For the inaugural post of “Guess Who’s Online?” The Baggage Claim will be looking at what T.J. Maxx has been up to online, using social media to engage influential fashion bloggers and customers alike. I was pleasantly surprised upon first noticing TJ Maxx’s presence on Twitter, when a fellow fashion blogger on that site gave a shoutout to @TJMaxx for the daily and hourly deals announced through the account. As you know, the type of handbags I usually talk about on The Baggage Claim are, shall we say, guaranteed to break most of our bank accounts. By looking at the type of bags I pick, you’d think I’m a millionaire with a closet filled with designers handbags. I do give in and splurge once in a while, but like many ladies out there, I wasn’t born rich and don’t really see myself getting there anytime soon (still buying those lottery tickets though). That’s why this blog is a type of online therapy for me. I can browse, click, and scroll to fulfill my bag fantasies, and it doesn’t cost me a dime. And when I do spend my money, I spend it well and wisely, by almost never paying full price (even at Saks or Barneys, thanks to wonderful resources like Grechen’s Closet). Now you understand my undying love for places like T.J. Maxx and Marshalls.

The other thing about discount stores like T.J. Maxx that I love is the pure, inexplicable thrill of the treasure hunt appeal of the shopping experience. As @TJMaxx said a couple of days ago, every T.J. Maxx store receives over 10,000 different merchandise every single week. This statistic will most likely induce massive headaches among many of my friends, whose faces turn green at the mere sight of unruly racks where XS pair of Juicy Couture hoodie is shamelessly rubbing fabric, side by side, with last season’s Large MaxStudio wrap dress. Moi, on the other hand, I can feel my blood rushing at the thought of discovering hidden treasure, buried deeply beneath the piles. How else could I have scored a gorgeous Michael Kors studded satchel in powder blue back in 2003 (60% off the original price) on a graduate student’s negative salary? I sometimes go “window” shopping just to find that treasure du jour, only to put it back on the rack, just for the rush. Who says all women are gatherers??

Yeah, I know. Some may consider this a problem but since this is all very entertaining for you (right?), I think my crazy shopping habit serves a certain purpose. In fact, every compliment I get on my shoes or clothes is a testament to the hidden potentials of bargain hunting, as I haven’t paid full price on anything in a long time.

If the thought of having to plow through the merchandise still gives you a headache, don’t just take my words. Hear it straight from fifteen influential bloggers who got to spend a day at the T.J. Maxx and Marshalls headquarters in Boston and find all kinds of goodies at deeply discounted prices:

• Nichelle Gainer from 55 Secret Street
• Stephanie Rahlfs from Adventures in the Stiletto Jungle
• Lindsay Ginn from Broke and Beautiful
• Angela Shultis from Budget Fashionista
• Diana Baros from The Budget Babe
• Adriana Nova from The Fashion Bomb
• Aly Walansky from iVillage/SheKnows
• Stacy DeBroff from Mom Central
• Ike Onyewuenyi from My Fashion Life
• Wendy Lam from Nitrolicious
• Lauren Dimet Waters from Second City Style
• Anna Basham from Shoe Smitten
• Katja Burnett from Style Hive
• Angie and Greg Cox from You Look Fab

When I first heard about the event through @ShoeSmitten, a Twitter friend of mine who participated (yeah I have Twitter friends – call me a nerd), I couldn’t wait to hear more as I secretly nursed pangs of jealousy. During the day-long tour, these lucky bloggers met with Karen Coppola, Senior VP of Marketing; Laura McDowell, Manager of Media Relations; as well as Michale Macmillan, President of T.J.Maxx and Marshalls. They offered the bloggers a look at the behind-the-scenes operations and shared how discount stores often get mired in a misconception that the quality of their products are lower than department stores. The meeting also consisted of a themed game titled the “The Price Is Right” where the bloggers had to guess the price of merchandise from T.J. Maxx in order to win it, as well as a “Splurge vs. Steal” fashion show. The bloggers got a fabulous trip and some great clothes out of it. What about T.J. Maxx? Well, they have gained some strong voices online who are talking about their own experiences of the brand and its stores, and even holding post-visit contests to amplify awareness among other consumers. Through reader participation in these contests, T.J. Maxx also got some valuable feedback on how T.J. Maxx can improve their shopping experience.

T.J. Maxx also has a social shopping community on their website, in which members can create their “Fashion Finds” and have it scored by other members of the community. There’s also a handful of bloggers who talk about store-specific deals and finds, and according to the website, these are “Inventory Hunters” who are either “paid or unpaid T.J. Maxx advocates who have been specifically selected to post brand alerts for stores in specific areas.” It’s an intriguing idea to have these online advocates report on products they find from all over the country. Having drastically different inventory week-to-week, or store-to-store, is certainly an advantage for brick-and-mortar shoppers, but also a challenge when it comes to trying to attract those who tend to shop online. If the T.J. Maxx bloggers can keep this up, the collection of resulting “finds” could be an interesting mosaic of people’s shopping needs and wants, something similar to the photos some Amazon.com customers upload along with their product reviews. I do hope that the offline appeal of T.J. Maxx and Marshalls can successfully translate online, with the help of strong advocates like the fifteen bloggers who were invited to the Boston event. For more detailed accounts of the day, click on the respective links to the blogs above.

Image: Courtesy of T.J. Maxx.

Source: The Baggage Claim

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