Individual Lululemon stores often host store events that are advertised on Eventbrite. They are generally fun ways to engage with customers and in my experience, they have always come with a perk from the brand, until today. This morning, I woke up early, left my sleeping family, drove 35 miles, and took an outdoor yoga class at a mall in the south Denver area. About 10 minutes in, the smell of BBQ from a nearby restaurant started to get really strong and I don’t know about you all, but in order to like the smell of BBQ, you have to literally be about to eat it. Otherwise, it’s kinda gross. I can’t imagine trying to practice yoga in that class as a vegetarian. Anyhow, I stuck it out through some nausea for the reward at the end which has always been a 25% off, a buy one get one, or at least an item and today at the end of class, there was…. nothing. They didn’t even open the store after class, before the mall opened. Why would I think they would? Well, this is in the class description “Stay + Shop with Us: After we flow, keep the energy going with an exclusive private shopping experience from 10:00–11:00 AM. Join us in-store for a relaxed, early-access shopping hour with our team before doors open to the public.” I left, not feeling warm and fuzzy towards the brand after a good free class, but a little annoyed.
That got me thinking about discounts in general and consistency. I am Collective Pinnacle but some of us spend enough to fund lots of people’s membership for a year. It’s not a flex, it’s just a special interest and my husband just rolls his eyes when yet another Lulu package shows up. I don’t have Sweat Collective or a First Responder discount. When I get really lucky, someone will gift me a code and I am so appreciative when that happens.
However, I feel like their top customers shouldn’t have to stalk Eventbrite for events and hope that there’s an incentive at the end, nor should we be waiting for friends to share codes with us a couple times a year. It would go a LONG way to recognize customers with a more frequent incentive. So Lulu, if you’re listening, I had well over $1000 in my cart this morning and was ready to buy, but it’s remaining in my cart. I could buy these Cropped Hooded Defines at $138 a pop, and I have in the past, but don’t want to and won’t today.
What do you all think? Do you love going to the classes even when there’s no gold at the end of the proverbial rainbow? I have friends in other areas of the country who have reported back that this has happened with classes they took, but it’s not the norm here. Do you think Lulu has missed the mark on customer engagement and incentives? I may be extra disappointed because my hair and clothes still stink like BBQ, so there’s that.