Christmas Cheer?
On the weekend I was at a Christmas celebration at my grandmother’s. One by one my Aunties asked how Perkler was going - there are hundreds of them (seems like) so it was a bit like pitching in Silicon Valley again!
Overwhelmingly they were most interested in how things would go for our community in the current downturn. They were worried that because we offer a retail service to consumers there was no future in it when people were overwhelmingly reducing their spend.
Then on the way in I heard this clanger of an interview on the ABC with Howard Davidowitz in New York. Sobering stuff - especially about the estimate he makes on up to 12,000 stores closing in the next calendar year.
So why do we still think (now more than ever) that retail is exactly the right focus for Perkler.
Firstly - it all comes back to the consumer frustration that we set out to fix. It was our original inspiration and remains our obsession to simply make the loyalty market less confusing for consumers.
Secondly - when retail gets tough, retailers should be getting more out of their loyalty programs. Consumers are certainly looking to be given a more compelling reason to spend - what’s more compelling than the combination of ‘better offers’ and ’special status’.
So, retail is getting hammered at the moment - no doubt. But that’s exactly why consumers and retailers should, and will, use their loyalty programs more.
This will probably be the last post before Christmas. Everyone here at Perkler wishes everyone out there in Perkistan a great holiday season, however you choose to celebrate it!
As a final note, the old comments section is getting inundated by spam at the moment (those blokes work harder than us!). So we will be turning the comments function off until after the holidays. If you want to engage with us you can find us via the contact us on the site, or follow us on Twitter @perkler.
Justin