E-shopping is booming for the luxury department store

ALMOST all of the members of the Tantoco family appeared in a webinar to present Rustan’s Holiday 2020 campaign, called “Home for Christmas.”

Explaining the theme, Anton Tantoco Huang, Executive Vice-President of Rustan’s Corp. and President of the SSI Group said, “For the first time in a long time, in all likelihood, many of us will be staying at home. No travels, no big parties. Just us and the people we’re grateful for.”

The Holiday campaign is centered on bringing the holidays to you. While a video was shown during the webinar about the safety measures they’ve taken in-store (constant disinfection of both goods and surfaces, social distancing reminders, and removal of makeup testers), the campaign is centered around making a wish — and then getting Santa’s Elves to do the shopping for you (the elves are the personal shoppers). This service allows customers to enjoy shopping the department store’s list of local and international brands without having to leave home. Faster and easier, every single step of this service is done online, including payment. Free delivery, right at your doorstep, is offered for a minimum purchase -— a true example of providing maximum service, at minimum contact.

The personal shopper on call can also help navigate the Christmas Gift Registry, which is available to help add convenience to holiday gift-giving. In pursuit of providing only the best service, Rustan’s is launching one universal number — 0917-111-1952 — for the Personal Shopper On Call beginning Oct. 24. Dina Tantoco, Marketing and Communications Head for Rustan’s said that the last four digits (1952), are a nod to the year the store was founded by their forebears Gliceria Rustia-Tantoco and Bienvenido Tantoco.

E-commerce also provides welcomed ease for Filipinos, with www.Rustans.com launching new selections and fresh drops on a weekly basis, and continuing to service orders from across the country 24/7. Rustans.com will host the “Home for Christmas” Virtual Microsite — where customers can view all-holiday content, including videos of performances, yuletide decorating tips, gift suggestions, and schedules of all upcoming in-store and online activities.

Mr. Huang noted the increase in online sales for them, a luxury department store, during a community quarantine, with growth of about 450% in their online sales for SSI brands (counting purchases from Rustans.com, third-party platforms, and the brands’ own websites), making up 10% of their sales from the period of January to September. “It’s growing quite nicely,” he said.

As a plus for the kids, Rustan’s is launching the Santa-on-Call program, which connects Santa and his elves face-to-face with children via Zoom for storytelling and one-on-one sessions (one must register to catch Santa.) Children can also write letters to Santa at hellosanta@rustans.com to send him their top three Christmas wishes. Rustan’s will choose three letters to grant one gift for each kid, which will be delivered to their home address. Santa Claus also made an appearance at the webinar.

Kicking off Christmas shopping is the two-day holiday promo in all Rustan’s branches on Nov. 7 and 8. Enjoy 0% installment for three, six, and 12 months across all major banks with a minimum single receipt purchase worth P3,000, P10,000, and P20,000 respectively. Making things more interesting for FSP members, five times the regular number of points will be rewarded throughout the two-day promo. Exclusive hotel and resort promos also await members for staycations this holiday season. Furthermore, Rustan’s will be offering 20% off on select kitchenware brands.

Meanwhile, the famous Rustan’s Christmas decorations are up, with a theme of traditional Christmas, replete with red, green, and gingerbread. The store window holiday display will be unveiled next week. “A big part of the ‘Home for Christmas’ is nostalgia and memories: but making new ones,” said Ms. Tantoco. “For us, traditional Christmas (as a theme) really gives this semblance of that.” — Joseph L. Garcia

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