October 31, 2006
Get Ready, Set, Spend for the Holidays
Grandma wants a new dishwasher for Christmas. Go to Sears for a Kenmore.
Sis wants some of those new Weatherfield shoes. Lands’ End is the place to go.
Who knows what Dad wants? Pick him up some Joe Boxers at Kmart.
Whatever consumers (primarily Moms) want this holiday, they can get in one place – the new Ready, Set, Holiday joint web site from Sears, Kmart and Lands’ End.
That, at least, is the hope of Sears Holdings. Its new web site, according to a company release, was created to offer every mom “solutions for all her holiday needs — from finding gifts to decorating to experiencing the magic of the season with her children.”
Colleen Cassell, director of direct to customer marketing for Sears Holdings, said the focus is a natural.
“Mom is usually responsible for all activities related to the holidays,” she said. “We want to provide her with useful tips and a convenient resource that helps her more easily prepare, plan and purchase for the season, and hopefully make life leading up to the big day a little less stressful. The site offers nearly everything mom needs including clothes, electronics, wrapping paper and Christmas tree ornaments as well as a full assortment of quality products from Sears, Kmart and Lands’ End.”
Among the web site’s features:
- Find a Gift, which enables shoppers to save time with shop by person or shop by category features.
- Get Prepared, offering ideas on topics such as recipes, holiday travel and more.
- Mom-to-Mom – a discussion board.
- Holiday Help, providing access to services such as carpet and upholstery cleaning, holiday portraits and auto repair.
The www.readysetholiday.com web site will be online through January 12, 2007.
Discussion Questions: Will the new readysetholiday.com web site finally enable Sears Holdings to leverage the power of the brands sold by Sears, Kmart
and Lands’ End? What do you see as the strengths and weaknesses of the readysetholiday.com approach and web site?
BrainTrust
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
Poll
It’s just too easy. How hard is it to be a little relevant to somebody. Anybody. They seem to miss the boat completely. The others have already said it. It’s rehash from the ’60’s in cyberspace.
The Sears/Kmart/Lands’ End http://www.readysetholiday.com site is a poor attempt at trying to revive the “brand.” The merchandise is “old and tired” with no new and exciting items. Plus, the absolute targeted gender “profiling” is typical of Sears…stuck in the “60’s.” They should spend their money on becoming more 2006 and this web site is definitely not the answer. The site is not customer friendly and is not easy to navigate.
This is an attempt for Sears to vindicate themselves with the press and their customer after last years never ending criticism of their in-store and marketing “Blue” Holiday promotion.
The http://www.readysetholiday.com site depends on gender stereotyping (“his” gifts are electronics, “her” gifts are tote bags, there’s “mom-to-mom” but not “dad-to-dad”, etc.). The crafts suggestions (hurricane lamp decor, florals, etc.) have no “buy it here” links. Sears, Lands’ End, and Kmart can do better than this.
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It’s just too easy. How hard is it to be a little relevant to somebody. Anybody. They seem to miss the boat completely. The others have already said it. It’s rehash from the ’60’s in cyberspace.
The Sears/Kmart/Lands’ End http://www.readysetholiday.com site is a poor attempt at trying to revive the “brand.” The merchandise is “old and tired” with no new and exciting items. Plus, the absolute targeted gender “profiling” is typical of Sears…stuck in the “60’s.” They should spend their money on becoming more 2006 and this web site is definitely not the answer. The site is not customer friendly and is not easy to navigate.
This is an attempt for Sears to vindicate themselves with the press and their customer after last years never ending criticism of their in-store and marketing “Blue” Holiday promotion.
The http://www.readysetholiday.com site depends on gender stereotyping (“his” gifts are electronics, “her” gifts are tote bags, there’s “mom-to-mom” but not “dad-to-dad”, etc.). The crafts suggestions (hurricane lamp decor, florals, etc.) have no “buy it here” links. Sears, Lands’ End, and Kmart can do better than this.