December 27, 2016
Photo: RetailWire
What were the best last-minute holiday strategies?
With some believing the U.S. election delayed many holiday purchases earlier in the month, retailers brought out all the stops and a few new ones to catch procrastinators on Christmas Eve.
Here were a few of retailers’ Christmas Eve strategies:
Promotions tick up: Last-minute promotions spiked on the weekend before Christmas. Last week Target ran daily deals, including 30 percent off coffee makers, while Toys “R” Us promoted cuts as deep as 50 percent, according to the New York Post.
Late store hours: The major department stores as well as Best Buy closed at 6:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Toys “R” Us was open until 9:00 p.m. Most Targets closed at 10:00 p.m., although some were open until 11:00. Kmart was open until 10:00 p.m. Walmart closed at 6:00 p.m., two hours earlier than recent years.
Restocking the hits: Walmart and Toys “R” Us sped shipments of popular sellers and increased inventories year-over-year to fully capitalize on the final days. Toys “R” Us CEO David Brandon told the Wall Street Journal last Tuesday, “The last-minute shoppers flood into the stores and it becomes a function of who has the inventory and who has the best shopping experience.”
Gift sets: Many stores prominently highlighted specially-priced gift sets and popular sellers at the front of the store as well as stocking stuffers for $1 and under to help procrastinators get in, find something and get out.
Aggressive in-store pickup: The deadline to order for in-store pickup was 6:00 p.m. for Target and Toys “R” Us on Christmas Eve. Best Buy and Bed, Bath & Beyond had a 4:00 p.m. deadline while Macy’s was noon. Walmart’s cutoff was December 23 at 6 p.m. for Christmas Eve pickup.
Same-day Christmas Eve: Amazon Prime Now took orders as late as 9:45 p.m. for delivery by midnight on Christmas Eve in some markets. At Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s, the deadline for same-day delivery on Christmas Eve was 10 a.m., three hours ahead of the usual cut-off. PetSmart offered free same-store delivery from Dec. 17 to 24 with the cut-off of at noon on Christmas Eve.
- Retailers Make 11th-Hour Push to Lure Last-Minute Shoppers – Wall Street Journal
- Retailers made it really easy to shop for gifts at the last minute – New York Post
- Last-minute shoppers flock to stores in search of Christmas gifts – The Garden Island
- Last-minute gift hunters keep Bay Area shops busy on Christmas Eve – The San Francisco Gate
- Last-Minute Christmas Shoppers Take Advantage Of Holiday Hours, Discounts – WLS-TV Chicago
- PetSmart Announces Free Same-Day Delivery Service For Online Purchases On Dec. 17-24 – PetSmart
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Contributing Editor, RetailWire; Founder and CEO, Vision First
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: How would you rank the most and least effective strategies retailers used to drive sales on Christmas Eve? How do the needs and motivations of the last-day shopper differ from the Black Friday shopper?
Poll
I’m reluctant to rank the most effective and least effective strategies. So much depends on who your customer is (as in demographics, generational differences, etc.). But what I know is that one strategy alone is not the answer. The magic is in the mix. One helps the other. Synergies between strategies play a role. If a retailer took its most effective strategy and ignored the others, it might find that “one strategy” isn’t as effective as it thought it was going to be.
As for the second question about the needs and motivations of the different shoppers … Black Friday shoppers are in a panic to get the best deal. Last-day shoppers are in a panic to just get a gift.
“Restocking the hits” is especially effective in toys and electronics, as the newest and most publicized innovations sell out quickly.
I’m interested to see how “late store hours” pans out in the next few years. Since many retailers opted to stay closed on Thanksgiving, the sentiment may become that workers should stay at home with their families on Christmas Eve. But the demand for last-minute merchandise will remain strong. I wonder how different retailers will find a balance between brand image and profit.
As always, the best strategy is for retailers to have merchandise people want, and lots of it — so people who delay until the last week aren’t disappointed. Any and everything else is just … uhm … trimming on the tree.
Clearly having product in stores for last-minute shoppers raises sales and solves gift-giving problems for consumers on Christmas Eve. At that late date (almost) any gift will do, as opposed to Black Friday when shoppers are looking for specific items … at a discount.
Restocking the hits has to be the best strategy — for noting which inventory was in demand, and having the stock available at the last minute.
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I’m reluctant to rank the most effective and least effective strategies. So much depends on who your customer is (as in demographics, generational differences, etc.). But what I know is that one strategy alone is not the answer. The magic is in the mix. One helps the other. Synergies between strategies play a role. If a retailer took its most effective strategy and ignored the others, it might find that “one strategy” isn’t as effective as it thought it was going to be.
As for the second question about the needs and motivations of the different shoppers … Black Friday shoppers are in a panic to get the best deal. Last-day shoppers are in a panic to just get a gift.
“Restocking the hits” is especially effective in toys and electronics, as the newest and most publicized innovations sell out quickly.
I’m interested to see how “late store hours” pans out in the next few years. Since many retailers opted to stay closed on Thanksgiving, the sentiment may become that workers should stay at home with their families on Christmas Eve. But the demand for last-minute merchandise will remain strong. I wonder how different retailers will find a balance between brand image and profit.
As always, the best strategy is for retailers to have merchandise people want, and lots of it — so people who delay until the last week aren’t disappointed. Any and everything else is just … uhm … trimming on the tree.
Clearly having product in stores for last-minute shoppers raises sales and solves gift-giving problems for consumers on Christmas Eve. At that late date (almost) any gift will do, as opposed to Black Friday when shoppers are looking for specific items … at a discount.
Restocking the hits has to be the best strategy — for noting which inventory was in demand, and having the stock available at the last minute.