Omnichannel

The Starbucks Card has become a social phenomenon. Advocates willingly fill them up with credit for the status it brings at the point of sale. Good-natured friends readily recharge the cards of friends through Facebook to spread good will. Starbucks proactively rewards cardholders with perks and special treatment in stores, online, and elsewhere.

Here’s 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.’s new proposition, called Blue Marble, offers a “space-accessible profile” for businesses, cities, schools — anyone who wants to raise their profile.

How long have we been talking and asking about multichannel? You know the questions: “Do you have a multichannel marketing program?” “Do you know who your multichannel customers are?” “Do you know how much your multichannel customer spends?” We’ve been asking these questions for about as long as we’ve been using terms like relevance and one-to-one, which is a really long time. None of these terms are unimportant, but what’s next? What should we really be striving for now?

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 Orvis’ cross-channel touchpoints including retail stores, e-commerce, catalogs, and a mobile-optimized website.

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 didn’t have the resources in-house to optimize the technology.

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.

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."

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.org’s 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 we’d rather not focus on?