2020 has had its fair share of low points, and a new shopping holiday may be in order to lift people’s spirits—along with giving the economy a much-needed boost.
Advisory firm Coresight Research has partnered with shopping rewards app Shopkick and B2B fashion intelligence hub Fashwire on the creation of a new and official occasion for unbridled retail therapy. Dubbed the 10.10 Shopping Festival for its main shopping day on Oct. 10, the event, which will run from Oct. 9-11, will bring together an array of brands and retailers for a day of browsing, and hopefully, buying.
According to Coresight, the aim of the mostly online deals and festivities is to invite holiday web traffic at an earlier date than years prior, helping alleviate the myriad of economic pressures felt by the retail sector throughout the Covid crisis. For consumers, the event will offer a “gamified retail experience,” with interactive activities, along with great deals on a multitude of apparel, footwear and beauty products from brands like Guess, Jos. A Bank, Kroger, Men’s Wearhouse, Shoe Carnival, Ulta Beauty, Kaanas and more.
A portion of the proceeds from the festival will benefit St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, Pink Aid, Retailers United, Soles4Souls, The Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, and the Breast Cancer Research Fund, the groups said in a statement.
Spanning the same days as Shopkick’s Shopper Appreciation Weekend, shoppers will have the opportunity to earn rewards in the form of “kicks,” the currency used on the platform. These points can be redeemed in the form of gift cards or donated to participating charities. Fashwire’s participating designers will be showcased in participating stores, as well as on the company’s e-commerce marketplace and mobile app. All designers have agreed to donate a portion of the proceeds from their sales to charitable causes.
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“With our research showing most consumers anticipate doing their holiday shopping earlier this year, it’s the perfect time to launch,” said Coresight Research founder and CEO Deborah Weinswig.
“The extra time before December will help alleviate every retailer’s nightmare in a year involving skyrocketing online sales,” she added, citing order processing, fulfillment, and shipment delays.
Weinswig pointed to Alibaba’s ultra-successful (and totally made up) Singles’ Day as a “newly created shopping holiday that turned into a resounding success,” and one of the main influences behind the creation of the 10.10 Shopping Festival.
Dave Fisch, Shopkick’s general manager, said that it is critical to earn user loyalty through great deals and incentives. “As the economic toll from the global pandemic continues to weigh on consumers,” he said, “we want to make it even more rewarding for them to accomplish their holiday shopping, whether in store or online.”
“10.10’s philanthropic mission is a powerful way to connect consumers to brands and retailers while also giving back,” added Kimberly Carney, founder and CEO of Fashwire. The event will also present an opportunity for the platform’s brands to “help boost sales now, and throughout the holiday shopping season,” she added.
“It’s critical to start the season early given what we know,” Michael Brown, a partner in the consumer practice of global strategy and management consulting firm, Kearney, said of the partners’ strategy surrounding the 10.10 Shopping Festival. Store occupancy restrictions, limited shipping capacity, questions about store workforce health and a potential second wave of the virus could all contribute to roadblocks at physical retail.
“Those that start early will capture consumer spending, while those consumers have the funds and the ability to shop freely,” he added. Retailers who participate in sales now will also be afforded an early glimpse into the products that are selling best. This could better equip them to chase goods for sales later in the year, and allow them to offload slower-selling categories now through promotions.
Brown said that the depth of this season’s discounts won’t be impacted by the timing of sales, but by consumers’ responsiveness to promotional pricing and product attractiveness.
“Retailers need to leverage advanced analytics to proactively monitor competitors, suppliers, consumer response and health and wellness trends,” he said, in order to “react quickly to what will be a rollercoaster of a holiday season.”
While the season will undoubtedly offer up unprecedented challenges, brands and retail companies are betting on early sales to shift the tides in their favor. The 10.10 Shopping Festival has amassed a multitude of partners across platforms.
Participating retailers and brands include Auburn Jewelry, Bloom Beauty, Dermelect, Graphic Image, Guess, Hollywood Fashion Secrets, Jos A. Bank, K&G Fashion Stores, Kroger, Men’s Wearhouse, Organic Candy Factory, Puravi and Shock. Brands participating exclusively on Shopkick include First Leaf, Lenovo, Shoe Carnival and Ulta Beauty.
Fashwire’s brand partners include Alivia, Amaya, Andrew & Cole, aSady, Beauhstyle, Celeste Sol, CoFi Leathers, D-Luca, Dezen, Elizabeth Moore, Elizabeth Reid, Feller, Gigi New York, Gold & Honey, Kaanas, Maneesha Ruia, Mantari, Milwaukee Boot, Modern Tie, Mona Assemi, Moral Code, Murmur, Rafe New York, Rebecca Nadler, Redd Accessories, Rossario George, Royal Nomad, Rubin Singer, Shannon Koszyk, Suzanna Dai and Valeria Amaral.
The festival also boasts supporting partners from the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce to supply chain platform Blue Yonder, return reduction platform Newmine, logistics firm Position Imaging, the Retail Innovation Conference, Tanger Outlets, retail resale platform Trove, and Science.