3 On Your Side: The Best Retailers To 'Like' On Facebook
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- To 'like' or not to 'like'? When you're on Facebook, you may be asking that question. As 3 On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan finds, when it comes to getting deals, some retailers are making it more worth your while to 'like' them than others.
It may be the most powerful tool on Facebook. The 'like' button is the key to saving money at all kinds of retailers.
Jennifer Remis is getting married in June and has been shopping a lot. But she's also a bargain hunter, and that's where Facebook comes in. After 'liking' Lord & Taylor, she saw a post for a huge sale and got a great deal on a dress for her rehearsal dinner. She says, "My dress got marked down 40 percent, and I ended up saving like $200 dollars on it."
"It's definitely worth it for a consumer to 'friend' or to 'like' a brand on Facebook," says Emerson College social media expert Dave Gerzof Richard. He finds that retailers can be just like friends in real life: "You have those friends who are just constantly updating with junk. Some brands are better than others in terms of offering deals."
So who offers the best deals? We followed a dozen retailers for more than a month, and here's what we found:
Like Jennifer, we noticed great deals at Lord & Taylor. They posted a friends and family sale that offered 25 percent off almost everything and 10% off cosmetics and fragrances. Cosmetics are rarely discounted. Another post alerted us to a sale offering 40% off already reduced shoes.
Next on our list is Kohl's. The discounter posted a coupon code for 20% off everything, another for 15% off golf attire. They also offered a "flash sale" on shoes for one day. The shoes were marked down from $59.99 to $19.99.
A favorite of the younger crowd, Abercrombie & Fitch consistently posts discounts, like 30% off shorts and 25% off new summer styles.
For every day needs, try CVS. The drug store chain posts cash back offers, like a $10 cash back card for spending $30 on certain items.
And if you're hungry, try 'liking' Quiznos--that's all it takes to get a free hoagie.
Experts suggest that you choose the companies that you 'like' carefully, otherwise your Facebook newsfeed will end up looking like the advertising section of the Sunday newspaper.
"I don't want be disliked or unliked or what ever the terminology is, so yes, we space it out," says David White of Absolute Abstract in Center City. Like many small business owners, he posts deals on Facebook too, but sparingly, every five or six weeks. From buy-one-get-one-half-off promotions to holiday discounts, he finds that Facebook is especially useful when announcing the arrival of new products. He says, "We'll let people know, and we'll often attach a discount to that to generate some interest."
And what's not to like about that?
For links to the Facebook pages of the companies mentioned in this report, click below:
