Using credit card management software from Paysys International, Gottschalks Inc. recently ran two promotions for its proprietary card that it said increased daily sales revenue significantly at two of its department stores.
Paysys International, based in Orlando, markets the VisionPlus Credit Management System - mainframe-based credit card processing software.
Dan F. Cone, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Paysys, said Gottschalks was its first retail client to use the tracking and analysis subsystem of the software, released last summer.
Based in Fresno, Calif., Gottschalks operates 35 stores and is one of the top credit card issuing retailers in the country, with 800,000 total accounts and more than $192 million in charge volume.
Mr. Cone said Gottschalks' first promotion was done on a shoestring budget, using the software plus seven telemarketing representatives supplied by Paysys. After a series of one-day marketing campaigns, the retailer's 18th-ranked store moved into the No. 1 slot by increasing its daily sales revenue 50%.
A similar promotion at the company's 22d-ranked store resulted in a 350% increase in daily sales revenue.
Gottschalks vice president of credit Bret Levy said the system allowed it to segment its cardholders and download a promotion within two days. He said the promotion cost 11 cents per contact, including payroll and phone costs.
"There isn't another system in the marketplace that can respond in that time frame, and give us these results," Mr. Levy said, in a statement.
The retailer defined criteria based on its cardholders' past buying habits and store affiliation. Once the cardholders were selected, their account information was forwarded to an outbound calling queue within VisionPlus. Telemarketers had cardholders' profiles in hand when informing them of special offers on a designated sale day.
Then, using the software's tracking and analysis system, Paysys was able to provide the retailer with detailed reports on the campaign's effectiveness.
Mr. Cone of Paysys said he expects other retailers to upgrade their software to take advantage of the tracking and analysis subsystem.
Paysys, formerly known as CCS Technology Group, calls itself the largest retail-card software provider, having 35 major retailers as clients.
In addition to marketing, the card management software handles administrative work, including billing and collections.
