Put Your Mobile Spin on Easter

Here are new fast, tech-y ways to pull shoppers into stores and be part of families’ holiday memories.

Easter’s early arrival this year means supermarkets needed an early jump into this major food day. It’s too late to emulate chains like ShopRite, which run notable programs that repeat each year - they reward purchasers of $400 in merchandise over six weeks with a free ham, turkey breast or other center-plate protein.

Yet there’s still time to add some laugh-inducing, family-friendly pop to the holiday – even now, 10 days ahead of the big day. The Lempert Report suggests a few feasible ideas that could help customers associate your stores with the making of fun memories, not just the acquisition of food.

Integrate mobile into the marketing and festivities to differentiate from traditional events – to more fully engage the already significant share of Easter shoppers tied to their devices for holiday purchasing. A new survey by the National Retail Federation Foundation Retail Insight Center reveals that 21.4 percent of smartphone owners will use their cells to research products and/or compare prices, and 13.5 percent will buy items on them for the holiday. Nearly one-fourth of tablet owners (24.9 percent) will use these devices to research products and/or compare prices, and 16.6 percent will buy Easter items via their tablet.

Therefore, TLR feels events like these could help give retailers a lasting edge:

• An in-store Easter egg hunt amped up by your store tweeting clues as the event nears and while it is going on.  These clues could help spark family teamwork – and possibly purchases if the store hides Easter eggs near items of special appeal.
• If you’re already running mobile coupons at this time, issue extra e-mail blasts to loyalty cardholders to draw more attention to them.
• Begin blogging early on your website about Easter doings at the stores.
• Urge store workers to dress in costume (like Halloween) and post photos to Instagram.  
• Make it a day that celebrates kindness. Let every child coming in write on an index card one nice thing they did for someone recently with their first name. Collect these in a box, and cite them on Facebook and your website under a headline that speaks of community caring. 

Easter is bigger this year, so the opportunities are greater. According to NRF statistics, shoppers will spend more than $5.3 billion on Easter food, up from last year, and more than $2.2 billion on candy, about the same as in 2014.