EXCLUSIVE Q&A: JCPenney brand CEO talks Black Friday, tech trends
A retailer known for its Black Friday promotions continues building on that legacy.
Chain Store Age recently spoke with Michelle Wlazlo, brand CEO of JCPenney, about how the department store retailer capitalizes on its traditional status as a leading Black Friday destination by using the latest customer engagement strategies and solutions.
How is JCPenney preparing for Black Friday?
JCPenney is one of the main retailers that still gets the hundreds of people in line on Black Friday. First, they are coming for our deals. We invest our time, energy and efforts to make sure we have incredible new products, and we are holding our pricing, so customers know they are going to find deals.
In addition, for Black Friday we offer both emotional connection and gamification. For example, we have the JCPenney snow globe, which we have been offering for decades. Every season’s model has the year on it. It's a very sentimental item which JCPenney is known for.
We also have giveaways in the store throughout the day. JCPenney really tries to have Black Friday be both a celebration and a source of good deals.
Is stretching out the Black Friday promotional period having any effect on the actual day?
What we have seen over the over the years is people still come to shop out on the actual date of Black Friday. I think it has spread out some of the buying behavior, but I think consumers know many of the best deals will still be offered that day and they also want the experience of shopping on Black Friday with their families.
But there are customers who don't want to go to the store at 5 a.m. the Friday after Thanksgiving and we see a lot of them shopping earlier deals.
Does JCPenney see a significant uptake in omnichannel purchasing on Black Friday?
We have been very mindful over the years to have Black Friday be a shared experience across channels. Pricing online is the same as pricing in stores. We have worked to make it easy for fulfillment also, and we are seeing more customers who don't want to deal with all the boxes involved with buying online and instead are picking up in-store.
JCPenney also sees strong online business on Thanksgiving Day, when our brick-and-mortar stores are closed. There is a lot of online shopping early on Thanksgiving night, after everyone has settled down after the meal. But it does continue through the weekend, so Black Friday for us is as big online as it is in stores.
Does Cyber Monday have any detrimental effect on Black Friday online sales?
JCPenney treats Cyber Monday as a separate sales event from Black Friday. Some items come in new for Cyber Monday. We look at it creatively and in terms of messaging to consumers as two distinct events.
How important are emerging sales channels like social shopping and live shopping to Black Friday?
A lot of consumers are going to those types of channels. We launched social selling earlier this year. What we're seeing, more than anything, is customers are engaging in social content from us and they're linking into our website.
[READ MORE: JCPenney promotes brand offerings with ‘Real Big Deals’]
JCPenney will learn about social selling’s impact on Black Friday this year, because we just launched it.
What general advice would you offer retailers to have the most successful Black Friday possible?
For JCPenney, Black Friday is truly an experience. It's not just a sales day. It's really an experience for our customers. We get a lot of shoppers coming in wanting our in-store services, like getting their hair done. That's why it's an experience. You're not just shopping; you're engaging in the salon, the portrait studio, the beauty area, or our fine jewelry business.
It's an important day to communicate with our customers and to connect with them in a more meaningful way.
JCPenney operates 650-plus stores across the U.S. and Puerto Rico and is a banner of Catalyst Brands.
