Promotional Strategy

If you’re not already planning for Black Friday and Singles Day, then you’re behind schedule. The National Retail Federation reported that online and other non-brick-and-mortar holiday sales increased by 9 percent during the 2015 holiday season, to $105 billion. Compared to the overall 3 percent growth for all of 2015 holiday sales, it’s clear that…

Bed, Bath & Beyond may be getting rid of its coupons after realizing that the ubiquity of 20 percent off deals is backfiring for the company. The retailer is testing a beta version of its new "Beyond+" loyalty program. The program offers perks including free shipping and 20 percent off every entire purchase, for a membership fee of $29 per…

We’ve all experienced it. You walk into a big-box store in September and think to yourself, “Christmas decorations already?” Every year, the holiday season seems to start earlier, for both brick-and-mortar stores and online retailers. In fact, the National Retail Federation (NRF) has reported that 40 percent of shoppers say they start buying holiday gifts…

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…

With Amazon Prime Day, the second such self-created “shopping holiday,” over for another year, it’s a good time to turn our attention to another big sales opportunity for retailers: Black Friday. Over the years, Black Friday has gained the reputation of a major in-store and online shopping bonanza that every retailer has to participate in…

Recently while I was in the mall, I saw the sign below in a storefront window. Marketers can drive revenue by making strong offers, either online or in this case at retail. I wouldn't consider this example to be a strong offer. Take a look. Can you tell me why? While the offer, “30% Off…

The results are in, and despite technical glitches, Amazon Prime Day proved even more successful for the company than last year, with worldwide orders rising 60 percent compared to 2015. Analysts estimated 1.5 million people signed up for Prime on July 12. Retailers knew Amazon.com would put its marketing weight behind its own manufactured holiday and…

Fanatics, an e-commerce licensed sports gear retailer, leveraged user-generated content (UGC) in its first-ever national advertising campaign. The “Love Never Loses” campaign debuted on Wednesday night on ESPN during the ESPY Awards and featured three 30-second commercials. The commercials feature videos submitted by real fans showing the different ways people show support for their favorite…

Wal-Mart is getting a jump on Amazon Prime Day. From July 11 through July 15, Wal-Mart is offering a five-day period of free shipping with a selection of discounts. Amazon's much-hyped Prime Day begins July 12. Wal-Mart emphasized that its offer of free shipping with no minimum purchase is open to everyone, and it's for five…

Black Friday is coming five months early for some retailers. Stores including Target, Sears and Banana Republic are offering deals around the same time as Amazon.com’s Prime Day sale, which occurs tomorrow. Competing retailers are betting that customers in the mood to shop — and maybe do some online price comparison — will head to more than just Amazon. Total Retail's…