So Sears Holdings (SHLD) and Eddie Lampert are trying something else unique.
Time Reports:
Sears Holding Corp., which runs both the Sears and Kmart department stores, is running a Christmas promotion a full five months before Saint Nick leaves the North Pole with his reindeer. On both the sears.com and kmart.com homepages, customers are invited to “Shop Christmas Lane,” and are directed to deals on holiday ornaments, stocking stuffers and other winter-related merchandise. The Christmas goods will also be on display in 372 Sears stores throughout the country; the promotion runs through July 25.
With temperatures simmering and families spending summer days at the shore, most customers aren’t exactly in the Christmas spirit. So what convinced Sears, which has seen nothing but annual same-store sales declines at both its namesake and Kmart stores over the past four years, that skeptical shoppers want to open up their wallets for Christmas gifts now? “After the last holiday season, customers told us that they wish they had seen some of our merchandise earlier,” says Natalie Norris-Howser, a Sears spokeswoman. “People are buying earlier today. Also, customers have grown accustomed to the Christmas-in-July terminology, so we wanted to leverage that.” Norris-Howser also pointed to the company’s generous layaway offers for bigger-ticket items as an incentive for shoppers to do their holiday buying today.
In today’s environment, any move that attracts attention might be worth it. “Overall, it seems to be a pretty smart strategy,” says Pete Blackshaw, a brand strategist for Nielsen Online. “Doing it on the Web makes a world of sense. They are clearly getting some buzz, there’s a novelty effect. At a time when everybody is going to be competing around November to get attention, this is a good opportunity to potentially get in front of the line.” Blackshaw, who monitors how brands are perceived in the social-networking sphere, says the Christmas marketing has gotten positive feedback on Twitter.
The first reaction I had was…..WTF? But after think it through for a bit, I then thought, why not? Christmas is always a shopping must for folks, why not provide them easy access to its specific items well before the event? Every year retailers begin the holiday shopping season earlier and earlier, Sears just got the jump this year.
Put it this way, what does Sears have to lose? Nothing. Here what the move also does, it gives Sears a unique place in the mind of consumers. It goes to “top of mind” awareness. What Sears is doing is pounding away the message “Sears=Christmas”. After consumers hear it enough, when it comes time to do the shopping for the big day, they then are more likely to visit Sears either in the stores OR online.
Given what Sears has done with its website, drawing people to it is sure to increase sales via that channel.
This is keeping with Lampert’s strategy. It is a cost effective way to differentiate Sears from the rest of the retail pack. If it flops, there is little lost and if it is a hit (like last year’s early entry into layaway) the upside is huge.
The easiest way to judge it success since Sears does not talk much to the press is to watch Wal-Mart (WMT) and Target (TGT). If they begin copy cat programs, it will only be because they see Sears having success with it.
Disclosure (“none” means no position):Long SHLD