Welcome to The Week in Commerce Marketing — Retail, E-commerce and DTC, a weekly roundup for marketers from Quad Insights.

PetSmart launches holiday streaming experience for pets left at home for the holidays

PetSmart just released a holiday streaming experience designed specifically for, yes, cats and dogs. Inspired by a new PetSmart survey conducted by Big Village revealing that 69% of pet owners feel guilty leaving their pets home alone while out shopping or going to holiday celebrations, PetSmart has launched its “Home for the Pawlidays” video series designed to “ease pet and pet parent worry, and end the holiday pet blues,” per a brand announcement. With one for cats and one for dogs, “Home for the Pawlidays” features pets in holiday attire playing with toys and unwrapping gifts from PetSmart’s Merry & Bright collection; each video has a run time of just over 2 hours.

Previously: “PetSmart opens applications for second annual Chief Toy Testers,” from the May 17 edition of this column.

More brand activations:

Quote of the week:

Nostalgia “is most interesting and effective, obviously, when it’s tapping into something real and true about the brand and its history, not just latching on to a trend for the sake of it. If you need to write an essay explaining the connection to your business and your brand, it’s probably not a good sign.”

—Eric Tsytsylin, Brand Strategy Partner, Lippincott, in an interview with Marketing Dive’s Chris Kelly for a post titled “Nostalgia-washing: How brands can look back without getting hung up to dry”

Dick’s Sporting Goods launches second holiday ad with NFL athlete Xavier Worthy

Dick’s Sporting Goods just launched a fresh iteration of its continuing “Holiday Shopping Spring” campaign starring famously fast Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy. In “Holiday Shopping Sprint with Xavier Worthy,” the NFL star rapidly shops for and hand-delivers holiday gifts to winners of a Dick’s promotion, including a mother and her 8-year-old son, as well as the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kansas City. Dick’s uses the new spot to hype its “fast and convenient delivery options,” including free delivery for loyalty members, same-day delivery and guaranteed holiday delivery.

Previously:

More retailer campaigns and promotions:

Netflix announces partnership with Mastercard to enable more in-person activations

As it moves toward more in-person experiences, Netflix is teaming up with Mastercard, making it the preferred payments provider for such activations, Marketing Dive’s Peter Adams reports. The partnership encompasses Netflix House venues, Netflix Bites at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Hotel & Casino and an upcoming Broadway show based on the Netflix series “Stranger Things,” Adams notes.

Previously:

More notable partnerships:

Stat of the week: +200% 

Lord & Taylor prepares to relaunch as a luxury e-commerce platform

Regal Brands Global has announced plans to relaunch longtime department store chain Lord & Taylor — which shuttered all of its brick-and-mortar stores in 2020 — as “a discount luxury e-commerce platform” next year, Retail TouchPoints’ Adam Blair reports. In addition to featuring Lord & Taylor products, the site will sell goods from licensees across a range of categories from womenswear to leather goods. Regal’s online-centric approach will be complemented by partnerships with luxury retailers, such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom, to sell Lord & Taylor products in-store, Blair notes.

More retail and e-commerce news: