Sears Holds Members-Only Holiday Season Sale, Welcomes Anyone

http://ift.tt/1xBg0dq

For a while now, we’ve found something kind of confusing about communications that come from the parent company of Sears and Kmart, Sears Holdings. They refer to their customers as “members,” even though they are not a warehouse club and anyone can shop there. This holiday season, though, they’ve arranged a special members-only event: an exclusive sale the Sunday before Thanksgiving.

Hey, that’s great! Only this members-only perk isn’t very exclusive. You can sign up for the Shop Your Way Rewards program in seconds by handing over your e-mail address or linking your Facebook or Twitter account. You can even get one without signing up by texting the word “EXCLUSIVE” to 73277, though Sears then has your cell phone number.

A “members-only” sale is meant to be exclusive, but this one is open to anyone who is interested in being a member. Shop Your Way is one of the more logical customer loyalty programs that we’ve ever seen, since your points simply have cash value that you can use as a discount on your next order. However, Sears still isn’t Costco, and it’s silly to simultaneously promote something as “exclusive” yet let anyone willing to hand over an e-mail address in.

Sears’ Black Friday TV Deals Are Good, Not Great [Consumer Reports]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist