Keep Them If You Can

Located in St. Catharines, Canada, just minutes away from the U.S. border, The Pen Centre understands the next level shopping culture that exists on the other side of the line. Aware of the constant competition, the shopping center developed “Shop Black, Save Green” to introduce the holiday season. Looking to catch shoppers either before leaving or on their way out of the country, the Black Friday program started extra early this past fall, running on the Thursday and Friday of the November long weekend to cater to those with more than one stop on their shopping schedule.

“Even with the fluctuating exchange rates, residents will still travel the short distance across the border to access products not available in Canada or take advantage of the different experience that shopping in the U.S. offers, so you can imagine the temptation to cross the border is even more significant during Black Friday,” said Helen Edwards, marketing director.

Along with a quality swag bag giveaway, “Shop Black, Save Green” delivered three forms of added value: Black Knight surprise, Deal Diva, and Shop to WIN. Between the traveling Black Knight and Deal Diva, select shoppers had the chance to receive a free purchase by way of being ‘knighted’ and an on-the-spot gift card in the amount of C$200 (approx. US$160), C$300 (US$240), or C$500 (US$400) if the Deal Diva shared their deal online. For the shop to WIN component of the promotion, customers could register their purchases at the guest services desk to try their luck at winning the Suite Experience at the Niagara Ice Dogs (a C$500 value).

By the end of the weekend, almost C$5,000 (US$4,000) was given away for the Black Knight, 61 shoppers snagged gift cards from the Deal Diva, 250 people entered the Shop to WIN contest, and more than 60 percent of retailers experienced an increase in sales of 15 percent or higher over the previous year.

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Feb.
2018
Posted in Sales Promotions, Seasonal Programs
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