JCPenney’s Approach To Reaching Shoppers

(CTN News) – The retailer JCPenney has reverted to an old-school strategy to reinvent itself following bankruptcy.

As inflation pressures continue, Americans are spending at a more measured pace during the highly competitive back-to-school shopping season.

• Compared to May, department store spending fell 2.4% while retail sales increased 0.2%, the Census Bureau reported this week.

As part of its free loyalty program, JCPenney is offering its first-ever “Power of a Penny Reward.”.

• JCPenney said in a news release that new members who sign up by 11:59 pm CT Saturday will receive a coupon for $24.99 off a $25 purchase Monday, valid July 24-31.

• Existing members will receive an opt-in email to receive the coupon, which has a deadline of 11:59 p.m. CT on July 22.

• Axios reported that JCPenney does not limit the number of rewards members who can obtain the coupons, which have exclusions regarding their use.

It has been reported that 85% of parents are trying to be as economical as they can when they are making their back-to-school expenditures, according to a survey conducted by JCPenney of 1,000 parents.

• There has never been a time, Katie Mullen, JCPenney’s chief customer officer, has told Axios, when families have felt the pressure of back-to-school shopping as much as they do this year.

• We wanted to help shoppers put themselves back at the top of their checklists of things to do as a brand that has consistently stood for inclusive fashion at a great value,” Mullen said.

Taking a look at the current situation, GlobalData managing director Neil Saunders told Axios that the offer is “a great deal for consumers, but it does seem like an act of desperation from JCPenney’s side.”.

• There is no doubt that the brand has been weakened and has fallen off the radar of many shoppers in recent years, which is why it needs tactics to entice them back online and in stores.

• As back-to-school shoppers have a tendency to be value-conscious, the promotion makes sense as a method for driving footfall, even if it will have an impact on JCPenney’s margins as a result.” he said.

One of the first retail bankruptcies to be registered during the pandemic occurred when JCPenney filed for bankruptcy in May 2020.

• It was announced in December 2020 that Mall owners Simon Property Group Inc. and Brookfield Asset Management Inc. had bought JCPenney out of bankruptcy.

A few months later, David Simon, chairman, president and CEO of Simon Property Group, said in an earnings conference call in February that JCPenney had been “unbelievably profitable.”

• Simon expressed his satisfaction with where that company is positioned, as well as the excellent work that the management team is doing to reinvigorate the brand, and we are extremely pleased with the progress that the company has made.

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