With the January sales in full flow – brace yourself for the most vicious retail battle for years.

In the jungle warfare in which ailing high streets’ New Year sales do battle with internet shopping, standing out from the crowd and breaking with tradition is key to success.

A great blog via Open Forum highlighted how one social shopping site which successfully did this is the increasingly influential US social shopping site Joe Shopping which features a community area where users can compare prices, review products and earn points towards rewards.

One of its most dramatic questions asked customers: “How would you spend the holidays if these were your last days on earth? – which sparked “The Last Christmas on Earth” promotion. The campaign exploited predictions that the world would end in 2012 and encouraged online shoppers to indulge ‘in the present’ while preparing ‘for the afterlife’.

Shoppers could source products – such as mountain gear for climbing Mount Everest or musical instruments for their rock band – to help them accomplish lifelong goals. They could also browse through “final Christmas” gifts, offered at significantly discounted rates.

Shaun Walker, the agency creative director working on the campaign advises businesses to go the opposite way to their competitors. “We tell clients that if the idea doesn’t make you somewhat uncomfortable, it’s probably not going to work.”

How will you adopt this idea?

OK, so the end of the world was a little extreme, but it helped JoeShopping break through the holiday clutter, with a fun pop-culture pseudo event which boosted sales and no doubt profitability.

What are you doing to achieve standout in a crowded online and offline retail market? Share your ideas with us via the blog.