Pictured above is the postcard we recently received from Staples. They have $10 for us that they are willing to exchange for our email address. What is in it for Staples?
When a company wants to be this generous, it must mean that their reward is so much greater than the $10 they are offering to each customer on their snail mail list. This $10, plus the cost of printing and mailing, will save them much more than this offer cost.
We can surmise that they are hoping to reduce their printing costs by pushing catalogs and all kinds of other digital advertising our way. They most likely will have online promotions (not available to others who withhold their email addresses). For those those of us who cannot stand the thought of another email arriving daily, we will just have to miss out.
If you are experiencing a FOMO moment (a fear of missing out moment), let us assuage your fears. Our research revealed that the in-store kiosk has those same promotional items, without burdening your digital mailbox. If they don’t have a kiosk in a store near you, one of their 61,500 employees (2016) can do the job of ordering that item for you.
Will you sell your email address for $10?