Gap

No more fiberboard. No more steel shelves or warehouse design. The Old Navy chain of budget-yet-spunky clothing stores is abandoning its old surplus feel and going with a new look.

The Gap has just launched a new site called Say Your Price, where shoppers can make their best offers on new women's apparel. If the Gap agrees to an offer, customers can print out a coupon and go get the item at a steep discount at their closest Gap store. 

Gap plans to open stores in Serbia and Ukraine later this year, as its continues to expand its international operations. The chain said it's signed new deals with existing franchise partners that will put Gap stores in Belgrade and Kiev.

A Gap executive at the Mobile Shopping Summit said that the mobile phone is an ideal canvas to engage consumers. For that reason, the company will have a more aggressive budget allocated to the medium next year.

Visa has unveiled a new mobile service for retailers that brings the credit card giant head-to-head with mobile deals players such as Foursquare, Groupon and now eBay. Visa has tested a pilot with the Gap, where the retailer's customers can sign up to receive text-message offers based on spending habits or when or where they swipe their Visa.

It may be an exaggeration that the Gap has had no outstanding marketing since the 1990s. The company has been struggling for years to figure out how to attract younger consumers as well as win back those who have stopped shopping there.

Consumers spent more on retail goods in the first quarter than they did during the same time last year. That's despite higher gas prices, bad weather and a late Easter holiday.

The cross-channel retail industry is at a crossroads. For starters, due to the economic downturn, the past couple of years have been difficult for the retail sector. But that's changing. Retailers are starting to see signs of life and are breathing a sigh of relief. At press time, for example, it was announced that February retail sales increased 0.6 percent over January and 4.2 percent year-over-year, according to the National Retail Federation.

Gap has opened an online store on China's biggest e-commerce platform Taobao, in an effort to lure savvy Chinese shoppers outside wealthy cities. Gap opened its store on Taobao Mall, alongside the likes of Adidas, Levi Strauss & Co and Japan's Uniqlo.

The more active a brand is on Facebook, the better chance consumers will "Like" it. This was the key finding from a recent study on retailers' growth on Facebook and Twitter conducted by marketing agency Media Logic. However, a follow-up study released this month shows that the majority of brands on Facebook saw their growth on the social media site lose steam as the holiday season came and went.