In this story, there are no skeletons in the closet. Instead, they are shown to everyone.

Back in July, Home Depot did something unusual: it pre-released the Halloween series online and sold out everything almost immediately. Thanks to its Halloween past, and the unlikely product smash.

In 2020, Home Depot launched a 12-foot-tall skeleton priced at $299, which is believed to have a limited market. However, this monster that broke the budget and needed to be assembled was sold out before October last year. In fact, Home Depot reported its most successful Halloween in 2020.

Now this huge skeleton is back, and it is undisguised that it may become even bigger in 2021. This creature known as "Skelly" by fans has legitimate social media attention, more and more active buyers and "playing" with continued sales in the future. This is due in part to Home Depot's shrewd and careful management of this unlikely sales sensation.

What makes the skeleton so attractive is the timing of its bold excesses—after the caution, isolation, and moderation caused by the seven-month pandemic, it disturbs the human mind. Skelly not only stands tall, but also stands for something. It is an outlet for expression (including depression), and it is also an act of control.

Here are five ways Home Depot adds meat to the bones of its surprise phenomenon.

1) Extend the holiday. In July, when Home Depot pre-released its Halloween products (including skeletons) online, it was a few months before the traditional Halloween sales season began. But Home Depot clearly has a hunch, and it does make a difference: According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), 45% of consumers said they plan to start shopping for Halloween in September or earlier. Ted Decker, Home Depot’s chief operating officer, said on the August earnings call: “We took a peek online and almost immediately sold out our pre-release Halloween products.” “This is a very strong sign. , Which shows that people will still be engaged in decoration."

2) Attract shoppers into its store. The shortage of bones is creating a treasure hunt environment that can encourage human traffic. Like big feet, fans claimed to see "Skelly" meat in designated Home Depot stores. For example, a dedicated Facebook page with 20,000 members, "12-foot Skeleton Halloween Club" will remind shoppers if a "skeleton" is found in a specific location. Home Depot’s holiday decorator and skeleton creator Lance Allen revealed: “Although many of our popular Halloween products are sold out online, customers may be lucky to find skeletons and other items in the store. Halloween decorations. "This temptation of discovery is a core part of a good in-store experience.

3) Allow joint opportunities. Just as the leg bone connects to the hip bone, the product manufacturer wants to connect to Skelly. In 2020, some consumer brands will combine their product images and skeletons on social media. Impossible Foods released the skeleton staring at a pile of huge meatless burgers. Natural Light seems to have taken a photo of a 24-piece package into the hands of the skeleton. Sour Patch Kids couldn't get its own skeleton, so a 12-foot-high "Kid" was superimposed on the front lawn. According to AdAge, as of 2021, Budweiser is marketing a Budweiser Bud Can garment (priced at $45) to "dress up the consumer's Home Depot skeleton." These efforts can expand skeletal awareness through marketing auras. A co-branding study showed that placing ads on high-quality publisher websites can increase the "halo" brand promotion by 67%.

4) Add "Crossbones" product extension. The skeleton is a lesson on how to add predictable product extensions. Compatible items in Home Depot's "Grave and Bones" series include "Bone Throne", a spider over 5 feet tall, and a 6.5-foot gravedigger. Some items are even more expensive than skeletons-an 8-foot-long animated dead ferry costs $399, and a 5-foot-long haunted hearse (with a smaller skeleton) costs $429. But in addition to predictable decorations, Home Depot can also sell a variety of equipment to help ensure that the skeleton stays in the desired position, such as bungee cords or even cement (it does have brackets and stakes, but it can become unstable )wind).

5) Provide great bone value. According to NRF reports, the skeleton price of Home Depot is close to $300, which exceeds the entire Halloween budget of an average American family—close to $103. The retailer could have tested higher prices in July, but it did not. Instead, it upgraded the skeleton by adding a power adapter for its LCD eyes. This focus on price awareness may reflect sensitivity to price fraud. Third-party sellers are buying and trying to sell the skeleton at an inflated price, and shoppers have noticed this. Research shows that price comparison or "external reference pricing" is more important for maintaining customer loyalty than simply meeting price expectations. 

This Halloween, Skelly will reveal how consumers face the fear of unpredictability and how they endure this fear. Some people may see the boom of the giant skeleton population as a cry for help for $300 per sale after a terrible 19 months. But retailers and marketers should treat it as a shout of "Hello!"

They should pay close attention to shoppers. Consumers rarely lead retailers to the grave.

Bryan Pearson is a guest writer for The Wise Marketer, and currently serves as a director and strategic consultant for a number of loyalty-related organizations. He is the former CEO of LoyaltyOne.

This article originally appeared in Forbes. Be sure to follow Bryan on Twitter to learn more about retail, loyalty, and customer experience.

Your email address will not be published. Required places have been marked *

This website uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how to handle your comment data.

Wise Marketer™ is the most widely read source of news, insights and research on all topics related to data-driven, customer-centric marketing. We provide timely and fair views to global marketing professionals.

The Loyalty Academy™ provides online education and corporate training to meet the needs of today's digital marketers. We are the source of professional certification: Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional™ (CLMP).

Welcome back to wise marketers! That is, if you have been here before! Each...

Welcome back to wise marketers! That is, if you have been here before! Each...

Welcome back to wise marketers! That is, if you have been here before! Each...

Welcome back to wise marketers! That is, if you have been here before! Each...

Dr. Chris Arnold is a marketing strategist and a proponent of "proudly dyslexic" who thinks in a different way...

Copyright © 2021 The Wise Marketer Group Privacy Policy Terms of Use

Join our mailing list for the latest customer loyalty news, research and updates.