Sears--Wheres The Love?

Retailers like Sears are struggling to make sales.

What if Sears created a loyalty program similar to those offered by the airlines? The more you purchase, the more perks you receive. 

Over the years I’ve bought washers, dryers, TV’s, lawn mowers, and so much more from Sears.

But my recent flat screen TV and other appliances came from Best Buy. We never consider Sears when shopping for clothes. Our bedding and kitchenware come from Target or Bed, Bath, & Beyond.

Other than sending me countless opportunities to buy extended warranties and the occasional Craftsman catalog, we usually don’t receive any communications from them.

Where’s the love?

We like the quality of Sears appliances and their Craftsman tools. We like the fact that they have repair and parts departments to back them up. But, we didn’t even consider them when we spent thousands of dollars on our big screen TV.

What if…

…We received a letter thanking us for the tens of thousands of dollars my wife and I have spent with them over the years?

…It when on to say that we had reached a certain level of spending and were automatically members of their new loyalty program. We could go to a special Web site and opt-in to receive advance notice of sales and announcements of new products.

…By virtue of our membership, we were exempted from home delivery charges and we received preferred scheduling on deliveries and home repairs? What if we received e-mails telling us that, for preferred customers like us, the next sale started a day early and ended a day later than it did for the general public?

…When the salesman rang up my purchase for my son’s HEPA air filters or some other minor purchase, he noticed that I was a preferred customer? Then he went out of his way to thank me for shopping. Perhaps my receipt for that purchase would give me an extra 5% off on my next purchase, which he would point out.

…I was told that preferred customers like us had the 15% restocking fee waved if we were unhappy with our purchase?

Think of the opportunities for cross-selling. (clothing, bedding, kitchenware, etc.)

We’re going to need a dishwasher soon. Home Depot, Lowes, and Best Buy are all closer to us than Sears.

If Sears had a loyalty program, they would have first crack at us.

Do you have a loyalty program?

Regards,

Glenn