Shopper Culture

Black Friday = Check-in Friday

Black Friday deals showcased several retailers partnering with check-in services (e.g., Foursquare, Gowalla, Facebook Places) to drive in-store traffic by offering exclusive deals to shoppers who checked-in:

• Toys R Us offered a 15% discount for purchases over $150 to the first 3,000 shoppers who checked-in on Facebook Places, Foursquare, and Yelp;
• RadioShack offered a number of discounts for checking in on Foursquare – shoppers received 10% off when checking in, 15% if they're the mayor and 20% for unlocking the "Holiday Hero" Badge;
• Shoppers who checked in at The Gap received 30% off any item;
• 0:00 /1:34Plotting your Black Friday strategySports Authority randomly selected 20 users who checked-in to Foursquare and posted their check-in to Twitter between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm EST to receive a $500 dollar gift card;
• Shoppers who checked in at H&M on one of the mobile apps received 20% off purchases;
• And JCPenney offered $10 dollars off purchases of $50 dollars or more to checked-in shoppers

Retailers also promoted cause-related programs by making charitable donations based on customer check-ins using Facebook Places at their stores.

• Old Navy pledged 100 minutes of free phone calls for overseas troops to call home once 5,000 people checked-in to the retailer;
• North Face donated a dollar to the National Park Foundation for every check-in;
• And, REI pledged to donate up to $100,000 to various non-profits supporting local conservation efforts based on the number of shopper check-ins. 

The social and digital media site Mashable published an article detailing which retailers received the most check-ins based on initial data from retailers, Foursquare, Facebook Places and Gowalla. Target and Walmart were the frontrunners of the Black Friday check-ins.  

Cups of Hope

Dannon Company, Inc., has partnered with the National Breast Cancer Foundation on a program called "Cups of Hope" during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Lids of certain yogurt products have codes, which are entered online at cupsofhope.com. Dannon pledges to donate 10¢ for each code entered up to $1.5 million. 

For more than 10 years, other manufacturers have conducted similar programs, but have required consumers to mail in lids or UPCs. I've purchased these products with the intent of sending in the lids/UPCs but, being a busy mom, I've never quite made it to the post office. Dannon has streamlined participation. After opening my yogurt cup, I immediately went online, entered my code and felt good about purchasing a product that made it simple to help a good cause. 

It makes me wonder if embracing technology as a means of collection will entice more consumers to participate and, in turn, capture more shoppers in the grocery aisle. Recent research has shown that Moms and Millennials, in particular, are interested in purchasing products that support a cause, and we all know Moms and Millennials embrace technology. 

Despite being a "me too" program in terms of cause and amount donated, Dannon Cups of Hope makes consumer participation easier, and will likely make Dannon top-of-mind when yogurt is added to shopping lists. 

 

 -Submitted by Amanda Parks

Campbell's & Stickybits

Getting consumers to interact with your product in the store is quite an accomplishment. But getting a consumer to drive to the store, search the aisle for your product, download an application, scan the barcode, and take a picture of the new product label is an even greater accomplishment.

Campbell's is the first CPG company to use Stickybits as a sweepstakes component. Campbell's was looking for a way to get consumers to discover their new soup labels. By using Stickybits, an application that allows consumers to attach information and pictures to barcodes, Campbell's gives consumers a way to interact with their new product labels. 

This promotion generates a lot of interesting questions.

Will consumers jump through hoops for a chance to win a $500 prize?

Will the publicity of Campbell's being first to use Stickybits, an emerging technology, drive consumer interest?

Are consumers more willing to engage with a brand if it's on a social level with their friends and peers?

This sweepstakes clearly gets the consumer to interact with the product and helps get the word out about Campbell's various new product labels. And most shopper studies show that if you can get the customer to interact with your product, he or she will be more likely to buy it.

It will be interesting to see some data on how well this sweepstakes was received. 

- Contributed by Leslie Young

TarGilt? Target + Gilt Groupe Team Up To Launch The Mass Retailer’s Latest Designer Lines

Last Friday, Target premiered its latest designer collaboration lines with John Derian (home goods), Tucker (apparel), and Mulberry (handbags)—but not in-store nor on Target.com. The brands launched on Gilt Groupe, a high-end members-only designer flash sales web site. The 36-hour sale opened on Friday, August 20, allowing members to shop the collections before they hit stores. The sale was promoted on banners in Gilt Groupe emails for the week leading up to the sale and Target sent an email to shoppers via its Style blog the week before to build excitement and educate Target shoppers about Gilt. Shopping on Gilt is only open to members. Signing up is free but is only available by request or through an invitation from another Gilt member, ensuring that the discounted items remain exclusive.

What if Target shoppers weren’t already Gilt members? Target enabled shoppers to sign up for a Gilt Groupe membership via the Target Style blog, and those who signed up via the blog received an automatic $10 credit on Gilt.  This was a savvy partnership for both brands. With Target’s most recent designer collaborations, Cynthia Vincent shoes and Zac Posen apparel, items sold out on Target.com the day that they premiered. Gilt Groupe’s regarded reputation for bringing in high-end brands and distributing them at clearance-sale prices while maintaining an exclusive brand image will only strengthen Target’s growing reputation as a place where style meets value.

How successful was the sale? Looks like shoppers loved the Target items and prices on Gilt. The Mulberry handbags sold out within ten minutes of going on sale. I now anticipate seeing if and how the partnership can work for in-store promotions that will drive shoppers back online.

Foursquare: The New Mobile Shopper Promotional Tool Of Choice

Who doesn't love a bargain these days? For those shopping on a budget, Ann Taylor has recently changed what it means to earn a discount by launching a Foursquare campaign for customers within the New York City area. Shoppers who check into one of eight stores in New York will receive 15% off, while holding a mayorship will get you a whopping 25% off. New York is currently designated a trial for the promotion, of which the company hopes to expand nationwide across all Ann Taylor stores.

While the idea of using FourSquare for a shopper promotion still feels somewhat novel, Ann Taylor is not the first retailer to use this type of promotion to drive sales and store traffic. Other retailers that have tested a similar campaign include Jimmy Choo, Sephora, Diesel and Cynthia Rowley, and Oscar de la Renta.

That said, are we reaching a tipping point for mobile promotions? Considering the growth of digital savvy consumers within the marketplace (Nielsen estimates for 2011 see SmartPhones representing over 50% of mobile market), the trend of these mobile promotions will continue to grow as consumers demand more interactive and quick discount options.  

 

And not only will these promotions drive consumer engagement between the digital savvy and retailers, they more than likely will increase redemption rates by eliminating the “clipping” of traditional coupons. Retailers brave enough to test these promotions may reap the benefits of gaining brand ambassadors, and in turn, a more loyal consumer base. 

However, looking toward the longer term begs the questions, "How can we take these promotion beyond discounts?" "Are we simply training a new generation of shoppers to always wait for discounts?"  And, "Can we use this technology to create stronger 1:1 relationships which have benefits beyond pure monetary value?" 

-Contributed by Kelly Moriarty

Do you have an email account just for shopping?

When I shop at my favorite stores and they ask me for my e-mail address, I give it to them. Mainly so I’ll know when sales events are or to receive discounts and coupons. I actually prefer the promotional e-mail delivery method versus waiting for sales flyers in newspapers, mail announcements, searching online or even iPhone apps.

Apparently, I’m not the only one.

In a recent study by Experian (The 2010 digital marketer: Benchmark and trend report), 53% of online adults say they are either very likely or likely to open an e-mail that contains promotions or coupons. Experian goes on to say that in 2009, e-mails promoting in-store visits increased by 50% over 2008.

 
This made me laugh because here in the office, a few of us received an e-mail alert that a nearby retailer was having a 50% off everything sale for one day only. News spread across the office, and lots of us are now strutting around in new threads. Clearly, it works. And part of the reason why it works, I believe, is because promotional e-mails become a social conversation topic.

As I think about that idea, I analyzed my own email and coupon behavior. When I signed up for this retailer’s email list, I used my personal email account that contains all my personal interests: running, hiking, swimming, etc. This account is all about ME. Not mom. Not career woman. Not wife. (Okay, there is some mom and wife stuff in there, but not the vast majority.) Thus, when I go to this e-mail account, my interest level spikes for what I’ll find, and I’ll often share these sales/coupons with others who have similar passions.

What about you? Do you have an email account just for shopping?

Macy’s Social Shopping through CMR (not CRM)

 Macy’s launched a social shopping tool and contest called Fashion Director that allows shoppers to go to Macy’s Web site and create their own outfit based on a scenario of the day. Once they do, they can send it to their friends as well as post to Facebook and Twitter to ask for votes. Further, they can actually purchase the entire outfit, or any of the items they put together, all for a chance to win a $500 gift card to Macy’s.

After you submit your fashion masterpiece to the Web site, anyone can go in and vote for the outfit they like the best. Shoppers can enter daily and at end of the contest period, the entry with the overall most votes wins.

To create your outfit, you drag and drop items into an empty canvas by categories like shirts, bottoms, dresses, jackets, accessories, etc. This seemed like a fun, easy, contest so I entered.  I created my outfit and sent it to friends to ask them to vote. 

I’m a Macy’s shopper and I’m sold. This is a great interactive way for me to shop and see complete outfits put together without actually going to the store.  I plan to enter daily and after the contest is over, I imagine I will have used my Macy’s credit card to purchase something.

This is a perfect example of putting control into the shopper’s hands by focusing on customer-managed relationships (CMR) versus the usual customer relationship management (CRM).  It also allows shoppers a moment in their day to do, and be something they usually can’t be, a fashion director. After it’s all said and done, I’m very interested to see how this contest affects their online sales. 

Contributed by Jennine Friess

Retailer Cross-Marketing = Better Shopper Experience

Retailers across all channels have been striking alliances in recent years with businesses and government agencies to provide value-adds to their shoppers. Winn-Dixie, a Jacksonville-based supermarket chain, has been actively pursuing such a strategy the past two years as they seek to gain an edge in the competitive battle for supermarket shoppers. Today Winn-Dixie shoppers can buy Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida insurance cards, obtain re-loadable prepaid Visa cards, rent movies from Redbox kiosks, take their Winn-Dixie reward cards to buy gasoline at a discount from dozens of Shell stations and buy Jacksonville Transportation Authority bus passes at some locations.

Such retailer partnerships reinforce the importance of supermarkets seeking to differentiate themselves from their competition based upon the suite of products and services they offer their shoppers. Something as simple as a Redbox kiosk could be what sets a supermarket apart from the one across the street and what drives a shopper to come over to their side.

Tesco: The BOGOL?

Tesco recently held a two-week "Buy One Get One Free Later" (BOGOL) event in selected UK stores which allowed shoppers who bought participating items to claim their free item the following week, using a voucher they received at the register.

This event proves interesting for two reasons:

1) Tesco received feedback that while customers like BOGO deals, smaller households sometimes can't use the free product before its use-by date. Knowing this, Tesco provided a solution to those households dis-inclined to pantry-load and gave shoppers another reason to shop the solutions-oriented retailer. 

2) Tesco' "BOGOL" event wasn't solely shopper-insights driven. In fact, Tesco was in part responding to pressure from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which said in August that two-for-one deals were resulting in thousands of tons of food being thrown away. Defra threatened to introduce legislation to reduce waste if stores failed to act. 

In today's market, where shoppers demand customized offerings and time- & cost-saving solutions, retailers and brands must be both flexible and creative when exploring promotional programs. And in a world where environmental concerns continue to dominate headlines and headspace, retailers have both a responsibility and unique opportunity to explore programs and initiatives that satisfy both shoppers wallets and green sensitibilites.

- Contributed by Kristina Boyer

Image Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk

Above-The-Line Shopper Marketing

Crown Imports is looking for new ways to help boost their popular Corona brand. They're not going to abandon the long-standing beach campaign, but they are willing to try new things that align with the brand's equity. For example, Corona is taking a cue from big premium light beers by running a mega summer promotion. In addition, the promotion will be supported with national TV spots. A beer promotion during the summer months isn't big news; the big news is how they're using above-the-line advertising. 

Very rarely do the big beer brands put resources into developing TV spots to support retail promotions due to the price tag associated with TV production. Kudos to Corona for promoting their promotion! However, the biggest news lies in how the TV spots are directly driving shoppers to retail. From the 1/25/10 issue of Beer Business Daily, "One ad shows a couple on the beach, and the camera pulls back faster and faster through the jungle and back to the store where the beer was purchased." It's a huge win for a retail promotion to have promotional TV spots. But to actually depict a retail environment on TV in an effort to closely link the promotion to purchase? That's relatively unheard of. With the exception of Keystone Light, no other beer brand has shown the retail space in ATL executions. This overt link of ATL and retail promotion could arguably be viewed as a new genre; perhaps we could call it "ATL shopper marketing". 

It's great to see Corona branching out with a summer promotion, supporting it with promotional TV, and linking it closely to retail. I wonder if other brands will continue down a similar path and see the value in integrating all consumer and shopper touch points with a cohesive message. I'm sure they'll find that the sum is grater than the parts. 

--Contributed by Robyn Gelfand

Coupon Usage Continues To Increase

Coupons, always one of the more popular shopping aids, have become even more important in the second half of 2009, indicating the economic effect of the recession on shopping behavior. Use of mobile phones, while still relatively limited, has nonetheless increased over the course of the year potentially due the growing usage of smart-phone shopping and information-seeking applications. This is especially true with younger shoppers (18-24), 15% of whom report using mobile phones as shopping aids versus 5% for those aged 35 and over. For more shopper marketing trends click here to download the latest edition The Checkout. 

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Introducing The Checkout 2010 Launch: Issue 1.10

 

The first Checkout of 2010 picks up where 2009 left off, and shows that private-label brands are continuing to gain strength over name brands. Is this a temporary reaction to recent economic pressures -- or the new reality? What factors are shoppers considering when choosing between name brands or store brands that ultimately lead to their decision? 

This issue's In Focus: Name Brands, tightening budgets, lowered consumer sentiment, and an unsure economic future -- to remain competitive in this challenging shopping environment, we discuss a number of tactics name brands can use to remain relevant. 

Click here to download the new issue of The Checkout and read more.  

 

When Does Your Consumer Become a Shopper?

When does your consumer become a shopper, and is that time frame changing and beginning to blur? When is the best time to strike with your marketing message? Has that timing changed? Is your organization adjusting and adapting to the new Web dynamic world we are all living in?

These questions came to mind as I watched a video a colleague passed along from Ad Age about Vail Resort's marketing strategy and how it has changed in response to their target's change in behavior. Click here to view the video.

In a nutshell, Vail learned that the window for planning a ski vacation had shifted from six months in advance to a time-crunched two-three weeks. Vacationers were no longer planning at a leisurely pace. Instead, they were condensing their time frames. The time it took from the moment they thought of taking a ski vacation, planned and booked it, to the moment they actually showed up with their skis in hand ready to tackle the mountain has gotten much shorter. That shift from six months to three weeks is now a much quicker journey through the Shopper Continuum™ from Pre-tail™ to Retail to Post-tail™.

As a result, Vail pulled a vast majority of their branding budget (mainly big, glossy magazine ads) and reallocated it to a dynamic-messaging strategy where they could use social-media outlets to craft more timely and relevant messaging to would-be vacationers. Did they shift their strategy from targeting consumers to targeting shoppers? I would argue that they did. They identified the most opportune time to hit their target with the right message at the right time - when they are in a shopper mindset. A would-be vacationer's shopping environment is the Web; that is Vail's storefront. Vail has appropriately shifted their marketing gears to take advantage of this change in behavior.

Will it pay off? Time will tell, but I would bet my new pair of K2s that it will.

Target Holds "Great Save Event" to Compete With Costco and Sam's

For the next seven weeks (beginning January 1, 2010), Target will offer bulk items as seen in club stores Costco and Sam's - without the club membership fee.  All 1,740 Target stores will participate, offering bulk items such as paper towels, detergent, and other household necessities in its seasonal aisles.  

The move aligns nicely with Target's "Expect More. Pay Less." strategy, especially at a time when shoppers are motivated to purchase only necessary items.  By offering a club-like experience with a fun, trendy Target twist, the chain is likely to attract shoppers who feel justified in buying extra items they don't necessarily need because they'll save so much.  Will this "Great Save Event" be enough to serve as an additional trip-driver to Target, stealing share from club stores?

Target says it has no plans to offer year-round bulk bargains, and will use this year's event to determine if it will be repeated next year.  

Driving Traffic From One Holiday Shopping Location to Another Via Interactive Text

Hanging flat-screens and speakers were recently installed at a local mall's food court. During this holiday season, a “text in your song request, and get entered to win an XBox” promotion took advantage of this new entertainment technology. I decided to participate. I texted in my song request, and received a text reply stating “…Your song will play in less than 1 minute. Reply Xbox and enter for a chance to win an XBOX 360!” So I did. I then received another text stating that I was entered, the drawing date, and the url for the promotion background and rules.  Once my video started playing I received another text stating, “Your song is playing now! Reply bestbuy to get $30 Best Buy gift card offer w/Xbox 360 Elite purchase. Expires 12/31/09.” So I did, and received a promotional code to give a cashier.

 


This is an interesting promotion because, first, the goal was to drive people away from one shopping location (this mall) to another shopping location. (Best Buy was not located inside this mall.) Second, the location and interaction of the promotion was unique. Third, the promotion helped identify purchase intent for an XBox in a friendly way. I got to listen to my chosen music without ever having to enter the contest or replying that I was intending to buy an Xbox 360 by year’s end.

While text promotions provide the next chapter for CRM programs, I’m curious to watch how the face of CRM will evolve and change in this new digital age.