Holiday 2012: Part XI – What One Can Learn From Promtional Email

For my earlier holiday expectations see the following posts:

Holiday 2012: Part I
Holiday 2012: Part II
Holiday 2012: Part III
Holiday 2012: Part IV
Holiday 2012: Part V
Holiday 2012: Part VI
Holiday 2012: Part VII
Holiday 2012: Part VIII
Holiday 2012: Part IX
Holiday 2012: Part X

We’ve seen Black Friday evolve in several ways in 2012.  As I’ve written about elsewhere, Black Friday has gotten longer in several ways.  First, stores have moved their opening hour forward.  But stores have also expanded their Black Friday promotions in several other ways – many of which have to do with the timing of their promotional releases. As retailers have started previewing their official Black Friday circulars in advance, they’ve had to adjust other elements of their promotional cycle. This year promotions and marketing pieces were especially pronounced.  I think it is instructive to review promotional emails in sequence. here’s a week of analysis:…

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Initial thoughts on Black Friday

You can see my previous holiday expectations and analysis here: Holiday 2012: Part I Holiday 2012: Part II Holiday 2012: Part III Holiday 2012: Part IV Holiday 2012: Part V Holiday 2012: Part VI Holiday 2012: Part VII Holiday 2012: Part VIII Holiday 2012: Part IX Here are my initial thoughts on today’s (and really…

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Holiday 2012: Part IX

For more of my holiday expectations:

Holiday 2012: Part I
Holiday 2012: Part II
Holiday 2012: Part III
Holiday 2012: Part IV
Holiday 2012: Part V
Holiday 2012: Part VI
Holiday 2012: Part VII
Holiday 2012: Part VIII
Holiday 2012: Part IX

On Wednesday afternoon I visited several retailers in advance of Black Friday.  As many retailers have moved up their Black Friday opening times to Thursday afternoon and evening my visit was about 24 hours prior to their respective Black Friday openings.  Here are a few remarks on what I saw:…

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Holiday 2012: Part VII

For more of my holiday expectations: Holiday 2012: Part I Holiday 2012: Part II Holiday 2012: Part III Holiday 2012: Part IV Holiday 2012: Part V Holiday 2012: Part VI As I predicted in my earlier writings,   a survey last week from Chase Paymentech, a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase & Co., found that online…

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Holiday 2012: Part VI

You can start by reading more here:

Holiday 2012: Part I
Holiday 2012: Part II
Holiday 2012: Part III
Holiday 2012: Part IV
Holiday 2012: Part V

Last week Time provided a quick overview – much of which I covered in depth in my previous posts.  The article relies heavily on the report from Booz & Co.

The retail labor picture remains murky. Applications have dropped sharply since last year.

Kmart and Sears expect sales to increase 3.3 percent during the holiday season – roughly inline with overall holiday projections. Kmart and Sears are eliminating layaway service fees, starting a layaway home-delivery service and are employing new in-store mobile applications.  Staff carrying tablets will be able to check inventory, access product information and assist with checkout.  The company expects the 2012 holiday season to be the busiest shopping season since 2007.…

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