Retailers can compete and make profits without blanket promotions

Following the shopping frenzy that was Black Friday, pre-Christmas promotions are continuing albeit not at such a high rate. According to SalesGossip it’s the retailers who are avoiding the blanket promotions that are the ones to watch. 

Retailers used Black Friday to create momentum in the run-up to Christmas and capture early Christmas shoppers. SalesGossip a 137% increase in the number of retailers with Black Friday offers compared to the same time last year. This, and the subsequent pre-Christmas blanket promotions illustrates just how competitive the current retail market is.

Marketing departments at certain retailers have planned engaging campaigns to drive pre-Christmas online traffic and in-store footfall. Using advent-style calendars and the 12 days of Christmas theme, these retailers are offering a different deal every day or discounts on specific product categories for one or two days only in the run-up to Christmas.

These flash sales attract shoppers back each day to find out what the new promotion is and then tempt them to buy in both that category as well as full-price categories. Because these retailers are using the very appealing carrot of promotions on new season stock, it has the added advantage of being attractive to a wide range of shoppers.

Elizabetta Camilleri, CEO and co-founder of SalesGossip, said: “Following Black Friday, we’ve seen a lot of retailers running pre-Christmas promotions. Understandably, many of them are doing so to respond to promotions from their direct competitors. For me, retailers who are using flash sales and discounts on specific product categories to pique shopper interest and maximise returning traffic and footfall are incredibly smart – they’re competing without killing their profits.”