Target

Target is running mobile commerce-enabled ads to let music fans buy their favorite albums before the upcoming Grammys. The mass merchant retailer is making music sales the focus of the advertising campaign but is also promoting other entertainment-related products.

Blogger Ginger Harris hauled herself out of bed at 6:45 on Feb. 5 and headed to Target for the new Jason Wu collection. But after waiting in line for the store to open, all that remained were larger-size dresses and tops. So, where did everything go?

"Showrooming" has struck fear and anger into the hearts of many brick-and-mortar retailers since mobility became a potent force. Now Target is explicitly seeking help from its suppliers to combat this phenomenon. In a letter sent earlier this month and signed by CEO Gregg Steinhafel and EVP of merchandising Kathee Tesija, Target asked suppliers to create special products that would set it apart from competitors, or if that wasn't possible, to help the retailer match rivals' lower prices.

It's estimated that small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) lose upwards of $66,000 annually through fraud. An increased awareness of fraud among large merchants has forced fraudsters — those individuals who perpetrate crimes against retailers — to switch their attention to small businesses that provide an easier target because of the lack of safeguards they have in place.

Just a few weeks after unveiling the locations of its first 24 stores in Canada, Target released an expanded list of stores that will debut in 2013. The stores listed included two in Alberta, two in British Columbia, 29 in Ontario and one in Saskatchewan.

Target told vendors last week that it wanted better deals from them to compete with online rivals like Amazon. But will the vendors play ball? The Wall Street Journal reports they likely will — Target is too big a customer to ignore — and that other brick-and-mortar retailers will probably follow the company's lead.

Target is reaching out to its vendors as part of a potential new pricing strategy to up its competitiveness with both online and brick-and-mortar rivals. The retailer has sent a letter to some of its vendors just as J.C. Penney is about unveil a sweeping overhaul of its pricing strategy. J.C. Penney plans to eliminate many of the promotions shoppers see in its stores.

Target will host a release event for Summit Entertainment's "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1" on DVD and Blu-ray at nearly 500 stores across the country, extending store hours to accommodate the fans of the franchise.

In a twist on its proven formula, Target announced a new partnership series that brings local boutique owners, rather than internationally recognized fashion brands, into the mix of its successful high-low designer collaborations. Five boutiques from across the country have designed limited-edition collections that will be sold in Target stores and on Target.com beginning in May.

Engaged customers are the holy grail for retailers today. They're the customers who interact with your brand on social networks, use mobile devices and subscribe to your email program. How do you acquire them? Join cross-channel retail experts Debra Ellis of Wilson Ellis Consulting and Kevin Skurski of Bronto Software as they answer that question and explain best practices around optimizing the customer buying cycle.