OfficeMax brings back the holiday magic

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

The video is me dressed as an elf doing some pretty awesome break dances. I have OfficeMax to thank for that. 'Tis the season for the retailer's infamous free holiday e-greeting, ElfYourself.com, so let the ridiculousness begin!

Powered by JibJab Media, ElfYourself.com allows consumers to create free personalized holiday e-cards by uploading their photos and transforming themselves, family and friends into dancing elves. Users can then share their holiday e-cards via e-mail or using new capabilities that enable them to post their creations to Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites.

Whether you want your friends or family to be center stage of a hip-hop video or a country hoedown, OfficeMax gives you that chance this holiday season. And it's certainly giving people something to talk about too. A very smart move all around.

Ordering in the new world

I haven’t ordered from Pizza Hut in years and now I suddenly can’t get it off my mind. After the company announced earlier this week that it raked in more than $1 million in sales, in just three months, from its Pizza Hut app for the iPhone and iPod, my curiosity has inevitably peaked. What makes the app so special?

Not only is Pizza Hut the first national pizza chain to introduce an ordering app for the iPhone and iPod touch, it's one of the most engaging and uniquely entertaining apps out there.

When ordering pizzas, users can virtually build their own pizza by choosing a type of crust in the scroll wheel, "pinch" select the size they want, and drag-and-drop toppings onto the pizza, all with visual confirmation. If an overeager pizza customer adds too many toppings, the pizza explodes and toppings go flying across the screen with an alert to make their pizza happier with fewer toppings. How fun does that sound?

Meanwhile, the section used to order WingStreet wings starts with a bowl of wings that changes as users choose the type of wings they want. Next they select a sauce and are prompted to "sauce their wings" by shaking their iPhone or iPod touch until the wings are covered. Shake too long and the sauce flies across the screen. As with the pizza ordering, customers finish with a representation of the ir order.

Pizza Hut also has given customers a way to pass the time as they wait for their order with a game called Pizza Hut Racer, in which users are challenged to deliver a pizza quickly while avoiding obstacles in the road. And finally, each time a user orders using the app they get 20% off their entire order.

All that said, it looks like Domino's has lots of strategizing to do ...

I always knew you'd be famous one day

American Eagle Outfitters is offering shoppers at its soon-to-open Times Square flagship a chance to see their face in bright lights.

After making a purchase, customers will be invited to pose in a mini photo studio for an experience the company is calling “15 Seconds of Fame.” Moments after, the customer’s photo will be projected onto 15,000 sq. ft. of LCD screens (25-stories high) outside the store for all of Times Square to see.

Customers can also write a quick message with their name and hometown to accompany their image. Since there is no minimum purchase and shoppers can participate as many times they want, I expect this will be a big hit, especially among younger shoppers.

I can just see their excited Facebook statuses now …

(Image via Associated Press)

Let's air a point-of-sale frustration

I understand that Express wants to keep track of its customers by asking for an e-mail address at the register, but let me tell you how frustrating it is to type into a keyboard without seeing a computer screen in front of me. Why is only a keyboard provided? I'm pretty sure I must mess up my e-mail address every time.

That said, the company must be limiting the growth of its e-mail database due to these inevitable typos. If Express wants to save on computer screens, wouldn't it be just as easy to tell the cashier your e-mail address? Just saying ...

Macy's gets ahead of the game (but that's O.K.)

O.K., so this might not have to do with Gen Y, but it does have to do with retail -- and as a Philadelphia-area native, it makes me very happy. (Though, I'm sure it angers a lot of my New York-based workers).

Macy's on Monday ran a pre-mature ad congratulating the Phillies on winning back-to-back championships. Click here for the full story.

Powell's Books adds the personal touch

It seems like there are a bunch of bookseller updates these days, doesn't it? Next up: Powell’s Books.

The legendary Portland, Ore.-based retailer is gearing up to reach customers this holiday season with a targeted e-mail marketing campaign that delivers book recommendations to customers based on their preferences.

The company, which operates four general bookstores, two specialty stores and an e-commerce site, has been its testing e-mail marketing strategy throughout the year and has since seen an increase in online sales. In fact, its open-rate results are more than 70%.

The move to personalize the content of its e-mails comes as Powell's is expanding the reach of its e-mails and online marketing efforts with social media. It's done a lot to engage customers online -- and its strategies are worth a closer look. To find out more on what the company is doing, click here to read the Chain Store Age exclusive.

Click me!

Buy now, get 50% off later

The Paradies Shops, an Atlanta-based bookseller that operates more than 500 stores in over 70 airports and hotels across the U.S. and Canada, is well known for its Read & Return Book Program. First introduced in 2003, the program allows travelers to buy a book and then return it within six months to receive 50% of the purchase price back. Books that are returned in good condition are then resold at half price, and those that aren't are donated to a local charity.

Curious about how the program is doing during a time where many cash-strapped shoppers are looking for ways to save, I checked in with Bobbi Passavanti, managing director of marketing and communications for The Paradies Shops -- and her answer was surprising:

"The program remains as strong as ever, but we actually don't measure the results," Passavanti told me. "Our book business has steadily increased about 20% over the years, but we're not as focused on the Read & Return program's numbers -- we just know it's successful by seeing how many loyal returning customers it brings in."

It's hard to believe that the company doesn't officially monitor the program's results, but even still, it's obvious it's working for them. "It's really grown over the past few years, mostly through word-of-mouth marketing," she said.

Passavanti said the program is especially popular among airport workers and flight crews, who have frequent access to its stores across the country. And when a customer purchases a book, the cashier either staples or tapes the receipt inside, along with a bookmark that lists all its locations.

How's that for smart marketing? Shoppers start thinking about when they can make a second trip to one of the company's stores even before they leave the one they're in.