a really long time. None of these terms are unimportant, but whatโs next? What should we really be striving for now?
Following a trial run with product videos on its site in 2008 that yielded favorable results, Really Good Stuff knew that the medium was an effective sales driver. The problem was that the teacher supply retailer didnโt have the resources in-house to optimize the technology.
Macy's is looking to get its stores to start using radio frequency identification technology sooner rather than later so that the company can manage its inventories better. The technology, known as RFID, will be used to help count items that are considered "replenishment goods."
Neiman Marcus has launched its first-ever foursquare challenge to take place on Oct. 1. As part of the challenge, Neiman Marcus will hide 15 Nancy Gonzalez clutches in secret locations throughout its stores. Participants will engage in a hunt for the clutches by unlocking a message when they check into Neiman Marcus stores on foursquare.
Cabela's has adopted the SWAGG smartphone application, providing consumers with mobile access the ability to buy and send digital gift cards; receive targeted offers; manage their gift reward and loyalty programs; and speed in-store checkout processes.
Swarovski partnered with SCVNGR to launch a treasure hunt across London on Sept. 24 to celebrate the London launch of 'Discover Your Light,' the company's "exciting move into cinema." This campaign marks the first time that SCVNGR has offered an event-based challenge outside of the U.S.
I ventured to Shop.orgโs Annual Summit in Boston with a big question on my mind: With so much sales growth originating in online retail, how were brick-and-mortar retailers viewing their online counterparts? As a vital growth source? As just another store? As something we do but weโd rather not focus on?
Consumers first abandoned credit cards during the Great Recession, choosing instead to rely on cash to fund their purchases. But evidence indicates that since the beginning of 2011, consumers are returning to credit usage, but with an important change โ without the return to revolving debt that's traditionally a hallmark of consumer credit card usage.