Ditch the gimmicks this Christmas

It’s no secret that we’re in for a challenging Christmas. Retailers are doing everything they can to encourage people through their doors to spend their hard earned cash.

In fact, the high street is already filling up with seasonal gimmicks designed to lure shoppers through the doors.

On a store visit recently a customer told me that store cards proved the biggest temptation over the festive season - as it’s all too easy to whack it all on a card and worry about
it later.

And with companies promising money off first purchases followed by further ‘bumper’ discounts, who can blame her?

Similarly, loyalty schemes are a form of conditional selling, run by companies to entice people to spend money they haven’t got. Worse still, there’s concern in the industry that these schemes are in part funded by higher prices on the shopfloor - so in reality are customers getting a good deal? Probably not.

It’s the companies behind them that are lining their pockets.

Take a look at the airlines, for instance. Whether it’s charging customers for extra leg room, introducing an additional cost for check-in or implementing “fat tax” policies, they’re always searching for ways to cut their costs, which sadly means a more expensive holiday for the customer. It’s the same with the car industry.

The price you see isn’t always the price you pay. Just when you think you’re getting a good deal, they add on ‘optional’ extras. A CD player you thought came as standard appears as a three figure sum on your final invoice.

Ultimately, added extras and plastic points are not what customers want. They want to save money. They don’t want to spend hundreds of pounds just to save a few quid in the weeks running up to Christmas. That’s why instead of forking out millions of pounds on so-called loyalty cards or vouchers that reward people who spend the most money, we prefer to give all of our customers the certainty of permanently low prices - every single day of the week.

This probably explains why the price gap between us and our rivals is the biggest it’s been all year. But, more importantly, our value is immediate - you don’t have to spend a lot now to get a little bit back later.

For me, building loyalty is about increasing trust. Dressing up gimmicks and tricks as rewards just isn’t going to cut it. So, what are my predictions for Christmas 2009? It’s going to be a nail-biting countdown for many this year but, in my view, the winners this year will be those that listen to their customers and offer them real value for money, not conditional discounting.

After all, good value is for life - not just for Christmas.

Andy Clarke is chief operating officer of Asda