In this article:
- Walmart is enticing shoppers to sign up for Walmart+ with early access to Black Friday deals.
- The offer is only for paid members, so you can’t take the 15 day free trial and the early Black Friday access, too.
- Starting early on holiday promotions might just make or break your season
Become the best CRMer you can:
CRM Hack: Monitoring the User’s Heartbeat
What Does It Mean to Treat a Customer’s Email With Respect?
To Lock or Not to Lock Customers (into CRM Journeys)
What the Efforts to Promote Responsible Gaming Look Like Form the Inside
Who needs a time machine when you have Walmart to pull November into October?
As anticipated in the report on early holiday marketing for Target, Walmart is getting into the act. It’s not just pushing shoppers to think about holiday orders but to joining its membership program to enjoy early access to those Black Friday super bargains.
As someone who is one Walmart’s email list but is not a paid member, I received an email on October 20 with this subject line:
“EARLY ACCESS to Black Friday can be yours ”
The body of the email was full FOMO:
Once upon a time Black Friday occurred only on one Friday a year — the one that follows Thanksgiving. That means that by rights it should be on November 26 this year. But now It’s been pushed up by not just a couple of weeks but even to two different Fridays in November.
And you don’t even have to wait until November to see them. Walmart already has a Black Friday landing page set up with deals in various categories, as well as the mix of products under the category Flash Picks.
So, as predicted, Walmart is trying to keep up the pace set by Target to direct shoppers to order early — and often — online. The question if this digital buzz can have the same impact as the feeding frenzy that has been the hallmark of in-store Black Friday events.
Bottom line and real-life relevancy? Read on
So can this approach be perceived as annoying? Possibly. Is it smart? You betcha. Retailers should be aware that the customers they acquire during the festive season are less likely to come back again. Hence – they should try to put together a unique retention strategy to make sure they’re doing their best to win them back. Usually, during the holidays, CRM and retention get less attention, which is an odd reality considering existing clients spend more than newly acquired customers.