Jeweler Battles Mall for Black Friday Traffic
How does a downtown independent jeweler grab some attention on Black Friday? Northeastern Fine Jewelry on Union Street in Schenectady or Western Avenue in Guilderland, New York, decided to try some attention-getting gift with purchase promotions. The store offered a free iPod Shuffle with any Black Friday purchase totaling $399 or more and a free 15″ Polaroid flat screen television with any purchase of at least $1,000. How did it work? Well, pretty good from a sales perspective. Northeastern gave out 40 flat screen TVs and 30 iPod Shuffles. But the store was also hoping to attract the attention of the hordes of media out reporting about Black Friday crowds. According to Northeastern’s public relations representative Mark Bardack, the lure of the mall was too seductive. “One of the largest malls in the country is based in Albany, Crossgates Mall, so the media habitually gravitate there to do Black Friday stories. With limited media staffing on Black Friday, it was all about the malls.” Still, Bardack thinks with more promotion and lead time, a better result might be possible. So start planning for next year! Half-price diamonds before 8am? Breakfast at Northeastern (or your store?) Maybe next year Black Friday can have a bit more sparkle.
would not buy anything from this company - the owner is a jerk