JCPenney uses mobile to push customers in store for holiday sale

By Giselle Tsirulnik

December 24, 2008

JCPenney's holiday marketing from last year

J. C. Penney Company Inc. is using mobile to help customers beat the rush at its biggest After Christmas sale ever.

The retailer's stores will open 5:30 a.m. -- the earliest opening on the day after Christmas in company history. For the first time ever, JCPenney will offer an After Christmas sale "Wake-Up" call. Customers can visit jcp.com beginning Dec. 23 and sign-up for the "Wake-Up" call to their mobile phone.

"The strategy here is to get customers excited about coming into our stores on the day after Christmas," said Kate Parkhouse, a spokeswoman for JCPenney, Plano, TX. "The day after Christmas is becoming an increasingly popular shopping event."

JCPenney is one of America's leading retailers, operating 1,093 department stores throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.

Customers can find special offers for JCPenney's After Christmas sale online at jcp.com on Tuesday, Dec. 23 or in newspaper sales circulars on Christmas Day.

The sales circular will highlight JCPenney's After Christmas "Doorbusters" -- available to customers shopping JCPenney on Dec. 26 from 5:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Additionally, the sales circular will feature special bonus coupons which can be used on Friday, Dec. 26 and Saturday, Dec. 27 ($10 off a $50 or more purchase and $15 off a $75 or more purchase) for further savings.

The day after Christmas is one of the biggest teen shopping days of the year.

In fact, JCPenney stores will set all new merchandise in its teen departments to ensure teens can choose from a broad array of today's latest looks.

JCPenney will also extend store hours on Saturday, Dec. 27, with stores opening at 8 a.m. and closing at 11 p.m.

JCPenney offers a wide array of national, private and exclusive brands such as Arizona,, Decree, American Living, Fabulosity and C7P.

This isn't the first time JC Penney has used mobile to support one of its sales.

JCPenney had a wake-up call for Black Friday.

Additionally, this holiday season customers can sign up for helpful shopping tips to be text messaged to their mobile phone.

The company also had a mobile phone component for the Back-to-School season -- teens could opt to sign-up to receive text messages to their mobile phones featuring feature fashion tips and ideas.

"Right now mobile marketing remains a small part to our overall marketing campaign," Ms. Parkhouse said. "Our campaigns consist of wake-up calls, text messages, WAP sites, etcetera.

"As Internet-enabled mobile phones begin to become the norm, we'll begin to explore more ways to use mobile phones to market to our customer," she said.