Dick’s Sporting Goods Delivers E-mail Again and Again

With the Christmas season behind us, everyone awaits the unfortunate noise that occurs in January.

THUD.

CRASH.

THUMP.

Something heavy landed in your mailbox or inbox.

It’s the credit card bill, weighed down with a scooter for Johnny, books for Susie and an Xbox for Billy.

Now that we’ve had time to reflect on the holidays, I remember not only the record number of desserts I consumed, but watching my inbox light up with specials, promotions, emergency offers from home décor, electronics, clothing retailers.

It’s the curse of marketing that I can’t/won’t unsubscribe from these e-mails; I am sucker to watch how they attempt to persuade me to open, click, and buy.

One retailer, Dick’s Sporting Goods held a special place in my inbox during December.

After Thanksgiving, I noticed a quick spike in the number of e-mails from this store. Six e-mails in a span of one week right after Thanksgiving.

I know Black Friday is the ‘Super Bowl of Shopping’, but when does ‘hey, look at me!’ ‘Hey, look at me!’ ‘Hey, look at me!’ become the returning solicitor that doesn’t get the message that you aren’t interested.

I know. I didn’t use the power of the ‘unsubscribe’; this would be the ultimate ‘stop the madness’ message. Remember the marketing curse?

But couldn’t Dick’s Sporting Goods notice through their sophisticated e-mail/profile tracking that I didn’t open one of their 23 e-mails over a 34 day period from Thanksgiving through Christmas? Wouldn’t this lack of open activity signify a lack of interest?

There is some good amidst this rant; I visited a Dick’s Sporting Goods store in late summer in Austin, Texas and enjoyed the experience.

The store was clean, the staff was approachable; I found what I was looking for and made a purchase on the spot.

Dick’s digital approach, however, needs some attention.

With the slow January shopping season underway, my inbox has been nearly Dick’s Sporting Goods free for two weeks.

Next Thanksgiving, I could unsubscribe from Dick’s Sporting Goods e-mail list, yet part of me really wants this new retailer to get both parts of the equation (online and offline) firing on all cylinders.

I love it when a good plan comes together.

Who knows? If Dick’s sends me the right offer at the right time, I might have a heavier credit card bill next year, weighed down by purchases from Dick’s Sporting Goods.

(Originally published on January 9th, 2013)

Until next time,

Dan Naden