Retailers dive into new media to sell
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Steve Chiotakis: You know what else is going on today — millions of Americans are hitting the stores and shopping centers for Black Friday deals. You may be one of those looking for specials today, and as Marketplace’s Jennifer Collins reports, retailers are rolling out some new tools for the savvy shopper.
Jennifer Collins: Retailers are hoping to use online and mobile sites more than ever to attract holiday shoppers. If you’re a fan of Best Buy on Facebook, you may have already heard this little ditty:
Best Buy Ad: If you’ve only one computer, your family could become a bunch of raving lunatics. But we’ve got good news: We have a sweet deal.
The Financial Times reports Best Buy published its Black Friday deals early by targeting its million or so fans. The electronics chain is also making use of the microblogging site Twitter. And more than a dozen retailers have launched sites for your smartphone.
Scott Krugman: It’s really taking away from some of the cost of their marketing as well.
Scott Krugman of the National Retail Federation says new media ads are often much cheaper.
Krugman: So they can rely on more than just e-mail, Sunday circulars and television circulars. They can really reach the consumer directly where they live.
And there’s some evidence these efforts may be connecting with consumers. A Deloitte survey found almost 20 percent of Americans plan to shop with mobile devices this season.
I’m Jennifer Collins for Marketplace.
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