Why I Stopped Promoting the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale

All opinions are my own and do not reflect any of the companies or bloggers I mention. This is an opinion piece that is meant for a healthy discussion on the sale and influencer marketing, but not meant to be taken as the only opinion out there. This post contains affiliate links.

Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Is Overdone

I was never sold on the idea of promoting the sale, but last year I definitely partook in the pushing! I was invited by my local Nordstrom to shop early with other influencers, and I took a couple photos inside the dressing room to post. The sale has grown exponentially every year because of the influx of more and more bloggers promoting it. This year I could feel the anticipation in blogger groups I participate in; it was obvious everyone was planning on posting about the #NSale! While competition can be healthy, I tend to go a different route when there is too much competition. With the saturation, I have heard many of my readers saying it is annoying to see all the posts and refreshing when the content isn’t about the Anniversary Sale. Besides, there are a lot of shopping bloggers that can create better content than me!

I don’t like to spend that much on new clothing

It’s no secret amongst my offline friends that I love to save money. I do love a good sale! However, the sale prices at Nordstrom sometimes still break my budget. I prefer to find clothing in thrift shops or stores with a smaller price point. When it comes to the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, you will only find me spending money on staple pieces like denim and jackets!

Sometimes the products aren’t up to usual quality

Sorry Nordstrom, it is nothing against you, but sometimes the products promoted for the sale are produced specifically for the sale. They can be manufactured cheaply to stay at a great price point, which means you aren’t always getting the same quality you would from regularly stocked items.

I am not trying to sell to you

Part of my job as an “influencer” (a term coined by marketing agencies) is to encourage brand awareness and stimulate the market around a product. Yes, I do sell to you when I am working with a company and I am endorsing an item I love! However, I have never been into creating every post about selling to you. It isn’t in my nature to be a salesman! You won’t find me posting LikeToKnowIt often. While I enjoy the affiliate income I can get from commissions on sales, I would rather keep my audience’s trust and only talk about products I absolutely adore.

The sale always has technical issues

Without fail, there is always some sort of issue the first few days of the sale. The past two years the website has crashed when the sale opens. I tried to get Madewell jeans within the first few hours of the opening ceremonies and was met with transaction problems. It said my card details wouldn’t work (a common issue amongst other shoppers) three separate times. Even though I had the money, an up-to-date credit card, and a Nordstrom card, I was unable to get the jeans I wanted because by the time the site was fixed, the jeans were sold out. Others have told stories of being charged every single time that their card “didn’t work” or having items stuck in the shipping center only to have orders canceled later. What a hassle!

They dropped the commission

While I don’t think I can legally disclose the exact commission rate that rewardStyle has negotiated with Nordstrom, the commission rate has dropped significantly over the past few years. We are talking a drop of more than 50% what the previous commission was. So, when someone makes a huge purchase, I make pennies on the dollar in comparison to previous years. That type of supplemental income isn’t enough for me to invest hours taking photos of outfits and cross-promoting my affiliate links on my social channels.

Nordstrom employees deserve the income and don’t deserve the abuse

Let me tell you first hand: Nordstrom employees work their butts off during the sale weeks. I used to work at a Nordstrom kids shoes department and know what it is like to work a sale. The employees are on a commission rate, but if they don’t make enough in commission, their hourly rate gets kicked back into minimum wage ($7.25 in Utah). They are told to call previous shoppers and ask them to come in for an Anniversary Sale appointment. They deal with some pretty ungracious clients who make them carry clothing around for them, clean up dressing rooms, and spend hours doting on them. Also, can you imagine being on the order fulfillment team or the customer service team during the sale (these two departments don’t make commission to my knowledge)? Eek, pretty nightmarish. So, in my humble opinion, the sales employees on the floor of Nordstrom deserve all the monies from the sale. Plus, I do not want to add to their stress by taking up a dressing room for an hour or two and leaving it a mess, only to buy a few items, like some bloggers have become infamous for during the sale (or even on the off season)!

What are your thoughts on the sale being promoted? Did you buy anything this year?