(Our November print issue includes a feature story detailing “10 Steps to Last-Minute Holiday Success.” Today we bring you an excerpt explaining one of those steps: being memorable.)
The Hunt House’s McMurray decorates the store Christmas tree with scrolls that contain discounts. Beginning Dec. 1, when customers make purchases, they take a scroll from the tree to learn what percentage of discount they’ll receive on the item they have already selected.
“They can’t go back and get more stuff,” McMurray says, once they learn their discount. One scroll offers a 100 percent discount, but the range is generally 5 to 40 percent.
“People have tried to dig into the tree,” she says. “They figure we’ve hidden the 100 percent one deep.”
The promotion is advertised on the radio and in the newspaper, but word of mouth often leads to more sales, too.
Albert Yocum of Yocum Jewelry in Marceline, MO, kicks off his holiday season during a popular town event called Peanut Night.
All the participating merchants put coupons or prizes in bags and the Chamber sells the bags for $1 each. They usually sell more than 2,500 bags in half an hour.
Last year, Harris Jewelers in Troy, OH, ran a wish-list contest with a prize of a $1,000 shopping spree. The store also celebrated its 70th anniversary by offering a $70 gift card with every $250 holiday purchase through Christmas Eve.