Coupons, Apps at Center of Last-Minute Holiday Shopping Deals
In the homestretch toward Christmas, retailers are breaking out a spate of promotions to reach consumers on their terms. EBay and RadioShack are among those offering $10 coupons when consumers make minimum purchases, and Amazon is running a Saturday-Monday free shipping deal for “thousands of top selling items,” including cameras, video games and laptops, it said. Apparel e-tailer Zappos launched an iPad “magazine” app from which consumers can buy shoes and other merchandise directly using the device.
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EBay announced its first “multi-channel, multi-retailer” holiday rewards program Friday in partnership with Toys “R” Us, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Aeropostale. To appeal to the increasingly promotion-motivated shopper, eBay is giving back $10 to consumers who spend $100 online. The hook for retailers is that the $10 coupon is only good in physical stores where consumers will presumably spend more than $10. The program began Friday at 6 a.m. and runs through Monday at 11:59 p.m. Eastern, eBay said.
EBay’s rewards program incorporates technology from RedLaser, a mobile barcode and QR code scanning technology that eBay acquired in 2010. RedLaser 3.0, available as an iPhone app, allows users to scan or search toys, check availability at the nearest Toys “R” Us stores, buy the item through PayPal from their cellphone and pick it up later in the day, according to eBay. RedLaser 3.0 leverages local availability information from Milo, mobile express checkout from PayPal and barcode comparison shopping from RedLaser “all within one seamless experience,” eBay said. Shoppers can access online and offline inventory, find the best price, purchase the item securely through PayPal and either pick it up at a local store or have it delivered, the company said.
Consumers who sign up to receive RadioShack promotions receive a $10-off coupon for an in-store or online purchase of $40 or more, but consumers need to read the fine print. A promotion we received Friday had a shelf life ending Jan. 14 and was not good on hot categories including Apple products, laptops, netbooks, tablets, and gaming hardware and software. Gift cards, services and refurbished GPS units were also excluded, according to the coupon.
This holiday season is “more promotional on a price basis than before,” said Stephen Baker, analyst with NPD Group. Dollars off specific purchases and aggressive pricing on high-visibility products are dominating the promotional activity this year, he said. Acknowledging more coupons this year, Baker said exclusions for certain categories are “a fact of life, as manufacturers seek to protect their brands and their MAP policies.”
Zappos has turned to a joint technology/media platform to help sell its goods. The company launched Zappos Now (ZN), a digital lifestyle magazine, on Dec. 8 and said last week that shoppers who have downloaded the app from iTunes spend more than 40 minutes reading the magazine, which includes articles on fashion trends and allows users to shop directly from the app. As added incentive for iPad shopping, purchases made through the app receive free next-business day shipping with no minimum purchase required. Sharing features within the app allow users to post articles and products they view via Facebook and Twitter, said Will Young, director of Zappos.com, San Francisco. The ZN magazine highlights more than 250 items “perfect for winter and gifting over the holidays,” he said.
Young wouldn’t comment on the number of downloads thus far or how many product purchases have been made through the ZN app. Consumers enter payment information in the app or use stored payment information associated with their Zappos account, he said. Zappos also has a separate iPad app for the store’s website, without editorial content.
Zappos is best known as a footwear retailer with free two-day delivery but has expanded recently to sell clothing, beauty products, sporting goods and entertainment. Young didn’t respond by deadline to our question regarding whether the company plans to add electronics to its future stable of products.