Price comparison app Jessica’s Secret has announced it will be releasing a complimentary promotional resource for both brands and retailers, to help drive the industry’s recovery in the post Covid-19 era.

In an exclusive interview with TRBusiness, Jessica’s Secret CEO, Mirko Wang says he hopes the initiative will boost sales in duty free and travel retail when international flights resume in the coming weeks and months.

The app, which now has over 2 million subscribers, aims to be a bridge between Chinese travellers and the global travel retail stakeholders – brands and retailers – by providing consumers with transparent pricing and promotions information across duty free and travel retail shops worldwide.

“The complimentary resources the Jessica’s Secret app will be providing brands and retailers involves two specific opportunities,” Wang tells TRBusiness.

Complimentary promotional adverts will be placed in the ‘Coupon List’ section of the app which users can access from the home page, destination pages, mall pages and product price comparison pages.

TARGETED COMMUNICATION

These are the main pages and functions which users tend to access on Jessica’s Secret, allowing brands and retailers to target consumers based on their individual travel destinations and the duty free shops in those airports – a valuable and precise lead and sales-generation function, according to Wang.

Example of how the detailed coupon page is accessed from the price comparison page

“We have piloted this initiative with a few partners recently and we were delighted with the positive feedback we have received,” says Wang.

“Based on the successful trials we have undertaken with prestigious brand owners such as Pernod Ricard, Shiseido, Foreo and Neuhaus for example, this complimentary resource has proven to be a powerful and highly effective means to reach out to more targeted consumers.

“We sincerely hope we are able to stimulate sales growth through this initiative.”

It comes as no surprise that brands are welcoming the complimentary campaign. Shi Ling Tan, Media & Digital Marketing Manager, Shiseido Travel Retail commented: “We are honoured to partner with Jessica’s Secret in leveraging their promotion resources.

“Recognising the need to create a frictionless journey for ‘Checklist’ travellers, we believe the solution is a space that would become stronger as brands and retailers come on-board.

“Jessica’s Secret remains a key direct-to-consumer touchpoint and we look forward to working closely with Mirko and his team in the continuous refinement of the Chinese travellers’ shopping journey.”

Click flow: Destination page > ‘More’ coupon > coupon list > detailed coupon page.

FORFEITING COMMISSION ON SALES

The complimentary resource is part of several attempts Jessica’s Secret has made to establish a seamless connection between consumers and retail partners in the post-Covid recovery period, while striving to maximise the benefits for all parties.

More and more consumers are using promotions from Jessica’s Secret via their mobile devices while traveling according to Wang, who says the company wants to leverage its critical mass to further boost sales by ‘giving back’. Wang reveals that the company will take the unprecedented and pioneering step to forfeit any commission on sales from its retailer partners and pass this benefit on to consumers as an additional cash discount.

“Jessica’s Secret deeply understands the pressure on both suppliers and retailers at the moment,” adds Wang. “Gross margin is one of the major concerns for retailers; they have invested heavily in marketing and commission is one extra burden that contributes to and increases fixed costs.

“We want to do our part to contribute to the travel retail industry in these challenging times and decrease the pressure on retailers while increasing the benefits for consumers. These complimentary coupon distribution and cash-back campaigns are not profit-generating business models for us, but our approach to reconnect our brand and retailer partners with Chinese consumers and hopefully reignite the business.”

Jessica’s Secret says it is extending this offer to all brands and retailers and inviting stakeholders from across the globe to cooperate with them on these complimentary promotional resources and customised partnerships.

More information on these recovery campaign initiatives will be shared by Jessica’s Secret Head of Business Development Stephie Yang during the next edition of the TRConnect webinars, which will focus on China and the much anticipated return of the Chinese traveller. More information can be found here.

To register for the webinar, click here.