White Elephant parties, a gamified gift exchange often featuring unconventional items, are more than a niche tradition: 36 million Americans are expected to participate in these gift exchanges this holiday season, which could account for up to $22 billion in associated gift sales, according to zulily. With an appropriate marketing and pricing strategy, almost any retailer can generate sales from the concept. “I think there’s room for everyone to get in on this trend,” said Naama Bloom, VP of Brand Marketing at zulily in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “You don’t have to sell quirky products to have great products for a White Elephant.” The ever-changing nature of zulily’s product selection makes the site a natural destination for White Elephant gifts and inspiration, and Bloom offered tips to help retailers capture their share of this booming market: Know your audience: Potential White Elephant gifts should appeal to a retailer’s existing shopper base rather than chase outside trends; Price appropriately: Most gift exchanges involve inexpensive gifts, so advertise accordingly; and Inspire creativity: Whether they want something quirky, clever or practical, shoppers want to bring gifts that stand out. It’s All About Showing Off The Goods For the unfamiliar, a White Elephant…

Branding itself as a highly curated fashion marketplace for the style-obsessed shopper, e-Commerce retailer Bluefly hosts more than 3,000 luxury brands across three online stores: B. luxe, B. Timeless and B. trendy. With a fast-growing product arsenal — adding an average of 150 new items to its site per week — the Bluefly team felt it had yet to capitalize on a major opportunity: identifying shoppers and building a personal connection with them. Luxury sites such as Bluefly typically attract many visitors who don’t make a purchase. But the retailer wanted to ensure that it would engage with shoppers before they left the site. Bluefly implemented shopper activation and cart abandonment programs from 4Cite to capture email addresses of shoppers even if they hadn’t made a purchase. Within five months of implementing the targeted email platform, Bluefly had: Increased visitor identification 50%; Increased email collection 41%; and Boosted email revenue 11%.

The role of influencers in retail is shifting, with companies such as Macy’s starting to use their own employees rather than relying on outside players. However, professional influencers are still a valuable part of any retailer’s marketing toolbox, according to the speakers at Activate’s Collab/18 influencer marketing summit. The importance of celebrity ambassadors may be waning, but smaller influencers are valuable partners. “I think that there is a small group of people that’s getting all the brand deals, and that’s all people see on their feed, so how as a consumer can you keep up and understand what they’re supposed to follow?” said Christine Ngo Isaac, Marketing Director and Head of U.S. Consumer at Möet & Chandon. “I think that’s going to change; brands are feeling fatigue with the top, top, top influencers. It will never go away, but the way we will engage with them will be different.” Successful influencer marketing campaigns are the result of discussion and research, not just paying to appear in a celebrity’s blog post. Some of the tips offered at the conference included: Make sure the influencer’s and the retailer’s brands are compatible; Create long-term partnerships; and Look for influencers who actively engage with…

Nike’s hiring of controversial quarterback-turned-activist Colin Kaepernick was a gamble, but it’s one that paid off handsomely. The company sold out 61% more merchandise in a 10-day period following the Kaepernick ad’s initial appearance, and the company got a 31% online sales bump. But if other brands want to emulate Nike’s success by embracing hot-button issues, they will need to carefully consider their own brand’s public profile before taking the plunge, according to branding expert Erich Joachimsthaler. “Nike is a very special brand, one that stands for this level of irreverence, as well as athleticism, winning, authenticity and inspiration” said Joachimsthaler, CEO of global brand strategy firm Vivaldi. “Nike is fearless, and taking a stand has become part of their DNA.”