Well before Thanksgiving, holiday decorations and special sales were out in force.
Retailers seem especially determined this year to make healthy sales during this do-or-die time of year—after all, November and December sales can make up nearly a third of a retailer’s yearly sales.
But for many retailers, the holiday season isn’t just about racking up sales. It’s also a time to give. And that makes sense: Americans themselves are charity-minded at the holidays, says communications expert Alison DaSilva, and expect companies to be as well.
Special holiday giving events
Several retailers host annual charity events that have become associated with their brand. Macy’s has worked with the Make A Wish Foundation for its Believe! campaign for the past seven years, with the idea to give kids (or anyone) who believe in Santa Claus a chance to send him a note with a wish list. For every letter to Santa, Macy’s donates a dollar (up to $1 million) to the Make A Wish Foundation.
Similarly, the Tysons Corner mall in Northern Virginia hosts a “Night of Giving,” with special retail promotions and events after hours at the mall, which closes early and re-opens to ticket holders. Several charities partner with the mall for the event.
Product tie-ins
Target and TOMS Nov. 16 launched a buy-one, give-one program, which goes beyond TOMS' approach of giving a pair of shoes for every pair of its shoes purchased. Instead, anything marked “Target + TOMS” will trigger a charitable donation of shoes, blankets, or meals. Products include clothes, accessories, home goods, and shoes.
The program has partnered with the American Red Cross, the Canadian Red Cross, Feeding America, Food Banks Canada, and the usual TOMS donation channels.
"Target is the defender of design democracy," says Shireen Jiwan, founder-CEO of brand consultancy Sleuth. "A seemingly endless string of designer collaborations with everyone from Altuzarra to Missoni has left [some people] with a slightly sour taste in [their] mouths — as though all this mashing up is little more than gratuitous cash grabbing. The holidays are a perfect time for Target to renew its vow to deliver 'design for all' through a partnership with purpose and meaning."
Similarly, e-retailer Zappos.com recently announced that for every order it receives on Black Friday weekend, it will donate 10 meals to Feeding America.
Meanwhile, Nordstrom’s Treasure & Bond offshoot began a couple of years ago as a New York City store that gave 100% of its profits to New York Public Library, the Coalition for the Homeless, and other New York charities. The brand has since become a permanent fixture of Nordstrom’s e-commerce site that gives a portion of its profits to nonprofits supporting women and girls.
"We loved the feeling that treasure&bond evoked in the New York City community, and it just felt right to extend that same sense of philanthropy and giving back to its namesake brand," says Nordstrom brand manager Julie Goldstein. "We're proud to carry on that legacy through these clothes, and hope our customers love that they can be a part of that."
Giving via technology
No surprise, there are a few apps that enable giving as well. Using Check in for Good, a customer can “check in” at a participating retailer, prompting an automatic donation from the business. It’s sort of a combination of the donation jar at checkout and Foursquare.
ORaffle is a charity website that allows players to donate to a charity of choice and be entered to win prices like an expensive handbag for just $1.
And iMyne is a project that takes rebates and unclaimed refunds and donates them to charity using a browser plug-in or mobile app.
Kindness to workers
This year, many retailers have also decided that charity begins at home, or, more precisely, at work. Retail employees' working conditions have come under close scrutiny recently, and not just for being underpaid. Being closed on Thanksgiving Day has become a way for many retailers to give back to their workers at a time when they’re working pretty hard.
“For us, it’s a matter of principle,” said GameStop president Tony Bartel about the retailer’s decision to keep its 4,600 U.S. stores closed on Thanksgiving.
“We want our associates to enjoy their complete holidays. We don’t believe we will lose any ground to competitors," continued Bartel. "[But] even if we lose some ground to competitors, we are making it corporate principle — we have committed to associates that we will not open on Thanksgiving.”
