Snow day? East Coast retailers dump discounts and deals on shoppers

Baby, it’s cold outside, especially if you’re stuck in the mounds of snow currently blanketing much of the East Coast.

But while airlines are canceling flights and schools are rescheduling classes, retailers are treating the storm as another opportunity to rake in sales.

Some Girls Boutique in Troy, N.Y., is using social media Friday to advertise its “Snow Bunny Sale,” with 30% off all winter accessories. The New York City brand A Tale of Two Biddies is offering 20% on everything in its online store, including caps and T-shirts, using the code SNOW.

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The Harvard Book Store in Cambridge, Mass., notes on its website that customers who spend $30 or more on harvard.com before Saturday will receive 20% when they use the code SNOWDAY.

“It’s snowy,” according to the website. “It’s really quite snowy.”

E-commerce, already a driving force for retailers during the holidays, will likely also dominate sales before the snow melts. Several merchants on Etsy, the online marketplace for artisan goods, have hopped on the bad weather bandwagon.

There’s Entwined Knits Co. out of Philadelphia promising free shipping with the WINTER2014 code and 20% with the SNOWDAY14 code. And Twisted Dreams Jewelry out of Tamaqua, Pa., is selling its First Snow necklace for 15% off.

But the frigid promotions aren’t limited to consumers shivering in storm-blasted areas.

Home goods retailer West Elm asked patrons in an email blast “snowed in or wish you were?” before dangling the prospect of nationwide free shipping with the code SNOWBALL.

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