The concept of a flash sale is simple: offer products at a deep discount for a short period of time. First come, first serve – act now or you lose out! Originally conjured up as a way to quickly offload excess inventory, flash sales are now proving to be much more than a quick revenue generator for retailers.

A recent article in The New York Times highlighted some of the residual benefits that a brand can receive from flash sales. In it, they highlighted Volkswagen, which recently sold three of its mid-sized Jettas on Gilt.com for the discounted price of $5,995 (MSRP: $15,995). The car company originally intended to use the Gilt promotion simply as an awareness play, but in addition to selling the three Jettas, they also had 55,000 people sign up for a wait list. Each user on that list received a $500 coupon good towards the purchase or lease of a new Jetta, which resulted in the sale of an additional 69 cars at full price. Not bad for three days’ work.

The concept of a limited-time, discount sale is not a new one; it’s been around for years. From the TV pitchman exclaiming “if you call now, we’ll double your order!” to your local car dealer offering you the Saturday Special if you agree to sign on the dotted line that day, consumers have long been presented with time-sensitive “deals”. The advent of technology and sites such as Woot and Gilt, have enabled brands to take these offers to market quicker and much more efficiently. While no one can guarantee that the success of Volkswagen will be the norm, flash sales are quickly proving to be a viable tool for helping to introduce (or re-introduce) brands to desired markets.

In terms of the luxury market, while recent studies have shown that flash sales sites are virtually unknown to affluent consumers right now, I expect that will change in the not-too-distant future. Given the right mix (product + timing + placement), these types of offers can provide luxury brands with the opportunity to expand brand awareness and make inroads into new market segments (in addition to the obvious increased revenue benefit).