Retailers like from CVS to Barneys, and fashion house Marcelo Burlon to online diamond retailer Blue Nile, are going for one-to-one marketing with digital efforts, giving shoppers different experiences on retailers' web sites. They are also doing highly customized e-mails, coupons and special offers.

U.S. auto sales rose for the 13th-straight month in March as the industry rode improving weather and strong truck sales to a slim advance despite declines by some major players. But the 0.5% increase was the smallest since monthly sales last fell, in February 2014. Among the biggest automakers, only Fiat Chrysler, Toyota Motor Sales and Hyundai-Kia posted gains.

For its first two weeks in stores, merely trying on an Apple Watch will require an appointment, Apple revealed Tuesday. And even customers who book appointments won't be able to take home the device that day - like online buyers, they'll need to wait until April 24, the company told "The Chronicle." Forcing in-store customers to take part in fittings - almost as if the wearable were a wedding dress or bespoke suit - is a new sales technique for the Cupertino tech giant.

One of the UK's biggest advertisers, Procter & Gamble, has become the first brand to be formally recognized for complying with good practice when using online data to target ads at people. The EDAA Trust Seal for best practice in online behavioral advertising, issued to P&G this week by the ABC, confirms that a company complies with industry set criteria for dealing with data, technology and online ad delivery techniques.

Honda's big news at the New York Auto Show was that it would launch an all-new version of its long-popular Civic model later this year, with its American design and engineering team taking the lead in the project. Honda also confirmed widespread rumors that it would introduce the European-made Civic Type-R, a five-door "hot hatchback." Only a few months ago Honda had indicated it was not coming to the American market.

Procter & Gamble is selling its Vicks VapoSteam U.S. liquid inhalant business to Helen of Troy as the Cincinnati-based consumer products continues to shed non-core businesses. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the business unit commands about $10 million in annual sales, Helen of Troy said Monday. The Vicks deal represents P&G's first health-related divestiture under the brand reductions.

Before toy stores were stocked with pet plants, virtual pets and pillow pets, an advertising copywriter called Gary Ross Dahl was dreaming up the Pet Rock, a 1970s novelty toy craze since called a "ridiculously successful marketing scheme." It was meant as a joke - a "pet" for people who didn't want to care for one. But it hit the market at the right time. The Vietnam War had ended. Watergate was beginning. "There was a whole lot of bad news going on," he told the Houston Chronicle in 1999.

Toyota's youth-oriented sub-brand, Scion continued its renaissance at the New York Auto Show with the introduction of its latest alphabet cars: the iA and iM. After suggesting the "i" in both vehicles stood for individual and intriguing, Scion began differentiating the pair by suggesting the "A" in iA could mean "aggressive" styling, "accommodating" cabin and trunk, and "affordable." The brand needs add punch to its line-up to bolster sales. The new iA is affordable as entry-level sports cars go starting in the $16,000 range.

MillerCoors has scrapped a planned campaign for Coors Light because ads did not go over well with distributors. Instead the brewer is working on a new effort in hopes that it will be ready by June in time for the important summer drinking season. The stakes are high because Coors Light is the brewer's largest brand and the so-called Silver Bullet has been stuck in a sales slump.

One restaurant owner, who did not identify himself or his business, said he avoids having to serve gay people by lying about kitchen problems. At the other end of the spectrum, Josh Driver, a native of Valparaiso, Ind., created a campaign called "Open for Service." Its robin-egg-blue stickers began popping up across the capital city of Indianapolis, whose Republican mayor had raised concerns about the effect of the law on business and tourism in the city.