Though the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale officially opened to the public on Friday, July 19, the bargain hunting had already been well underway for an exclusive group of people — Nordstrom card holders.
For several years, the department store has granted its most loyal shoppers special access to the annual sale, an effort to generate buzz and clout in a market saturated with major sale events, most notablyAmazon Prime Day. As Nordstrom extends the sale to the non-cardholding public, marking the close of the member-only period that kicked off on July 12, analysts say its sales performance will be an important litmus test for the future of the struggling retailer.