The Bombay Company is promoting its credit card more aggressively. The Fort Worth, TX, marketer used the upper-left corner of the cover of its February catalog to inform recipients of the chance to pay no interest for 12 months on Bombay credit card purchases of $850 or more.
“We've not used the catalog cover to scream about our credit offers and our deferred-payment plans,” said Matt Corey, vice president of marketing and e-commerce. “These programs are already in our stores. Now we're leveraging the catalog and Sunday inserts to talk about them.”
The offer appears several times in the 32-page book, which has no order form.
“It's really more of a corrective for us,” he said. “We looked at it as an opportunity. How can we better leverage our Sunday inserts and catalogs to talk about the program? It's leveraging our marketing vehicles that will help drive sales. I want this to be a reason you come into the store.
“If this drives up the average ticket, or if that drives customers to come to the store to purchase a big piece of furniture they wouldn't have otherwise purchased, we win,” he said. “If someone is buying a bedroom set with a bed, nightstand, dresser [and] canopy, you're going to drop $1,000-plus anyway. The minimum [amount] was not a concern.
“We hope it drives more furniture sales and foot traffic overall, but more important is that this is a test. We've always had these programs. Now we're dialing up the promotion for the credit card offer. This is Retail 101. You've got to get them into the store.”
The offer is valid through April 11.
