Leveraging the Love... and the Hate

We simply listened to what consumers were saying about their shopping experience, in a number of different ways: Using the customized Google Trend Queries tool and Sport Chek's site search engine, we were able to identify the most in-demand products, some of which surprised us with their popularity. The Serenity soothing blanket and the Theragun massage device, for example, were not in any of our featured product predictions, and therefore not featured in any advertising. But we rectified the situation, and within 2 hours, our tactics featuring these products on Facebook, Instagram and SEM were launched. The result: inventories completely sold out.

Frustrations were also shared, and were just as much a source of opportunities. Using the TweeterDeck, a social monitoring tool, we had a view of the disappointing consumer experiences of our competitors. This was the case with Footlocker's website crash and payment difficulties on Lululemon's site. Immediately, we created ads inviting consumers to our fully functional site. When shoppers complained about Wal-Mart selling more Apple Watches than it had in inventory, we created ads promoting our Apple Watch inventories, and adapted our audience strategies according to the products targeted.