Over the last few weeks a new JC Penny's in Fairview, Texas has been test marketing "Hybrid-Only" parking spots. Amidst Walmart's plans only to carry sustainable products in its stores, this move by JC Penny's to 'go green' seems to miss the mark.
As parents (JC Penny's target audience) gear up for another school year, they pack the kids into their Suburbans and hunt for a Penny's parking spot only to find the prime 10 spots are for hybrid vehicles only? Look, we're all for fuel-efficiency, but alienating your target audience by forcing them to park and drag their kids 200 yards to your doors is a leap in the wrong direction.
Here's a big marketing idea for Penny's: change the signs to "Family Parking Only," and offer reusable shopping bags tagged with discount bar codes to encourage shoppers to return to their store with the bags for a discount, albeit a smaller one, at checkout.
Using preferential parking as a means to hop on the green ban-wagon is a cop-out and a bad marketing idea.
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Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Hybrid Only Car Parking is a Bad Marketing Idea
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NPR Topics: Technology
Offering an incentive (discount) bringing your own shopping bags seems like it would make a lot more sense and more green. Other large companies have already adopted similar incentives. For expample, Starbucks offers you 10 cents off your cup of coffee if you bring your own cup.
ReplyDeleteOffering parking spaces to only hybrid vehicles doesn't do anything for the environment, it simply gives hybrid owners a pat on the back and forces the families in SUVs to walk an extra 50 feet.
Does anyone think hybrid vehicle owners need a pat on the back?
ReplyDeleteI think they'd rather a discount for bringing their own bags...
Hybrid only parking = executive level FAIL.
ReplyDeleteHYBRID-only car spaces could be introduced in shopping centres to reward environmentally aware customers.
ReplyDelete