Looks like Chase and a few retail stores have been working together to make this upcoming holiday season just a little more special. Chase is offering Sapphire and Ink credit card holders extra discounts and extra cash back to stores like Groupon, Kohls, Best Buy, Apple Store, Target and Overstock.com. In addition, to spice up Cyber Monday, Chase is offering its Sapphire and Ink card holders 25% off your entire purchase at Best Buy. So if you plan on making a big purchase during this holiday season, we highly recommend signing up for a Chase Sapphire or Ink in advance so you'll be able to use your credit card to save BIG on Cyber Monday.
- Groupon - Earn 20% extra cash back for every $1 spent (November 14th)
- Kohls - Earn 10% extra cash back for every $1 spent (November 21st)
- Best Buy - Earn 10% extra cash back for every $1 spent (November 25th)
- Apple Store - Earn 10% extra cash back for every $1 spent (November 28th)
- Target - Earn 10% extra cash back for every $1 spent (December 5th)
- Overstock - Earn 10% extra cash back for every $1 spent (December 25th)
Chase Sapphire and Ink Credit Card Offers:
- Chase Sapphire℠ (Visa)
- Earn 25,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months
- 2 points per dollar spent on dining & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases
- No annual fee
-
- Ink℠ Classic Business (Visa)
- 25,000 bonus point w/ $5,000 spent in the first 3 months
- Earn 2-5X Points on the first $25,000 in spend annually
- Unlimited 1 point per dollar on all other purchases
- 0% APR for 6 Month & No annual fee
-
- Ink Cash℠ Business (Visa)
- $250 cash back w/ $5,000 spent in the first 3 months
- 2-5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent annually
- 1% cash back on everything
- 0% APR for 6 Month & No annual fee
-
Looks like Chase and a few retail stores have been working together to make this upcoming holiday season just a little more special. Chase is offering Sapphire and Ink credit card holders extra discounts and extra cash back to stores like Groupon, Kohls, Best Buy, Apple Store, Target and Overstock.com. In addition, to spice up Cyber Monday, Chase is offering its Sapphire and Ink card holders 25% off your entire purchase at Best Buy. So if you plan on making a big purchase during this holiday season, we highly recommend signing up for a Chase Sapphire or Ink in advance so you'll be able to use your credit card to save BIG on Cyber Monday.
- Groupon - Earn 20% extra cash back for every $1 spent (November 14th)
- Kohls - Earn 10% extra cash back for every $1 spent (November 21st)
- Best Buy - Earn 10% extra cash back for every $1 spent (November 25th)
- Apple Store - Earn 10% extra cash back for every $1 spent (November 28th)
- Target - Earn 10% extra cash back for every $1 spent (December 5th)
- Overstock - Earn 10% extra cash back for every $1 spent (December 25th)
Chase Sapphire and Ink Credit Card Offers:
- Chase Sapphire℠ (Visa)
- Earn 25,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months
- 2 points per dollar spent on dining & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases
- No annual fee
-
- Ink℠ Classic Business (Visa)
- 25,000 bonus point w/ $5,000 spent in the first 3 months
- Earn 2-5X Points on the first $25,000 in spend annually
- Unlimited 1 point per dollar on all other purchases
- 0% APR for 6 Month & No annual fee
-
- Ink Cash℠ Business (Visa)
- $250 cash back w/ $5,000 spent in the first 3 months
- 2-5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent annually
- 1% cash back on everything
- 0% APR for 6 Month & No annual fee
-
Best Buy could suffer collateral damage from the expected launch tomorrow of Amazon‘s move into the Android-based tablet market, Piper Jaffray analyst Peter Keith asserts in a research note. Keith notes that a proprietary survey of 410 “online participants” suggest “very healthy demand” for an Amazon tablet, which is reportedly called the Kindle Fire, at a $249 price point.
“At this price, we believe this product could create yet another sales headwind for BBY over the coming year as a result of AMZN’s self-distribution model,” Keith writes in a research note. “While BBY may ultimately sell the AMZN tablet, we expect they will under-index in market share.”
In other words, if you buy an Amazon tablet, chances are you are not buying some other tablet via Best Buy.
Keith writes that his survey found that 66% of respondents would be interested in buying an Amazon tablet within 12 months of launch at a $249 price point. Some 62% said they would be more likely to buy the Amazon tablet over than an Apple iPad priced at $599. “We note that this is not a perfect question or comparison given that the details of the AMZN haven’t been released yet and that there is one iPad available for $499 (although the $599 version is the most popular), however we believe that the question shows that there is again significant demand for an AMZN tablet computer,” he adds.
Piper estimates that Amazon could sell 2.5 million tablets through the end of the calendar year.
Keith keeps his Neutral rating and $25 target on Best Buy shares.
BBY yesterday closed at $25.22.
Best Buy may be building fewer big-box stores in malls and shopping centers nationwide. But when it comes to the virtual world, the consumer-electronics giant is looking to grab some digital real estate.
The company recently partnered with San Francisco-based Zynga to allow players to "place" Best Buy stores in the "CityVille" game on Facebook. By making itself a fixture in the popular social game, Best Buy hopes to move beyond traditional advertising and engage consumers in a manner that's equal parts familiar and cutting-edge.
"Our core customers spend a lot of their time on Facebook," said Alix Hart, senior director of digital marketing at Best Buy. "CityVille" "is such a great fit to reach consumers where they are. This is the deepest we've ever gone in social gaming."
Best Buy is trying to get ahead of what industry experts call "gamification," a marketing concept that seeks to effortlessly fuse social media, entertainment and commerce. Although Best Buy generated more than $50 billion in revenue last year, sales from its brick-and-mortar stores has slowed. That's why Best Buy and other retailers want to boost sales by more closely integrating stores with websites and mobile devices.
Retailers could exploit the popularity of "FarmVille," "Mafia Wars" and "Cafe World" — games where users can play and interact with each other on Facebook, Yahoo and Google — and reach gamers with deals, product info and loyalty programs.
In May, HSN (formerly the Home Shopping Network) launched HSN Arcade on its website. Internet retailer Bluefly.com signed up with Badgeville, a Silicon Valley-based gamification startup that recently raised $12 million in venture capital.
Going a little further
Media and tech giants such as Google, Microsoft, Sony and NBC Universal attended the Gamification Summit in New York City.
"It's certainly new," said Dan Shust, who heads innovation for Resource Interactive, a digital-marketing agency based in Columbus, Ohio, which works with retailers. Best Buy's presence on "CityVille" "does go a little further. I can see a whole lot more retailers doing it."
In "CityVille," players build the city of their dreams, including homes, businesses, famous landmarks and public buildings. They can recruit their family and friends to work in police departments and build franchises, such as toy stores. Players can place Best Buy stores in their cities, where they collect items like a smartphone, camera or refrigerator. Collecting these items can win gamers points, energy boosts, game coins and even Geek Squad vehicles that roam the city.
Of course, too much marketing can turn off gamers. But they can naturally associate Best Buy stores with the reality-based world of "CityVille" Shust said.
"There's no reason to see Best Buy in 'Halo,' " said Shust, referring to the popular Xbox video game. In "CityVille," "I wouldn't want a generic big-box store. I want that Best Buy store in my city."
Social games like "CityVille" also offer retailers a wider audience than the hard-core gamers, who tend to be young and male. Fifty percent of the U.S. online population age 18 to 45 plays social games on a daily basis, according to a recent study by Saatchi & Saatchi. Of that group, 46 percent are women.
"Retailers [covet] female shoppers," said Carol Spieckerman, president of Newmarketbuilders, a retail-strategy firm in Bentonville, Ark. "And social gaming is relevant to women."
Appealing aspect
In addition, 66 percent of social gamers own a tablet and 53 percent are smartphone users.
That's especially appealing to Best Buy, which has been aggressively courting consumers on their mobile devices.
Will building Best Buys in "CityVille" lead to real-world sales?
"I don't know," Hart of Best Buy said. "Our first priority is to build brand consideration" among players.
Between Aug. 31 and Sept. 6 — the week Best Buy appeared on "CityVille" — the retailer gained more than 1 million fans on Facebook.
"This was unprecedented for us," spokeswoman Erin Bix wrote in an email. "We are still assessing other metrics, like traffic to our website and engagement with the game. But we are thrilled with the results we have so far and the positive feedback we've heard from our fans on Facebook."
Best Buy will return to "CityVille" for a week beginning Nov. 6, just in time for the holiday-shopping season.
Best Buy and Zynga officials say they are open to introducing more real-world transactions into the game. For instance, Spieckerman of Newmarketbuilders said consumers could one day buy real merchandise in "CityVille" Best Buy stores that they can't find in the actual stores.
"I don't see them not doing it," Spieckerman said.