New York—If one thing is certain this holiday sales season, it is the increasing importance of Internet sales. According to Shop.org’s eHoliday survey, conducted by BigResearch, nearly 70% of retailers expect their online holiday sales to increase at least 15% compared to last year. The National Retail Federation (NRF) found …
Latest Holiday Survey: Down Economy? “Bah Humbug!”
New York—Despite a drop in consumer confidence, rising prices across retail, and worries about a double dip recession, holiday shoppers aren’t going to play Scrooge like they did at the height of the Great Recession in 2009. Instead, they plan to put aside those worries and still spend more than …
NRF Launches Job Advocacy Campaign for Retail
Washington–With the 2012 election season fast approaching on the horizon, the National Retail Federation (NRF) today launched a major year-long advocacy campaign to advance a Jobs, Innovation, and Consumer Value Agenda on behalf of America’s retail industry and the $2.48 trillion in GDP and 41.6 million American jobs it supports. …
Stein Mart’s “Real Life” Shoppers Ad Campaign Begins
Jacksonville, FL—In its new national ad campaign, Stein Mart is using a new face for its brand image—or rather faces of real life customers to depict the passion the off price retailer says its consumers have for the brand. Created in partnership with its ad agency, ArnoldNYC, the “Love at …
E-Tailing Report Shows Further E-Commerce Investments
Chicago–E-commerce is growing, and as a result, merchants will be investing “significantly more” in 2011 compared to 2010, according to the e-tailing group’s 10th Annual Merchant Survey. While the full report is available for purchase, a summary reveals the following: 90% of merchants anticipate Internet revenues will increase over last …
Walmart to Buy Social Media Company Kosmix
Bentonville, AR–Walmart has agreed to buy Kosmix, a social media start-up focused on e-commerce, as it looks for new ways to tap into customers via social networking sites and smartphones. “We are expanding our capabilities in today’s rapidly growing social commerce environment,” said Eduardo Castro-Wright, Walmart’s vice chairman. “Social networking …
A Generation Gap?
While accessories benefitted from a return to discretionary spending, Marshal Cohen of The NPD Group, Inc. cautions that future growth requires marketing to an entirely new consumer. Jeff Prine dissects the numbers You could almost hear a gasp of relief as fourth quarter sales tallies came in from the U.S. …
Nearly 83% of Sites Surveyed Engage in ‘F-Commerce’
Chicago—Try to keep up…there’s yet another term for our growing vernacular: F-Commerce (F as in Facebook, although it also includes Twitter and YouTube). The e-tailing group’s 13th annual Mystery Shopping Study shows that more and more sites are going beyond the website and engaging consumers via social media and mobile …
Coach Tops 2010 Luxury Digital IQ Index
New York — Coach, Ralph Lauren, Louis Vuitton and Burberry are among the luxury goods brands to make the top 10 in the second annual ranking of Digital IQ Index published by LuxuryLab. The Digital IQ Index scores 79 luxury brands in 11 categories including fashion, beauty and skincare, watches, …
Social Networks Spice Up E-Commerce
The development of e-commerce is expected to result in a seismic shift in the retail of fashion products, with latest research suggesting that a multi-channel approach to fashion brings maximum returns. The popularity of social networking among today’s youth is likely to secure the continued growth of e-commerce. too. According …
Sunglass Hut to Hire Full-Time Fabulous Blogger
New York–Sunglass Hut is about to make one writer’s dream come true. Recognizing the value of social media, and acknowledging the fact that bloggers often get front-row fashion seats and access to the most fabulous parties, Sunglass Hut is joining the game. The specialty retailer of designer sunwear just held …
How I Did It! Izzi Bag
Tweeting her way to success. Anne Agoren, owner of UK-based Izzi Bag, shows how to build a brand over Twitter. Here’s a story a little bird told us: Out of the 17 million users on Twitter, 250,000 were nominated for the Shorty Awards—an international “Oscars” for those who live their …
10 Minutes with… Steve Madden
Steve Madden–the man and the brand–have had quite a journey these past two decades. Celebrating 20 years in business, Steve Madden Ltd. has gone from a humble shoe manufacturer to retailer to licensor to partner with some hefty celebrity names (Mary-Kate and Ashley! Madonna!) and hot accessories companies (Big Buddha!). …
Tobe Report: Online Strategies to Drive Retail Sales Growth
New York–Retailers are employing new and innovative online business initiatives as a way to drive sales growth, according to Tobe Report’s Spring State of Retail Report. After a comprehensive survey of the technological advancements affecting online retail, Tobe unveiled this week 10 key strategic initiatives that will immediately drive sales …
Retail Report: Dealing with Bad Buzz
New York—While social media is a fun and relatively inexpensive way for retailers to connect with consumers, it also opens the door to bad buzz—negative comments that must be dealt with. “Bad buzz is a hazard that continues to test a retailer’s abilities to market in the fragmented, real-time environments …
Social Media vs Google
Where do shoppers get their information? A new WSL Strategic Retail How America Shops The PULSE of Shopping Life–which is the benchmark report on the impact of social media on shopping–reveals that while the use of social media is growing, only 16% of shoppers consult social media vs. fully 60% …
10 Minutes with… Nine West
Nine West’s creative director, Fred Allard, sees the ‘new retail economy’ and changing consumer attitudes as a positive—especially for accessories. Definitely. When I began my first season a little more than three years ago, I found our design team was very happy to approach fashion in a new way. I’ve …