Word-of-Mouth and Referral Marketing Blog

How Bloomingdale’s Makes Shopping Classy and Fashionable

Bloomingdale’s is an American department chain that was established in 1861, by Lyman G. and Joseph B. Bloomingdale. As of 2017, there are 17 outlet stores, and 38 full-time stores which currently have the Bloomingdale’s nameplate on them all over the USA. Apart from that, they also have a fully functional e-commerce site that has all their products lined up. According to stats, in April 2018, there were approximately 7.34 million visitors on their website.

Regardless of the fact that Bloomingdale’s is a reputable name in the market for clothing and a great departmental store, they didn’t fall behind in using digital marketing tactics as the market trends were shifting. Now, not only do we see this store in a vast number of malls all over the country, but also on the internet with their socially active Facebook page, and top-of-edge e-commerce website. Take a look at how Bloomingdale’s has managed to use e-commerce marketing strategies to prove its worth in the online market as well.

Maintaining Their Standards

Source: MR Magazine

You might be thinking what this has got to do with their e-commerce approach, but if you take a closer look, most people visit their website because the brand has established its worth in the American market. They have always succeeded in meeting consumer demands by not only providing high-quality products but also by making trendy and high-end department stores that reel you in for all your shopping needs.

Bloomingdale’s has become a symbol of fashion and class, a role model for other brands to follow in the American departmental store industry.

Bloomingdale’s Mobile App

Bloomingdale's App
Bloomingdale’s App (source: Bloomingdale’s)

We all know the significance of targeting mobile users in your next marketing plan. Bloomingdale’s created a mobile app for their e-commerce store which offered many exclusive app-only offers to promote users to download and sign-up on it. This app lets you pick up the orders you make directly from the store on the same day. In addition, if you can’t find the size or colour of a dress you wish to purchase, you can scan their code and get them delivered to your doorstep.

You can even subscribe to their alerts that can keep you updated, so you never have to miss any of their new arrivals or sales that are active in a nearby outlet.

Google AdWords Campaign

Google Search accounts for a sizable chunk of internet traffic. Every website on the internet aims to get listed in Google Search and Google News to generate traffic. Why wouldn’t they? On average, Google processes over 40,000 search queries every second; that is 3.5 billion search per day and 1.2 trillion searches per year. Imagine if you can tap into such potential.

Bloomingdale’s marketing strategy includes using Google Search to attract traffic to its website. Through using Google AdWords, Bloomingdale can generate high-quality leads and convert them into sales.

Google AdWords is a service that allows businesses to set their target audience and market their website in an effort to attract more visitors. Since these visitors are coming from Google, they are far more likely to convert than any other regular visitor. In the current digital age, it is not enough to just have a website up and running; it has to be promoted. So that Search Engines can pick them up and rank them. The higher your ranking, the better your brand will come up in searches.

Social Media Strategy

Social media is a powerful tool that brands have utilized to gain attraction over the years, and same is true for Bloomingdale.

The rules of the digital revolution dictate that you must have a presence on the internet. Content marketing approach is leading the front with valuable information that converts potential customers into leads. Bloomingdale currently has active accounts on all major social media platforms, such as, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

For a brand as powerful as Bloomingdale, it is not about building a brand-image as much as it is about having a strong presence in all the channels where customers are likely to follow. It is also about having an equal footing with the competition who are no doubt using social media for their marketing.

Email Marketing Strategy

Email marketing has always been considered one of the most effective marketing strategies of all time. Even though many consumers fear opening promotional emails due to scams and viruses, many e-commerce businesses have managed to increase their sales with this method.

Bloomingdale's Newsletter
Bloomingdale’s Newsletter (source: Marketing Sherpa)

Bloomingdale’s also felt the importance of email marketing and launched its campaign. They used up all the data that they have been gathering from subscribers and customers to create the right target audience. In fact, they have an active 10% off offer for all new subscribers that share their email addresses. Even though this departmental chain considers teen and young adults as its target audience, older customers have also been show to purchase many products from the brand.

Their strategy involved sending emails to those visitors that have abandoned their carts or vied a particular product or a group of products several times without making a purchase. In the beginning, the company witnessed a slow response. However, as they continued to focus on this strategy and target more visitors, the digits started to double. Results showed that the sale had gone up by 50%. Not only did the company focus more on this campaign, but it has started planning for more ideas that involve generating leads through email marketing.

Flash and Seasonal Sales

Bloomingdales Men Sales
Source: Bloomingdale’s

Who doesn’t love discounts? Many people always remain alert on social networks and keep their eyes peeled for news on sales that are about to go live. Bloomingdale’s has also adopted this strategy, just like almost every other online store, to increase the volume of sales and attract more traffic to the website.

Bloomingdale’s occasionally provides sales and offers for its customers. In fact, if you take a look at their e-commerce site, you’ll always see a variety of products available on discount on their sale page.

Bloomingdale’s Success

Over the years, Bloomingdale’s has hit the news several times, not only because it is considered one of America’s top departmental stores but also due to their management closing down several underperforming stores that were once loaded with customers every day.

The primary reason behind these stores falling under the radar is the change in the trend of consumers preferring online shopping over the traditional going-to-the-mall method. It merely saves you the time and effort of either walking or driving down to a nearby store. In addition, online stores have become better due to the constant sales that pop up every now and then.

Bloomingdale’s accepted the changes and started diverting their marketing team’s focus towards their website. With the strategies mentioned above, they have managed to attract millions of visitors to their webpage and also increased their sales by 50%.

Aqiba D

Aqiba D

Aqiba is a professional writer based in Houston, Texas. Her passion is content writing and has been writing for 7 years.