You had me at 30% off

I'm sure I don't need to tell anyone that this weekend there is a coupon for 30% off everything at Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic. Just in case, though, here's a link (it ends tomorrow, so you've still got time!)

Hubby and I were at the mall today to drop off a dress at the tailor, and we had to walk by Banana to get there. I casually mentioned that I had the 30% off coupon in my purse (printed off just in case I was at the mall) and did he want to go in and see if he saw anything he liked? You can see where this is going. I zeroed in on a sweater I'd been eyeing and sought his opinion. He loved it, so I decided to try it on. On the way to the changeroom, I fell in love with two more sweaters and took them in to try too. One (thankfully) didn't flatter, but the other two fit like they were made for me. I couldn't decide which I liked better, and neither could hubby. I told him he was supposed to say, "Just buy both!" but he made me choose.

I picked the original sweater (light grey with a deep cowl neck) but I can't stop thinking about the second one. It's teal with a shawl collar and would add a lovely punch of colour to my wardrobe. When we got home, I was taking my new sweater out of the bag and noticed a little piece of red paper. What's this? Coupons for 40% off a single item for each of the next three Wednesdays? Teal sweater, here I come!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I'm a sucker for good marketing.
Posted by Miss Shops-a-lot / Saturday, November 14, 2009 /
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1 comments:

Miss Shops-a-lot said...

Mr. Stops the Shop-a-lot

So, today I had the chance to accompany Miss Shops-a-lot on a Saturday afternoon outing. With two kids under five and babysitters available like a cashier at the Gap on Boxing Day, it’s a luxury, but we were on a mission today. We are attending a charity gala next Saturday and Ms. Shops-a-lot required a new outfit appropriate for such an event along with the supporting accessories.
Miss shops-a-lot is gorgeous and a dead ringer for Andie MacDowell. Nothing gives me greater pleasure than seeing her find that perfect piece that has all the heads turning when we walk in the door (including mine). Now, I am conflicted in that I am the partner in the relationship responsible for asking the question, “do we really need that” or “don’t you already have something similar”? When we entered the church mall today, I knew I had to be focused on the mission at hand and keep Miss Shops-a-lot focused on the task at hand as well.
Her recollection of the Banana Republic detour was accurate. She did indicate that we had a 30% off coupon and although we were at the mall to find an outfit and accessories for a charity gala, we walked with a grey sweater perfect for a night at Fratelli’s (which she looks fantastic in). The folks in the Banana marketing department are brilliant. Even though we had no intention of buying something like this sweater today, their marketing campaign played to our basic human instincts and we felt we just couldn’t pass up this great deal which was set to expire in 24 hours.
I walked out of the store justifying the purchase in my mind. Miss Shops-a-lot looked fantastic in it and the discount was too much to pass up. I felt good about the purchase until I got home and learned that they had stuffed a 40% off a single item coupon in our bag at the store… good until next week. Miss Shops-a-lot suggested that this was a sign that she should have both sweaters and we could go back sometime next week to pick it up. I ask the Banana marketing team this: what’s a guy Santa to do?

November 14, 2009 6:27 PM

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