Thanks to the internet, personal service and product offerings based on my preferences is back! And thanks to social intelligence, that computer even knows my name!I grew up in a small town where I went to school with the store owners who were also the store managers/cashier/purchasing manager and custodian. I grew up in the day of personal service. When I went into a store, I was greeted by name by the owner who had a pretty good idea why I was there. She usually had suggestions to guide my purchase in between questions about how my family was doing, how school was going, etc. Even the chain stores were franchises with local ownership and coexisted peacefully among the mom and pop stores.
Then big box discounters moved in during my high school years. My college roomate used to say about Walmart, “If they don’t have it, you don’t need it.” And with them, the small mom and pops became a thing of the past. There are still wonderful small stores, but they are much more gift, hobby and lifestyle oriented. And with them, relationship shopping left the landscape. You were expected to purchase with the masses as inventory became a decision of scaled purchasing on massive discount. So, if I was willing to go with the flow, I could buy what everyone else was buying from the front of the store at a massive discount.
Meet the loyalty program. The best of both worlds. I have been Christmas shopping the past few days and my email inbox is bursting from the seams. Discounts and links to items that are similar to or complementary to my purchases. Coupons to entice me into the store and to the website. And the banner advertising on my Google and Yahoo mail accounts all reflect where I have been spending money either online or in the store using loyalty cards and coupons. And when I go to the site, I am greeted on a first name basis and links to products are ready and waiting to hop into my shopping cart!
Gotta run! Some of my loyalty coupons are only good today…Happy shopping!
