MILWAUKEE — Kohl's online customers would like to get free shipping on all their purchases. And the right people at Kohl's know it.
That's because free shipping is a constant request from some of the retailer's 720,000-plus fans on Facebook.
In the six months since Kohl's Corp. made its debut on the social networking site, the department store chain has amassed one of the largest fan bases among retailers and is part of a trend that has more and more consumer businesses using free social media Web sites.
"Social media is becoming the way you connect with your customer," said Bill Emerson, a former retail executive who heads Emerson Advisors in West Palm Beach, Fla. "Big retailers are getting on to this."
A new poll conducted by BIGresearch for Shop.org, a retail trade group, found that 47 percent of online retailers will increase their use of social media during the coming holiday season. More than half, 60 percent, said they had added or improved their Facebook page and Twitter pages this year.
Kohl's ranks third among retailers in the number of fans on Facebook, after Starbucks, with 4.6 million fans, and Best Buy, with about 843,000.
"Kohl's Facebook page gives our customers a place to interact, share stories and celebrate Kohl's great values and savings tools," said Vicki Shamion, vice president of public relations for Kohl's.
