Let it Snow (Money)

A few months ago Doug wrote about a promotion being run by Boston-area retailer Jordan's Furniture which involved a full refund of purchases customers made within a specific timeframe if the Boston Red Sox won the World Series.  Well, we all know what happened with the Sox, and evidently Jordan's has cashed in their insurance policy to make good on their promise.  Everyone wins!

Now, a local jewelry store has implemented a similar promotion.  Springer's Jewelers (with three locations in Maine and New Hampshire) has decreed that if more than six inches of snow falls on Christmas Day at their Portsmouth, NH location (smart move, considering that location probably gets less snowfall than the Maine stores), any and all purchases made and paid in full between November 23rd and December 8th will be refunded, assuming the purchaser has followed the myriad rules and regulations that dictate the promotion.

This type of "conditional rebate" promotion is becoming more common among specialty retailers.  Do a Google search for "conditional rebates" and look at the growing number of companies that will sell a retailer insurance to cover the off-chance they have to pay out. It's promotions like these that let specialty retailers differentiate themselves from their Big Box competitors, and, at the very least, encourage visits by new customers.

Just like with Jordan's, Springer's is a specialty retailer with limited locations, doing something to not only drum up business and make sales, but to create a buzz.  Jewelry stores, like furniture stores, are plentiful to the point of over-saturating some markets.  This promotion makes Springer's stand out, gets people talking about them, and drives traffic into the stores.  I'm sure a lot of shoppers who hadn't considered buying their loved ones a piece of fine jewelry or a watch for the holidays will now consider spending a few bucks there, in the off chance Jack Frost delivers on December 25th.

Comments

[Manuel]

I just have a several comments here...having just participated in this Let it Snow promotion, it was the single biggest factor in finally winning over my business...there are so many competitive jewelers that when all else is equal, would you like the opportunity to get something for nothing? I'm excited...and the only other thing I want before xmas besides an ecstatic fiance, is an ecstatic fiance wearing a free ring! On a side note, Springers has been doing this conditional rebate promotion more years than Jordan's...
- Gambling for diamonds

First of all, congratulations on your engagement, and good for you for patronizing a local jeweler when so many national chains abound in the area. Of course, the idea of a conditional rebate is nothing new, but it's exciting to see more and more specialty retailers, regardless of their category, using it to their advantage every year. The publicity it brings, and the added business, should make their larger competitors envious, since it's the type of promotion big box economics simply won't allow
Best wishes to you for a white Christmas, at least in Portsmouth, NH.