Social Media Marketing

Over the past two years, we've examined the activity of hundreds of millions of global shoppers to identify trends and measure the pace of change in digital commerce. Using this data, we produce a quarterly shopping index that describes consumer engagement with retailers. The most striking feature of the data — beyond digital commerce's continued growth — is…

Birchbox, known for being one of the first online subscription services, is taking its pioneering spirit to Facebook Live. The beauty subscription service broadcasts videos via Facebook Live to show consumers product demonstrations, product highlights, and transformations (e.g., haircuts). Viewers get answers to questions in real time as well as information about the company’s subscription box. Each…

Facebook is making a new play for retailers. Yesterday, Facebook debuted a system titled "dynamic ads for retail" that will use personalization and location data to allow merchants to only serve promos of products that are actually available at a chain brand's location. Adweek reports retailers currently testing the new program are Argos, Macy's, Target…

The millennial generation, those born between 1982 and 1998, is the nation’s largest. Millennials are all 18-34 years old, but age is about the only common denominator for the individuals in this demographic. Jean-Yves Sabot, vice president of retail business development for Epsilon , breaks down millennials into six different groups, or what he refers…

Traditional retailers are struggling. In the spring of 2016 alone, we saw Sports Authority declare bankruptcy, Aeropostale lose 93 percent of its share price before declaring insolvency, and sales at Kohl's drop. Even as recently as August 11, Macy’s announced it will close another 100 stores. There's little doubt that competition from online retailers has…

Safe and Vault Store, a manufacturer and online retailer of safes and vaults, is using a referral marketing strategy via social channels such as Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter to help it acquire new customers. In episode 51 of Total Retail Talks, Dominic Schwebs, website administrator for Safe and Vault Store, discusses how the referral program…

Retail products are a home run for influencer marketing. Non-name brands that have their products portrayed seven times in an Instagram user's posts over the course of six months garner 84 percent brand recall from that user’s followers. Placing your brand within content on an ongoing basis is the best way to attract consumers. Your…

It's easy to spend marketing dollars on things you feel will drive more business, but what about all the free (or nearly free) methods to accomplish the same or better results? In this day in age, marketers seem to call these growth hacks. These methods may not apply to all retailers and all situations, but…

Procter & Gamble has concluded that using Facebook ads to target specific consumers has limited effectiveness. The biggest advertising spender in the world will now move away from targeted Facebook ads. Facebook has spent years developing its ability to zero in on consumers based on demographics, shopping habits and life milestones, but P&G Chief Marketing Officer…

Last week, Instagram introduced Stories, a "Snapchat-like" feature that enables the social platform's 500 million monthly users to curate daily moments that disappear after 24 hours. Retailers have been flocking to the new feature, which offers better visibility for brands than Snapchat. Up until Instagram Stories was released, Snapchat was considered the social media darling of Gen…