Q&As

It’s a promising start. Market Street grocery chain has launched its first loyalty program that will help shoppers with gas, free products and other purchases. Shoppers began signing up for the free Smart Rewards program on June 22 at any of six locations spread around the Dallas-Fort Worth area to start earning points that can be redeemed for the rewards.

Consumers use smartphones to supplement, not supplant, other devices for shopping, and marketers’ use of mobile-enabled campaigns is lagging consumer adoption of the devices, according to a survey from Google and the Mobile Marketing Association.

Hostess is using a sweepstakes and the game of baseball to draw attention to some of its bakery items.

Online consumer goods purchases—particularly among millennials and high-end shoppers—are on the rise. There is a sense of urgency for consumer packaged goods companies to place a strategic priority and to shift their sales and marketing strategies to address this eCommerce tipping point or risk losing both share and relevance. In fact, ecommerce is the fastest growing channel for consumer packaged goods companies.

Welcome to Broker Roundtable, where each week we ask list brokers to give their opinions on issues that matter to the marketing community. This week’s question: With the housing market still in trouble, what are the prospects for mortgage/real estate lists?

Fashion apparently knows no economic slowdown. Jos. A. Bank Clothiers has been in expansion mode since 2000, when it maintained 100 stores. At last count, it had passed the 500-store mark, with plans calling for further growth.

The company isn’t pulling back on its direct marketing plans, either. According to John Lewis, director of database marketing, the apparel firm’s challenge is not only finding new customers, but investigating more efficient ways of keeping the customers it has.

Recent government reports provide a great deal of insight into the mobility of Americans. People move for many reasons, including a new job, a change in marital status or family size, or a change in economic status.

The data analytics engine Watson may have beat Jeopardy champions Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter in February, but the real winner was IBM.

There’s a world of difference between using a mobile device to beam messages at a target, and using it to initiate dialog. When Volkswagen chose to engage car enthusiasts, rather than simply expose them to its messages, interest in a new model rose dramatically…

Tecate, is now the largest beer brand to sponsor boxing matches in the U.S. and this summer it is ramping up that partnership with a Facebook promotion.