MARKETING/SOCIAL MEDIA

  • Report: Facebook caters to hungry members

    There’s a new Facebook icon that users are sure to “like:” a food ordering service.   Rolling out to select users, Facebook’s new “Order Food” option can be found on its navigation menu — both online and mobile app. The service aggregates all supported restaurants together on one page, making it easier for Facebook users to place orders with their favorite restaurants, according to TechCrunch.  

  • Graduation spending to hit record high

    Some good news for retailers: Consumers plan to spend more than ever on graduation gifts this year as they stuff greeting cards with gift cards and cash.   That’s according to the annual survey by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. With more consumers buying for graduates this year – 36% compared with 34% in 2016 – total spending is expected to reach $5.6 billion. That’s the highest number in the survey’s 11-year history, topping last year’s previous record of $5.4 billion.

  • Study: Email subscribers on the rise, post-engagement lags
    New subscribers are bolstering marketers’ subscription bases by leaps and bounds, yet click rates continue to decline.   New subscribers make up an average of 6% of marketers' subscriber bases. This is an 8% increase year-over-year (YoY), and 30% jump over the last three years, according to “Q1 2017 Email Marketing Compass: The New Age of Email Marketing,” a report from Yes Lifecycle Marketing.   

  • Report: Snapchat ads use augmented reality
    Snapchat’s newest filters are moving beyond the selfie.   The company is rolling out a new augmented reality ad division that lets users overlay marketers’ life-like filters on any photo they snap with their smartphone, according to ReCode.   Warner Brothers is the unit’s first advertiser, tying the lenses to promote its new movie, “Everything, Everything.” Dunkin Donuts and Netflix are next in line to launch the service, the report said.  

  • Beloved movie gets sequel treatment — with help from this retailer

    The countdown is on to the highly-anticipated U.S. debut of a sequel to the popular holiday-themed movie “Love Actually.” 

  • Study: Gen Z digital, decisive and drone-ready
    More than any generation before it, Gen Z has high expectations related to customer service and engagement across emerging channels.   That’s according to a new report by American Express, “Raising the Bar: How Gen Z Expectations Are Reshaping Brand Experiences.” The study, conducted by Forrester Research, surveyed 1,027 North American Gen Y (ages 23 to 37) and Gen Z consumers (ages 16 to 22).   

  • Lilly Pulitzer, Vera Bradley make online gift giving easier, more personal
    Two specialty retailers are hoping to get more customers on board with e-gifting.    Lily Pulitzer and Vera Bradley have joined Loop Commerce’s e-gifting service and platform, GiftNow.   

  • The top retail and apparel ‘conversation starters’ are…
    When shoppers talk about brands, they usually do it offline.   That’s according to a study by Engagement Labs that measured the performance of 60 brands with respect to social media and word of mouth conversations. Amazon came out on top in the retail and apparel category, followed by Nike and Nordstrom.   

  • Amazon to build homeless facility — at its new headquarters

  • Digital ads most effective when they include…
    Shoppers may notice digital ads, but they are not necessarily clicking on, or responding to, them.   That’s according to a new study by Valassis, “Motivating the Dynamic Shopper: Purchase Decisions In-Progress,” which analyzes how digital ads best engage and then motivate customers to take action. Three groups were studied; parents, millennials and Gen X.   
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