Kohl's promotes virtual holiday celebrations
This holiday season, Kohl's is embracing technology to create a more personalised, interactive, and engaging shopping experience for customers. The retail giant's strategy involves leveraging AI, AR lenses, influencers, and livestreams to enhance sales and profits.
The centerpiece of Kohl's holiday events is an AI-driven initiative called "Kohl's Storybook Magic." This service allows customers to generate a personalized poem with gift recommendations based on their preferences. Additionally, Kohl's has introduced AR Lenses, known as "Kohl's or Coal," which emulate AI experiences for gift recommendations. These lenses walk users through pairing gifts with their loved ones, adding a fun and interactive element to the shopping experience.
To increase customer interaction time and confidence in purchases, Kohl's has incorporated AR lenses that allow customers to virtually try products or engage with immersive content linked to holiday promotions. This use of augmented reality is particularly beneficial for items like apparel or home goods.
Influencers have been integrated into Kohl's holiday campaigns to widen reach and credibility among target demographics. These partnerships help content resonate more authentically and drive social media engagement, contributing indirectly to increased traffic and sales. Kohl's is also using AR Lenses on popular platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, and Meta for holiday gift recommendations.
Livestreams and related interactive video content are being used to create real-time shopping events, showcasing deals and products with live, shoppable experiences. This tactic is intended to spark immediate buying decisions, increase customer engagement, and drive incremental sales during key holiday moments. Kohl's is hosting livestreams from Monday until Dec. 8, providing guidance on Black Friday sales, toy recommendations, holiday glam looks, and stocking stuffers.
Barbara Kahn, a professor at The Wharton School, believes this strategy appeals to younger customers. She states that using a customer to send a message to another customer is the essence of viral marketing.
Kohl's is also making efforts to engage customers offline. The retailer hosted a one-day pop-up event in Bryant Park, New York City, on Friday. The event featured an interactive snow globe generating real-time gift recommendations. The first 1,000 participants at the event received a $5 Kohl's Cash coupon.
Kohl's is reporting its Q3 results on Tuesday. While direct data on the profits impact from these specific tactics in 2022 is not available, Kohl's continued investment in AI-driven media networks and digital event enhancements indicates a strategic focus on leveraging technology-enabled personalization and engagement to drive holiday sales growth.
The retailer's recent quarter saw store comps down 5% year over year, and profits plunged 60%. However, cost-cutting measures helped Kohl's remain in the black for the period. Kohl's has also expanded its three-year partnership with beauty retailer Sephora, which brought in $9.3 billion in sales last year, and saw a 90% rise in the 2022 holiday quarter.
As the holiday shopping season continues, Kohl's is poised to leverage technology and marketing strategies to boost sales volume and improve marketing efficiency, ultimately growing overall revenue.
- Kohl's is utilizing artificial intelligence through an initiative called "Kohl's Storybook Magic" to create personalized poem and gift recommendations for customers.
- Kohl's has integrated AR Lenses, such as "Kohl's or Coal," for gift recommendations, offering an interactive and fun shopping experience.
- By partnering with influencers, Kohl's aims to widen its reach and credibility among target demographics, boosting social media engagement and indirectly increasing traffic and sales.
- Livestreams and interactive video content are being used by Kohl's to create real-time shopping events, showcasing deals, products, and immediate buying opportunities during key holiday moments.
- Kohl's has ventured offline as well, hosting a pop-up event with an interactive snow globe generating real-time gift recommendations in Bryant Park, NYC.
- In the fashion-and-beauty industry, Kohl's has expanded its partnership with Sephora, aiming to boost sales and improve overall revenue during the holiday shopping season.
