Store Emails: Hassle or Helpful?

Photo by MikeSchinkel

There’s a lot of talk lately about the value of promotional emails from retailers. In an earlier post, I suggested readers sign up for these emails in order to take advantage of savings and time their budgeted shopping trips accordingly. That’s all well and good, but the whole point of broadcasting sales and discounts is to coax you outside your budget and into the emotionally-charged land of impulse buying.

An article published today on TIME Moneyland discusses the issue of “spamming” from retailers and highlights the strategy’s growing ineffectiveness. Instead of enticing patrons to buy, consumers are getting irritated by all the “junk mail” cluttering their inboxes. Thanksgiving week is purportedly the heaviest week for email promotions, thanks to copious Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.

Despite the practical benefit of staying informed about the best time to buy at your favorite store, the urgency conveyed in these promotional emails often leads to impractical expenditures. Case in point, I’ve ordered four items over the last several weeks from a store I can visit locally, thanks to promotions offered via email. While I’m pleased with my purchases, none of them were necessary and I likely wouldn’t have purchased anything without the nudge from my inbox. Ultimately, the emails were helpful in offering me discounts but a hassle on my budget.

What are your thoughts about email promotions? Do they help you save money or make you spend more?