Well, hello, I said to myself checking the mail yesterday. You see there was a little brown envelope from Anthropologie for me. It was a bit larger than a credit card and had my address handwritten on the front.
Once in my apartment I opened it up to find a gauzy envelope with my one of my favorite phrases written in it.
OK, I’m down with celebrating! What are we celebrating? Aw, who cares, what is it what is it what is it??
Holy cow, it’s my birthday discount!!!
There is of course a catch. This card won’t work online. In-store only. Why? Well, online would mean a code…and codes can be shared…or maybe it’s because Anthro’s shopping cart is simply not built to handle promotional codes. (And if the latter is the case, that’s just silly.) This is truly a bummer for Anthropologie fans overseas or not near a store. Jacquelyn recently touched on this very topic. I have a good friend living in London and she and I have worked out a pretty good deal: she buys stuff from Topshop for me until their NYC store opens, and I buy Anthro stuff for her until her two upcoming locations open.
The thing s, I think they could do a code. I have a Gap and BR card and I get unique user codes from them all the time (reward certificates, one-time-use coupons, etc.). Perhaps you are right and their system is not able to support this.I plan to go up the hill to my local Anthro later this month, wish list in hand, and either find the items I want in store or have the SA find them for me at other stores.
Oh certainly…my last job was at a web agency specializing in e-commerce and let me say that it is not hard to add one-time use codes to the backend at all. That being said, I think this all goes back to Anthro positioning itself as a high-end brand. Luxe brands don't do discount codes (heck, a lot of them don't even do e-commerce because they think it's for the plebes). As this tough economy plays out I think we will see some more bending of those wills.
how exciting! my birthday's in march- so i guess i'll hold off on my wishlist items until then.what are you girls getting with your coupon?! 🙂
You know, I'm wondering if I should email them about this. My birthday was in December, and I've never received a birthday discount. Hmmmm…
My birthday is this month too and I never rec'd a birthday discount!! I'm antro member and do spend a pretty penny every year. Do you think it would be worth it to email their customer service to find out why I didn't receive one too?
It is totally worth a call to customer service if you have not received the card. I had to call in to inquire, and they had me email a special address to get everything taken care of. The process takes a few days so patience is key but Anthro is not trying to deny this to anyone. They told me that I had no birthday associated with my account.
Marta, I e-mailed them to ask about the qualifications for receiving the card, anfd also mentioned other issues I have had withj the site andn ot getting e-mails, etc. The e-mail was kicked up the food chain and I eventaully got a response, which I wrote about here. The response was basically that they like to surprise and delight their customers in various ways.Roxy, I can't help but hope that we will see some loosening re: Anthro and discounts. I know they had good sales results last quarter, but not as good as they had hoped, and that they like to position themselves as distinct and high-end. But, given how tough things are out there for retailers it is only a matter of time before retailers have to react even more aggressively.
Sorry for all the typos in the above post….sigh. For someone who is a writer and editor for a living you would think I could do better.
Wow! I always thought this bday thing was a myth! Thanks for posting about this… I'm gonna get calling my CS agent!
I don't live near a store so when I saw the bday discount could only be used in store I emailed customer service and begged to be allowed to use it online or by phone…they offered me a "1 time courtesy" of using it by phone, which I really appreciated. Hopefully by next year there will be an Anthro here, the coupon will work online, or I can again get them to let me extend me the courtesy…
burntphotograph — I will review all my birthday discount haul. 🙂 Love your blog, btw! Our musical tastes are very similar.
Roxy- Thank you. I took your advice and emailed Anthro… happy to report they are sending over my birthday discount in few days!! 🙂 I already bought a few things last week so I guess its time to start add some new stuff to my wish list! 🙂
Rose – Hooray! I am glad everything worked out for you. 🙂 Please come back and share your birthday haul once your card has arrived.
Grr, I attempted to use mine yesterday at my local store, and it did not go well at all! I am so irritated I think it is time to break up with Anthro. The story is long so I don't want to get into it here but I did write about it over on my blog. Sorry for the hikjack but is is a long story. On a related note, it was made halfway right, but only through persistence.
I e-mailed Anthro about whether they still do the 15% discoutn for birthdays and…no reply. Anyone know if they still do it? My birthday is fast approaching, and I'd love ot have a discount!
When did you email them? They normally need about 48 hours to reply, and it was a long holiday weekend. You can also try shooting an email to community@anthropologie.com. Tell them roxy sent you.