The touch, the feel, of discounts.
The fabric of our lives could save consumers $20 the next time they shop at Colonie Center because the mall is offering a $20 gift card to those who purchase $150 or more of products made up of at least 50 percent cotton.
The back-to-school promotion is one the new owners of the mall, Jones Lang LaSalle, are familiar with and have used for several years at their more than 20 malls nationwide.
Noreen Hiltsley, marketing manager for Colonie Center, said the mall owners, who took ownership a few months ago, wanted to bring the program to Colonie Center to give customers an incentive to purchase cotton products.
`They take their receipts and go to the customer service station and customer service adds up the amount of receipts and if it comes to $150 or above, they receive a $20 gift certificate,` Hiltsley said.
Hiltsley said the promotion will be held while supplies last, though it officially runs until Wednesday, Sept. 30.
Marissa Barlin, a spokeswoman for Cotton Inc., said the not-for-profit company, whose mission it is to keep up the demand for cotton products, has been doing the program with Jones Lang LaSalle malls for many years.
`We’re responsible for developing partnerships with different organizations,` Barlin said. `This program was designed as an extension of our new advertising campaign.`
Barlin said the new advertising campaign is to show people that cotton, while a breathable, durable and comfortable fabric, can also be fashionable and trendy.
`It’s a predominant fiber in so many beautiful and stylish [pieces of] clothing for women,` she said.
`Everybody knows the wonderful attributes of cotton. It’s such a big part of everybody’s wardrobe. Our job is to keep that demand alive, make sure people are looking at the fabric content because some fabrics might look and feel like cotton but it’s not. So it’s really important for us to make sure that the consumer knows cotton is readily available in so many stores.`
In addition to the gift-with-purchase incentive, the mall will also be doing an interactive promotion where shoppers can text message a code word to the mall that will enter them in a drawing for mall shopping spree of $250, as well as five retailer discounts that offer cotton products, said Hiltsley.
The hope is that these incentives will cater to those shoppers who are trying to remain `budget conscious` by offering them discount deals.
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