File this idea down for the next holiday season:
Last month I bought a bunch of Lego presents for the kiddo. Most weren't discounted but due to the order size, they offered a bunch of free gifts. The gifts were small ($5-20 retail) but in the end we got four of them for free.
That meant in addition to the main sets, she got to open a bunch of extra presents. For a toy during the holidays: more presents equals more fun.
Lego could have discounted the main sets and not given me the freebies. But then I would either a) have to order more presents from someone (maybe not Lego) or b) find smaller gifts in their store.
This way, they got to clear out some inventory, I felt like I got a haul of bonuses, and the kid was ecstatic over all of the presents.
This is an example of what I mean when I write about discounting alternatives.
Check how holiday customers performed in with Repeat Customer Insights Cohort Report.
Eric Davis
Get a snapshot of your customer behavior
The sooner you signup for Repeat Customer Insights, the more comparison points your store will have. Each 1st of a the month a new snapshot is taken and saved to your account for analysis.