25 Holiday Shopping Tips for the 25 Days of Christmas: Tip #4

After over 15 years of retail management, I definitely understand how to leverage resources to get the best deal possible. As a buyer, I would hunt down the best prices, special quantities buys, closeouts...whatever it took to get the best quality at the best value. As a consumer, you have the same power to leverage retailers to get the best prices and best deals. Retailers are competing for your dollar, make them work for it!

HOLIDAY SHOPPING TIP #4:

Leverage your buying power this holiday season. Look for retailers and grocery stores to compete for your dollar by offering you special bonuses for committing your discretionary income to their store.

A perfect example is what the Ralph's (Kroger) grocery chain is offering to their customers for the holiday season. If you purchase gift cards at a Ralph's store with your "Ralph's Rewards" card, they will TRIPLE your bonus points earned on your card.

So what are "bonus points"? At Ralph's, you earn bonus points with each dollar that you spend that accumulate each quarter, and at the end of that quarter you are issued a voucher that you can apply toward a future shopping trip. (Some categories do not apply, like alcohol, tobacco, etc.) You earn $5.00 toward your voucher with the first 500 points you earn, then a $1.00 for each additional 100points. My voucher from last quarter was $27.00. So, Ralph's basically gave me $27.00 for shopping with them. Okay, I will take it!

So, with this scenario, if I were to buy, say $300 in gift cards, I would earn 900 points, another 9.00 applied on my next voucher. So, for doing nothing more than buying the same gift cards I would have purchased from Target, iTunes, Best Buy, American Express, Visa, Barnes & Noble (and on and on...I was amazed by their wonderful selection!) I am basically given $9.00 for that purchase! And, probably saved that much in gas not running around town to get all of the cards from all of the different stores!

This is the kind of leveraging that helps you save money, and even EARN money, this holiday season. All kinds of retailers offer reward programs, find out what they are and leverage them if they make sense. I am a "Beauty Insider" with Sephora and earn points for the shopping I do with Sephora. I was able to get several stocking stuffers, and a gift set worth $150.00 for FREE, yes FREE by using my "Beauty Insider" points for the holidays!

Insider Tip: Leverage your buying trips to truly leverage the retailer's offer. Case in point: While at my neighborhood Ralph's store, a customer bought $2000.00 in gift cards for her company's holiday party. She was joking about how excited her boss was that she offered to do this for him...little did he know that she was not only on the clock to do this shopping trip for him, but she also earned another $60.00 (6000 bonus points!) to apply toward a future shopping trip! Leverage your purchasing power, and you will truly leverage your rewards!

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Customer Rewards Program, Ralph's Gets It!

I know that for many of us in the retail world, Customer Rewards programs are really pretty much old news. For years, retailers of all sorts have had a variety of ways to address their top shoppers via loyalty cards, coupons and special savings for credit cards holders, and other methods. Even small boutiques get in on the customer rewards by tracking customers via software programs, creating email opt-in lists, etc.


I have to share a recent personal experience with one of the best customer reward programs I have ever been involved in, however. I have a Ralph's (Krogers, NYSE:KR)Rewards Card. A few months ago, they relaunched their card to include a new reward system of Bonus Points. In the past, depending upon a certain spending level, I could get coupons that printed with my receipt to save .03, .05 or .10 cents on each gallon of gasoline purchased when I visited the Ralph's gas station. I would often not run out on small grocery runs and instead wait until I knew I had a larger enough transaction to get the larger savings on my fuel purchases! I occastionally got coupons from them as well, but often they were throw-aways, they just did not seem to be coupons that I needed, brands I was not loyal to, or random products that I simply would never want to purchase.


With the new rewards program, I now also earn points each quarter that go toward a savings voucher. I earn $5 for the first 500 points, then another $1 for each additional 100 points. Recently, for the last quarter, I received a $24 voucher! And, all along, they have maintained the fuel program as well, and I can simply scan my rewards card at the pump to get my savings instead of having to clip any coupons. So awesome!

I recently spent that $24 voucher, and I felt like a total rock star! People in line behind me asked me about the voucher, asked the cashier about the voucher, one customer even signed up for a card as they were finishing up my transaction! Overall, I actually saved over $87 total on the shopping trip because of another stroke of Ralph's reward card genius: targeted product coupons.


Ralph's had also sent along with the voucher a set of targeted product coupons for products that they have clearly tracked on my rewards card as items I frequently purchase. I know that they are specific to my card as my fiance received a set of coupons linked to his account, and they were completely different, and grouped to his frequent purchases.


Ralph's is truly all about helping their customers save money during a recessionary period, and capturing a variety of purchases, both driving volume and margin: in-store, pharmacy and from their gas stations. You can even to go Ralph's and set up an account on their website to create shopping lists, link to other sites that offer coupons, and even link up your lists to available coupons! I also linked my card to my son's elementary school, a tie-in that Target has been doing for years with their guests.

Customer Reward Programs like what Ralph's is creating for their customers is truly remarkable. I have changed my grocery shopping habits in only a matter of a few weeks to focus my shopping on a grocery store that has the brands I like, great prices, a great rewards program and one that makes me feel like more than just a "number" or a random customer...with the purchase specific coupons, it makes me feel like they know what I like and are helping me save money in a way that makes me feel special.


If you want customers like ME to change THEIR shopping habits in a matter of weeks, make them feel special. Gear your savings and rewards programs in ways that are specific, unique, and grab your customer's attention. The more you make your customer feel that you are connecting to them, their needs, their desires, the more likely they are to reward YOU with their discretionary spending!