Content about Information

MINNEAPOLIS — Digital coupons are increasingly being used as a marketing tool for major brands, as evidenced by the rise in such offers between 2011 and 2012.

Accoding to Kantar Media, digital couponing events across key websites increased by 46.1% in 2012 compared with 2011, and 805 manufacturers distributed digital coupon offers on these key websites during 2012, an increase of 18.9% as compared with the same period in 2011.  

NEW YORK — Yomari and Predictix will join forces to deliver merchandising and analytics solutions to large and midsize retailers.

Yomari is a leading independent professional services company focused exclusively on analytics, business intelligence and data warehousing for the consumer value chain. Its customers include Dressbarn, Gander Mountain, Petco, REI and Williams-Sonoma.

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. — Peter Longo of Macy’s has been appointed to the GS1 U.S. board of governors, the information standards organization announced today. GS1 U.S. develops supply-chain standards, solutions and services for more than 200,000 businesses in 25 industries.

It seems like forever ago that Walmart stopped reporting monthly sales and providing regular guidance updates, which is why one comment by Walmart CFO Charles Holley stood out above all the others he made this week at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Consumer & Retail Conference.

WAYNE, N.J. — Toys"R"Us holiday plans mix technology, QR codes and retro ads that speak to the company’s heritage.

As part of its 2011 holiday advertising campaign, the chain will air a series of themed television commercials designed to showcase the company's toy expertise and its strengths as a specialty retailer. The commercials include two ads from its archives which celebrate the heritage of the brand. Another group of ads feature products exclusive to Toys“R”Us.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Two years of declining same-store sales at Walmart are poised to end next month when the retailer reports third quarter results that reflect positive momentum from a wide range of initiatives put in place during the past 12 months, judging from comments made by senior executives during an all day meeting with analysts on Wednesday.

The prospect of learning how RFID can improve supply chain performance and the bottom line is the focus of the fourth annual RFID Forum to be held Oct. 25 to 26 in Fayetteville, Ark. The event is a creation of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), the University of Arkansas RFID Research Centers and the Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Solutions (VICS) Association.

NEW YORK — Catalina Marketing is answering the call of online couponing with a new website that offers exclusive deals to users.

CouponNetwork.com offers registered users coupon savings in the following formats: printable coupons, exclusive deals known as YourBucks offers and digital coupons, which consumers directly can add to a savings card that is slated to launch in the near future.

Featured brands include such front-end products manufacturers as Kellogg's, Rubbermaid and more.

NEW YORK — The share of private-label brands and products will double to 50% by 2025, thanks to a continued emphasis made by retailers.

In a new report released by Rabobank's Food and Agribusiness Research division, author Sebastiaan Schreijen noted that national brands and smaller, secondary brands (referred to as "A" and "B" brands, respectively) will prompt an intense price competition and therefore will cause the private-label market to become chock-full of higher-quality "B"-brand products at lower prices.

Connecting Northwest Arkansas earlier this month published the results of a survey of Walmart suppliers that revealed some interesting insights and this week spawned a few inaccurate headlines from various news organizations. The most notable was a headline on a Bloomberg story, which said Walmart suppliers lacked confidence in company CEO Mike Duke and that senior managers were explaining the company’s strategy. That’s a powerful statement and would be quite an indictment of the company’s chief executive and senior leadership team, if it were true.