A look at some marketing tricks retailers are using this holiday season
Posted December 3, 2015 8:12 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – It’s the time of year when we’re most likely to say “to heck with the consequences” and spend maybe a little more than we should on gifts for friends and family.
No matter how strictly you try to follow your shopping list this holiday season, retailers will do whatever they can to get you to open up your wallet.
One of the more effective marketing tricks is called a ‘surprise and delight’ campaign, which is meant to bring you back for repeat business and spread the good news.
Basically, you wander into a store and wind up with an unexpected deal or free gift.
“People like it when they get a special treat or special surprise — something out of the blue that they didn’t see coming. Research shows that they like the company more and they’re likely to tell their friends about it if something good happens to them,” says David Hardisty, a marketing expert with the UBC Sauder School of Business.
That word of mouth can be really help drive sales and Hardisty says it is more important than just about every other type of marketing.
“[Word of mouth is] extremely important now. Most people, especially younger consumers, are skeptical of traditional marketing. So people trust what they hear from their friends and family a lot more than what they would trust from an advertisement they would see,” says Hardisty.
But a new survey by LoyaltyOne finds only half of Canadians are regularly being surprised and delighted by retailers.
Just over half of those asked (54%) say they can recall a recent shopping trip where they even noticed a store’s attempt to woo them.
In the same survey, 95 per cent of people who have experienced things like or special recognition were left with an increased positive view of the company.
