Wal-Mart,
the world's largest retailer (yes, larger than Amazon) and the nation's largest
employer, is doing something really smart, on a number of levels, when it
announced people can get their tax refunds in cash, free of fees, at 3,000 of
its stores. Gee, where do you think they
may spend some of that money?
Wal-Mart,
according tot he Times, "Wal-Mart teamed up with Green Dot, a company
known for re-loadable prepaid cards, to bring mobile checking accounts to its
shoppers... Wal-Mart already offered tax-preparation services and the option to
cash refund checks at its stores. As
part of the new service, it is aligning with a Green Dot business called Tax
Products Group, and the Republic Bank and Trust Company, two providers of
tax-related financial products. Those
companies have more than 25,000 tax-preparation locations in Wal-Mart stores
and elsewhere."
Genius,
just genius. Here's more good news: Some
of that money can be spent on books, which are sold at Wal-Mart. Maybe we take it a step further and Barnes
and Noble partners with the government and tax preparers to get refunds sent to
their stores. Why not?
Whatever
Wal-Mart can do, B&N can too, and in this case should!
What if
book publishers aligned themselves so that when refunds are mailed out, they
come with coupons to purchase books? The
publishers could capitalize on reaching those with expendable funds and the
government can defray mailing costs by getting a fee from the publishers to
include the coupons.
Maybe
this can be done with paychecks. When
checks are handed out to employees, give them vouchers to buy books. If money is direct-deposited, maybe sponsored
emails from HR are sent on pay day to remind employees their funds are available
and go buy some books!
Wal-Mart
gets my "Marketing Play of the Year Award" vote for what they just
pulled off. Instead of being like Amazon and trying to branch into Hollywood,
telecommunications, or other sectors as the manufacturer of products or services,
it simply remains a retailer, albeit a savvy one.
This
move was so unusual it got major media attention. You can't buy such positive press!
Barnes
& Noble needs to think like Wal-Mart and do something to partner with the
government or other powerful entities to get foot traffic to its stores. Maybe B&N can offer other government
service, like passport renewal or birth certificate registration. They may even sell some books!
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