Thoughts on Christmas Past

As you know by now, the holiday sales reports for 2007 were less than merry. Lots of reasons for this have been bandied about, from economic uncertainty and weather to high gas prices and cash-strapped consumers cutting back on extras.

These are indeed all valid contributors that are out of the hands and control of many companies. But as both a veteran merchandising professional and a real-life consumer, I have noted additional reasons for the holiday sales shortfall. And these are within the scope and control of retailers.

Here are my observations from 2007. I hope this compilation prompts a conversation within your organization about your own customers' holiday experiences.

NAUGHTY OR NICE?

Looking at the customer experience, let's start with the nice. Many retailers clearly understood the need for rolling out the red carpet for customers to make them feel special and appreciated. These merchants clearly understand the following four concepts.

1. THE HUMAN ELEMENT NEVER GOES OUT OF STYLE

   Women's apparel merchant Boston Proper sent out an e-mail “Christmas greeting” from its CEO, Michael Tiernan, personally thanking customers for their loyalty and rewarding them with free shipping upgrades. Ann Taylor, another women's apparel marketer, sent e-mails inviting its customers' “friends and family” to additional special insider savings. Just two examples of companies personalizing the shopping experience in meaningful ways. How human was your brand this shopping season?

2. GIFT-GIVING CAN BE STRESSFUL — OFFER HELP

   Companies that went the extra mile to help customers choose just the right gift won even more loyalty. Nike.com knows all athletes are not created equal. The sporting goods merchant created a helpful online holiday gift center with items tagged for the trailblazer, the gym buff, the team player, the trendsetter, etc. General merchant Amazon's Gift Central was created to help harried customers plan and track their gifts. These companies became helpful and efficient personal shoppers.

   Other merchants such as Coldwater Creek, Frontgate, Chefs Catalog, and The Container Store compiled edited selections of their vast assortments into mini gift books to help the overwhelmed and harried shopper.

   Anthropologie even titled one of its smaller catalogs “Giving” and dedicated half of the pages to large, full page shots of individual gifts. These eye-catching techniques help books stand out from the overly full December mailboxes.

   Food gifts mailer Wolferman's counts on its customers making a tradition out of sending “the gift of breakfast” each holiday season. But who can remember from year to year what English muffins you sent to whom? Wolferman's made repeat gift-giving simple and convenient by sending their customers a pre-filled-out holiday gift reminder list.

   And, of course, one of the other stressful parts of gift giving is the wrapping. Red Envelope and Levenger have long mastered the fine art of presentation, but did you know that Apple has as well? Simple, clean and classy (see example, right), the Apple presentation matches its brand experience to a tee.

   How did your brand reduce gift-giving stress for your customers this season?

3. REALIZE TIMING IS EVERYTHING

   Yes, the Web long ago made 24/7 shopping a norm. But believe it or not, some customers still like the thrill of the hunt…in person…in a store. Macy's, Toys 'R' Us, and Apple are a few stores that pulled all-nighters to please customers and meet their night owl shopping schedules. They realized that the customer is indeed in charge — at all hours and in all places! How did you put your customers in charge?

4. AND LESS IS MORE!

   Aggressive promotions, starting with L.L. Bean's early-on free shipping and handling offer, set the tone of the season. L.L. Bean also offered a free $10 gift card on purchases of $50 later in the season. Coldwater Creek did something similar — $30 off a $100 purchase.

Other mailers heavily promoted their vast selection of value-priced gifts. For example, a Signals catalog boasted 330+ gifts under $300, while Land's End offered 50 gifts under $30.

All in all, customers demanded bargains, the more the better. How creative were your promotions? Were they what your customers wanted?

Overall, how did your brand treat customers this season? Were you naughty by not putting the customer in charge, aggravating her with out-of-stocks, wasting her time with poor and rude service, inconveniencing her by not providing her with a full-service gift experience, and so on? Or were you nice by simply meeting her expectations vs. exceeding them? Perhaps this season would have been a bit merrier if companies had set their sights higher than nice.