"Beat the Clock" at Flash Sales Without Breaking Your Budget

Five Tips to Gilt, Rue La La, Haute Look, Totsy and the ever-breeding flash sales, by Nancy Brenner

Put any items you might want immediately into your cart. Invite friends, family and foes to join (you can earn a credit anywhere from $5-$20 each time one person makes a purchase).  Don't want the UPS man to be your new BFF as you race around returning stress-triggered purchases? Send a pic to a shopping buddy and make sure items fits into your budget, lifestyle and CLOSET.

Best categories to buy: items where you absolutely know your fit, like lingerie, or fit is not an issue, like, luggage, baby clothes, picture frames, blow dryers.

Check color before you click - a trigger-happy shopper trying to buy a shoe before it's gone may not realize the switch from the picture in the color (black) to the one that's available (hence I have a Tory Burch nearly never worn pair of orchid hued flat with navy studs in my closet).

Absolute must have - or maybe not so much - if you're teetering, wait for the final sales, when you'll swoop in and get best buys (if there is something left in your size).

And lastly, flash sales can be addictive, someone told me she drops at least $100 every time she goes on Gilt, so try not to log on every day out of habit.

And for more insights, read today's USA Weekend article (GSNYC is mentioned!): http://www.usaweekend.com/article/20100507/MONEY/5090304/Online-flash-sales-offer-quick-savings

Bring Brass Knuckle Rings! Report From the Front: Cynthia Steffe...

...and a mouth guard to the Cynthia Steffe sale as it is one of the roughest rides of the year.

Sale tips: Pop in your contacts - no matter how itchy your eyes are from the 10.9 pollen count. Don't stop to tweet, IM, update your Facebook status or check out the Rue La La sale on your iPhone app. Do not haul your 50 lb. IT, bag; it will just slow you down. Bib necklace? Remove, even if you just bought it at the Lee Angel sample sale, no time to untangle an unwieldy top. Say "hi" to guard Bobbi on the way in, who organized the Pamplona "running of the bulls" this morning.

Dresses with tags still attached for $275 sold for $30. Silk tops for $20. Leathers - only saw two pieces - one skirt fit for a tiny 10-year-old at $50, leathers were wiped out by the "friends and family" start at 9 a.m. Watch out for the gang of merch and mirror hoarders from Cedarhurst - some of them are reselling and they grab the goods like no one else. Tip: Shop the floor near their posse for discards.

If you've been feeling an urge to splurge, go. Not for the shy or uninitiated.

550 Seventh Avenue - 10-5 Thursday 10th Floor, Friday, no telling what will remain...

Because SOMEONE has to do it...thanks Nancy Brenner!

The customer is back in vogue!

Why is there a resurgence in customer service in the "invite only" retail sector when sales numbers for traditional stores are hitting rock bottom and even malls are renegotiating their leases.? In the last ten days, two online "invite only" sample sale houses are seeking to seduce customers not only with prices that are paltry compared to retail, but enticements of customer service. Online retailer, Gilt, proclaimed, "Tada! A Better Way To Shop Consolidated Sales." And, in an e-mail admission, the CEO says, "I am well aware that navigating our consolidated sales has been….let's say 'less than optimal'. You've weighed in on this issue often enough that I couldn't bear the idea of hosting another Final Sale until we had a more elegant solution."

When was the last time you heard that from a CEO of any type of company? According to today's Wall Street Journal, Gilt just landed an additional $40 million in funding from Matrix and General Atlantic. Valued at $400 million, Gilt is planning to expand its offerings. Their revenue is expected to hit $500 million in 2010.

Gilt is even soliciting additional feedback offering, "We'll keep tweaking the format and functions till you tell us it's 'just right.'" Where are the rest of the retailers? Why has it taken so long for the retail industry to notice its customers?

Another player in this invite-only space, Rue La La, asks its customers if they are having an "ooh la la moment?" They launched several new initiatives creating an easier shopping experience by making a significant change in their shipping policies. They are offering free returns on shipping and now customers don't have to pay twice if they order more than once during the same day before a 10 pm EST deadline. This week's wares includes everything from name brand clothes to pots to watches. Although they were overcrowded this week and needed to shut down the site for the better part of the day. This reminds me of the good old days when Zappos first started.

These two online invite only sample sale purveyors are taking the customer service piece seriously. According to the "Customer Experience Blog" by Bruce Temkin, Vice President & Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, this attitude adjustment will reap revenues. Temkin analyzed data on customer loyalty and how that can affect revenue. The bottom line is that investment is customers are a key revenue booster.

Some key findings:
o The difference in loyalty between companies in the top quartile of customer experience (when measured against industry averages) and the companies in the lowest quartile:
- 14.4% more customers willing to buy another product
- 15.8% more customers reluctant to switch
- 16.6% more customers likely to recommend

o Temkin also examined the revenue change from a 10 point increase in a firm's Customer Experience Index. It results in a $284 million change for every $10 billion in revenue (average across 12 industries):
- Additional purchases: $65 million
- Reduction in churn: $116 million
- Word of mouth: $103 million

Temkin's bottom line: Customer experience is a great investment. Apparently both online retailers agree and are investing in their customers.
.........................

By Nancy "when I'm not shopping I'm writing about shopping" Brenner

Rue La La Can't Handle the Crush of Shoppers?

My friend just got this message today: "We apologize... Rue La La is currently experiencing technical issues. We've temporarily closed today's Boutique while we work to resolve the issues. We apologize for this inconvenience and will reopen the Boutique at the soonest possible moment. Thank you. "

What's the ooh la la about Rue La La?

The ever-enthusiastic bargain shopper and writer, Nancy Brenner, pens another insightful piece for GSNYC:

What's the ooh la la about Rue La La (ruelala.com) and all these other "invite only" sample sales that seem to crop up daily? Portero.com's porter private beta launched last week. After what seemed like an interminable wait, the merch from Rue La La arrived and it was a perfect fit - the petite cardigan was just the right size and the color was as posted. The skirt fit fine as well - I admit going online and sorting, selecting and buying in 7 minutes was very fast - even by my seasoned sample sale standards, but I would try again if I knew the brand very well (in this case Beth Bowley), what size suited me in that brand and factored in the cost of delivery (and ensuing risk of return rate).

How to shop the sites? Here are my quick tips: try to sign on a few minutes before hand - sizes disappear quickly and how was shocked that the sold out banner appears within minutes; you can easily be tempted to buy too much too fast (I set a mental dollar budget before I went online), so think about what might be complimentary to your existing wardrobe before you sign on or what you truly want to add, pre-spot check the web to make sure the merchandise is current and of course - that the price is right - in checking out a few of these types of sales (but no other purchases), the prices and selection are much better at the "real" "brick and mortar" sample sales where you can often can get that one of a kind piece for a true sample price. The online sales all have limited selections. FYI, the merchandise came with an easy to return pre-printed UPS label for $9.95 for a credit - not a return. There are no returns at sample sales, but not a pressing need to make such split second decisions. Online there is no time to sort through "your pile," or change your mind while waiting to pay at checkout. On the other hand, no long lines to pay, no broken registers to contend with, no mad dash to the garment district or Chelsea Market or some narrow little street lower down, two subway lines away, no women to fend off from trying to rip off your clothes while you're foraging for a try-on mirror, no checking of all your belongings except for you wallet and your cell, no men wandering around claiming to "shop for their girlfriends" while staring at women in various stages of undress (hey - it's time to start banning those guys) and best, but not least, no roving cell phone paparazzi snapping pics of you pre-dawn, makeupless on a long line in the rain as if you were the next Paris Hilton landing up on the latest fashion sample sale blog for all your frenemies, exs and co-workers to see.

So try out ideeli.com, gilt.com (where a "bargain" is a $995 Chloe cropped sequined jacket reduced from $3,600 and already believe-it-or-not sold out), thetopsecret.com or others. But think before you click - will the dress make you look like Gaby in Desperate Housewives, or will you look just plain desperate.

Who knows, this year may be the last big year of sample sales as retailers retract, designers disappear and sample sales, both brick and mortar and online, just may go the way of the IT bag.