SAN DIEGO – Manufacturers and retailers upped the advertising ante over Memorial Day weekend according to preliminary field data collected by TWICE market research partner Gap Intelligence.
Gap home appliance analyst Christine Boersing said holiday ad inserts were plentiful and arrived early, with regional chains BrandsMart USA, hhgregg, P.C. Richard and R.C. Willey launching their promotions as early as May 18, a full week before Memorial Day.
Other retailers on Gap’s radar include ABC Warehouse, Best Buy, Fry’s, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Pacific Sales and Sears.
Of the 1,130 holiday ads captured at press time, the laundry and refrigeration segments ranked as the most highlighted categories, Boersing said, commanding ad shares of 37 percent and 25 percent, respectively. Laundry and refrigeration historically lead the pack during major holiday periods, she noted, with dishwashers, ranges and over-the-range (OTR) microwaves comprising the balance.
Fueling refrigeration this past Memorial Day was Samsung’s focus on its new Showcase series. The door-indoor fridge headlined an exclusive four-page circular for P.C. Richard, which was also the launch pad for the line, Boersing said.
Indeed, Samsung appears to have led ad volume across all five home appliance categories tracked by gap (dishwashers, OTR microwaves, ranges, laundry and refrigeration), preliminary findings show, with LG maintaining second place in majap advertising volume.
Boersing added that gap continued to capture ad data post-Memorial Day as retailers extend the promotional periods before as well as after holidays to maximize consumer attention and sales.
