Nest has pioneered in the smart home market with its well-designed learning thermostat, and is now blazing new trails in marketing for this year’s Black Friday kickoff to the holiday shopping season. With new promos and new tactics, gadget makers are particularly creative in their efforts to get consumers to interact with connected smart home products.

For instance, last year we saw the line between Black Friday and Cyber Monday blur due to the availability of connected kiosks which gave customers access to online deals in stores. According to Ross Mason, founder and VP of product strategy, MuleSoft, Inc., this year we can expect more crossovers as online retailers create pop-up shops just for the holiday season to allow customers to avail of hands-on interactions with products typically found online.

“These retail strategies both reinforce the need to add value to buyers and deliver a seamless customer experience across channels,” Mason explained. “But these online-offline approaches also increase the complexity of doing so, since all of these online systems and in-store software need to be connected. In both scenarios, connectivity is required to brings these two worlds together.  Retailers need to provide an uninterrupted experience wherever their customer buys, so their systems and infrastructure to support these transactions need to evolve to support it. An API approach is emerging where retailers can connect their front end systems with their back end systems, creating a seamless experience for their customers, no matter if they are online shoppers, in-store customers or both.”

A good example of this is Nest Labs, Inc. Before, its products were only available online, then became available at select retailers. This year, for Black Friday, it is offering a $50 gift card if you purchase a Nest Learning Thermostat or Nest Protect at retailers such as Best Buy, Sam’s Club, Target, Home Depot and more.

Also, starting November 26, 5PM PT until November 30, 11:59PM PT, you can get $30 off on Nest Cam, at nest.com and retailers including  Amazon.com, Best Buy, Sam’s Club, Target, Home Depot and more. And get $50 off if you buy a Nest Learning Thermostat and Nest Protect, at nest.com.

For more great Nest deals, check out Nest Black Friday sales: Best Buy discounts, bundles and more

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Image via Nest