(January 11, 2018) – The Parable Group, a leading marketing agency for the Christian product industry, announced today that Christmas sales were up for the Christian retailers they serve with print/digital promotions. Collectively, November and December sales were up 0.9%. A key piece of that increase was Thanksgiving week—when sales groupwide increased 3.2%—with 68% of their partner stores seeing greater sales than 2016.
“Over the past few years new and emerging technology has transformed the way customers shop. But many savvy Christian retailers, committed to serving their local communities, are investing in themselves—in products, stores, marketing, data and technology. These Christmas sales numbers are very encouraging—there’s real hope and a future for Christian retail,” said Steve Potratz, President of The Parable Group.
To attract new customers and re-engage existing customers over the Christmas 2017 season, The Parable Group of Christian retailers used coordinated print catalogs and in-store signage as a promotional foundation and layered in various digital marketing tactics, like email and social media advertising.
Over 6 million emails were sent to customers from The Parable Group on behalf of retailers during November/December, representing a mix of mass weekly emails and highly targeted emails based on customer purchase history. Additionally, various Facebook campaigns reached nearly 950,000 people in November/ December on behalf of participating stores. These social media campaigns served over 3.7 million impressions to geo-targeted Christian consumer audiences.
Christian retailers also utilized tools on ParableConnect, the 24/7 information hub, to ensure they stayed in-stock of promoted products.
“We’re happy to see positive numbers and sales increases again. While not every Christian retailer has turned around, this suggests that more gains can be achieved. Retailers who can adjust and incorporate print and digital marketing touchpoints, backed by data, are likely going to be successful in 2018,” said Potratz.
The Parable Group is a privately owned multi-service Christian marketing agency based in San Luis Obispo, CA. Since 1985, we’ve served over 1,000 Christian brands; including retailers, publishers, churches, non-profits, film studios and more. Today, we pair decades of Christian consumer data with proven business practices, cutting-edge digital technologies, and thoughtful design to drive measurable results for those we serve. As CBA’s exclusive data warehouse partner, we also safeguard Cross:Scan data to help unite and improve the Christian products industry. For more information, contact sally.ross@parable.com or visit www.parablegroup.com.
Contact: Sally Ross
Tel. (805) 329-4020 Email: sally.ross@parable.com
