Kmart Launches Twitter Promotion
Discount department store retailer Kmart, who ran a social networking-themed promotion in December 2008, is returning to the social networking realm, this time on popular social networking site Twitter.
Today on its Twitter page, Kmart offered free shipping on online orders of $99 or more placed on kmart.com with a special promotional code only available to Twitter users. This follows a holiday season promotional campaign Kmart launched in December 2008 where six well-known bloggers were given $500 gift certificates to go on a shopping spree in a Kmart store and then asked to share their experience with their readers.
It is becoming almost routine for retailers to actively integrate customer-facing activities with Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites. Kmart parent company Sears Holding Company, who has offered social shopping for prom dresses on Facebook, recently purchased Israeli social networking site Delver.com and said it plans to expand its global online strategy and build more meaningful relationships with customers.
Online consumer entertainment retailer Netflix recently launched its own Facebook promotion, and also pizza retailer Papa John’s has actively integrated promotional efforts with Facebook. Papa John’s launched a Facebook-based promotional tie-in with the NCAA men’s basketball championships earlier this month, following a successful pizza giveaway for Facebook users in November 2008.