Saturday, December 4, 2010

Target now sells LIVE Christmas trees online


Wacky, yet true: according to this Boston Globe article, Target now sells LIVE Christmas trees online! And for some modern families, ordering a tree over the internet is replacing the cold outdoor search for the perfect fir.

Sounds crazy, but if you dig a little deeper, the idea actually has merit. Consumers like the convenience of having a tree delivered right to their door. And for Christmas tree farmers and advocates of fresh-cut firs, online customers represent their last great hope to reverse a wilting tradition. During the last two decades, fake firs and surrogate spruces — with their pre-lit, nonshedding needles — have taken over more than half of the nation’s living rooms.

Farmers are now embracing the Internet and teaming up for the first time this holiday season with Target and Amazon.com to sell real Christmas trees online. The growers are also taking on new high-tech tasks to tout the virtues of fresh-cut firs, such as shooting videos and uploading footage of live balsams and Frasers to YouTube.

And Target is wasting no time to try and win converts. This week the mass discounter offered a 10-percent sale on live tree orders, along with free shipping. “The opportunity to purchase your Christmas tree at Target.com is one way that Target is making holiday shopping simpler than ever," explained chain spokeswoman Morgan O’Murray.

1 comment:

Critifur said...

I have always had a fresh tree, but this sounds like the opposite of choosing a tree, more like a crap shoot. You have no idea what you are going to get. It is nothing like ordering a piece of clothing, in which everyone looks exactly the same.