July 23, 2010
By the ZippyCart Ecommerce Software Reviews Content Team
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are still four months away, but consumers will have a chance over the next few days to take advantage of similar deals at retail locations and online. Retailers are working harder than ever this year to get shoppers to start spending, and this is best illustrated by the Christmas in July sales that started this week. Some retailers started their in-store and online promotions yesterday, but most decided to start their discounts and deals today. There are a number of retailers participating over the next few days, but some of the more publicized ones are Old Navy, Kmart, Sears, Toys R Us, and Target. Many of these retailers had strong in-store and online success last year with Christmas in July sales, so they’re hoping that this promotion technique will lure more recession-weary shoppers to make purchases. Although this will be the first year that Target will decide to participate, as they look to generate more sales prior to the 2010 holiday shopping season. Many consumers are excited about the chance to get early deals, so that they do not have to stress about doing most of their Christmas shopping around Cyber Monday and Black Friday. However some consumers are still content to enjoy the summer, and worry about shopping for Christmas in a couple months.
Old Navy will be offering their back to school discounts starting today, but those are only available in stores. They also have online sales with great coupon codes that can get you save 25% (MADABOUT25) or get free shipping on orders over $50 (BRFREE50). These Old Navy online coupons will only be good until July 25 2010, so consumers have to decide soon if they want to take advantage of the deals. Consumers will be able to temporarily get free shipping on all orders worth $39 or more at Sears or Kmart. Sears will also be playing Christmas music at 500 of their retail stores through July 25. Target will have a 24hr sale which starts at 3 a.m. Friday Eastern time, and it will not be advertised in Target stores. Toysrus.com is offer free shipping (up to $25 value) on all purchases over $49. It is still unclear if the Christmas in July sales will rival Black Friday or Cyber Monday, but retailers are obviously hunger for business and working to do whatever it takes to attract more shoppers.
Scott is an avid fan of all things ecommerce. His claim to fame is that he "puts the Zip in ZippyCart." He considers himself the world-wide number one reader of TechCrunch, C|Net, and The Ecommerce Times. Scott has worked in the SEO industry for many years, but found himself always shifting his focus to review sites and ecommerce blogs. When we decided to start the ZippyCart Ecommerce news, Scott was an obvious fit. He handles most of our OpEds as he is a very opinionated guy. Scott is also our Twitter guy, so don't hesitate to send him a tweet if you see him online.
I was starting to notice some decent prices on the lcds.. I didn’t realize it was a push by vendors. I’m all for it though. the lower prices the merrier. -Ravi Shanghavi, Ottawa
July is typically the most neglected month of the year when it comes to retail incentives since most merchants are focused on the back-to-school and holiday seasons that are just around the corner. I like to compare it to summer television – the quality of programming is generally second-rate compared to the shows for fall, winter and spring seasons. The “Christmas in July” concept definitely makes sense, but retailers should be careful as to how they execute their programs. Most of the promotions being pushed out now offer short one-day sales with awkward restrictions (from midnight to Noon) which can make consumers feel a bit cheated. Instead, retailers should focus on creating compelling offers that are easy for consumers to use. Also, why not spread the deals throughout the week or month?
Something else to keep in mind when it comes to product deals is that results are typically better when merchants focus on a ‘Deal of the Day’ concept rather than a bulk set of deals. These daily events bring people back and allow retailers to highlight a specific product, as opposed to getting lost in the shuffle of hundreds of items on sale. Offering consistent online coupon codes is also more effective than a gimmicky sales tactic.
– Christian Gordun (CEO of Coupon Craze)