Wet Seal's Cellphone Promotion Puts a Twist on Mobile Commerce
What began as a remedy for a sluggish Back-to-School season may have garnered happy customers for The Wet Seal—if not paying ones—for now, anyway.
While many apparel retailers, such as Target and Aeropostale, went digital in the most obvious sense—beefing up online deals and releasing new smartphone apps—Wet Seal, based in Foothill Ranch, Calif., took a slightly different and much more literal approach: It began to offer up the phones themselves.
Starting July 12, Wet Seal shoppers received a card detailing how to claim their new smartphone (installed with the company’s iRunway mobile Android app) for the premium cost of a two-year plan and a trip to the fitting room. Once you’ve tried on a pair of denims, you’ve got yourself a phone.
When Wet Seal’s unique Back-to-School promotion first launched, Chief Executive Officer Susan McGalla said the strategy highlighted the company’s reputation as an “industry leader” in the forum of mobile commerce. During the company’s Aug. 18 second-quarter-earnings call, she deemed the Android strategy a “good marketing handle.” She carefully noted she could not make a definitive association between the promotion and an increase in sales.
Analysts such as Liz Pierce of Roth Capital Partners think Wet Seal’s unorthodox promotion was a step in the right direction. Brands targeting “tweens” are going to get more from digging into their customers’ habits than their wallet.
“The purpose [of the promotion] extends beyond conversion or customers buying more things in the store,” Pierce said. “The strategy is to associate the brand with what is relevant and important to its target customer.” Pierce and Mc- Galla don’t need a survey to know that inside every denim pocket is a new tech toy. —Paula Lehman
