Retailers and shoppers alike are expressing fears that crowded stores will put a damper on this year’s post-Thanksgiving holiday sales. But Sears, Roebuck & Co. hopes to solve that problem for one shopper in each of 25 markets with a social-media sweepstakes that will let them come in and buy Black Friday sale items on the day before Thanksgiving.
From Nov. 10 through Nov. 19, players can enter the Sears Black Friday VIP Sweepstakes by going to Sears’ Facebook profile page and becoming fans of the brand. Once enrolled as Sears friends, they see a text message driving them to click on the “Exclusives tab. Doing that brings up a link that promises “Amazing Offers for Facebook Fans, and clicking on that brings up a page that shows a banner ad for the Black Friday VIP sweepstakes.
In fact, that click produces an entry into the main sweepstakes, which offers all entrants a chance at winning one of five $500 Sears gift cards in exchange for their contact information, including e-mail and ZIP code. But if the entrant lives in one of the 25 major metro markets participating in the shop-early portion of the promotion, he or she will also be entered to win a second $500 gift card that must be redeemed between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. local time on Wednesday November 25. One early bird prize will be awarded in each of the metros, which span the country from New York City to Los Angeles and Orlando FL, to Minneapolis.
“Facebook is a natural way for us to reach our loyal customers and fans to reward them with an exclusive opportunity and fun way to shop and to take advantage of Sears’ Black Friday deals, Sears chief marketing officer Don Hamblen said in a release.
At press time, Sears had about 146,000 Facebook friends. Other features on the brand’s Facebook profile include video clips f the retailer’s current holiday broadcast ads and an interactive game, “Gift Grabbers, which pits parents hiding presents against nosey kids as a way to promote Sears’ layaway feature.
While the day after Thanksgiving has become something of a traditional kick-off to the holiday shopping season—with some analysts voting for Cyber Monday, the first work day after the holiday—this year several retailers have unveiled their holiday discounts early to attract price-conscious, credit-shy shoppers while they still have funds.
Sears stores began rolling out pre-holiday deals on Halloween, Oct. 31, and have publicized a new batch of “Black Friday Now sales every Saturday since then. The stores also offer a layaway program that lets consumers hold items with a small deposit and then pay for their purchases over time before the December holidays.
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